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Several years ago, my family and I relocated to Salem,
Oregon from Southern California. Salem is a beautiful, family-friendly area,
but the weather was a big adjustment. It’s a combination of extremes with heavy
rains in the winter and hot summers. While the weather was a bit of a
challenge, the difference in the real estate values was a highly desirable
benefit of the move to Oregon. We were able to move into a much larger home with
three-levels for the family to spread out and enjoy.
Although beautiful and spacious, we started having comfort
and health concerns – and the utility bills put us into shock each month! At that time, I was working from home and
using a room on the upper level as a home office. The rest of the house could
be comfortable, but my office would be stiflingly hot in the summer, making it nearly
impossible to concentrate. The basement became an icebox in the winter, we had
dust build-up no matter how much we cleaned and mold was growing on the family
room wall.
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| The Pro Energy mantra of 'we don't guess' really clicked with my personal frustrations involving our new home |
I concluded that there was something wrong with our HVAC
system. I contacted three different HVAC companies who came to the house,
inspected the system and submitted their bids for repairs, upgrades and new
equipment. The general consensus was that the HVAC system wasn’t of sufficient
size for the scale of our tri-level house. The solution to the problem was to upgrade the
existing HVAC system and install an additional system for the upstairs floor. Two
separate HVAC systems sounded like an appropriate solution, so we spent over
$15,000 on this strategy.
Unfortunately, I guessed wrong and it was an expensive
guess. The situation actually got WORSE as our energy bills nearly doubled with
only minor improvement in comfort. For
most consumers, it’s tough when you suddenly have to re-adjust your budget to
accommodate an unexpected up-tick in monthly energy bills. Our comfort level
changed very little and we still had dust and mold issues.
The HVAC company didn’t do anything wrong, but they deal
exclusively in HVAC systems. In reality, the problem was that we had other
performance issues with the house that we just didn’t realize at that time. This
is definitely a case of “if I knew then, what I know now.” I should have arranged
for a home energy audit at the onset of the problems and not wasted time and
money on guess-work.
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| Through the use of infrared, we were able to pinpoint the exact places repairs were needed, saving significant time and money |
But, things happen for a reason…
After some soul-searching, I decided that working in the
electronics industry was no longer the best career fit for me. I really wanted
to leave the rigid corporate culture behind, take control of my life and gain
greater personal satisfaction from having my own business. I felt that buying a
franchise would be a good investment because of the established infrastructure
and I wouldn’t need to build something from scratch. I actually considered a
wide variety of franchise businesses ranging from mosquito abatement to food
service concepts. I researched Pro
Energy Consultants and was impressed with what I read about their team and
business model. They were clearly the most well established green franchise
opportunity. And, the Pro Energy mantra
of ‘we don’t guess’ really clicked with my own personal frustrations involving our
new home.
I’m happy to say that I opened a Pro Energy Consultants
franchise in Salem at the beginning of June 2013. Diagnostic testing of my own home revealed
that missing insulation and massive air leakage were two of the root causes of
our problems. Through the use of infrared and other tools, we were able to
pinpoint the exact places repairs were needed, saving significant time and
money.
I have been genuinely impressed with Pro Energy Consultant’s
support. In addition to home energy
audits, I’ve already expanded into offering indoor air quality testing services
and solutions, and commercial energy assessments as well. It’s been an interesting turn of events that these
frustrating problems with my own home ultimately led me to a new business
venture. We’re proudly dedicated to bringing Pro Energy’s mission of Saving Energy, Saving Money, and Saving the
Environment to the communities of Salem, Albany, Corvallis, McMinnville, Wilsonville
and surrounding areas. I’m looking forward to helping home and business owners
avoid making the same costly ‘guesses’, while truly solving their problems.
To contact Kenneth
Low:
P: 503-409-4894 or 800-977-6363
E: klow@proenergyconsultants.com
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