Diamond Certified Video Reports

CalRATERS, Inc. in 5 Useful Answers

[Music] I personally got into this industry through my years of doing heating and air conditioning. I did heating and air conditioning for about 12 years before I started this company. At the time, we started the company just working with heating and air conditioning contractors. So, the beginning of this industry was truly just providing home energy testing for heating and air conditioning contractors. We did the testing for them that was required by the state, and that was simply how we started this business. Since that date, things have changed drastically in the energy industry. We are not just helping contractors. We're really helping homeowners now. So, we aren't just doing the home energy testing. We're doing complete energy audits for homeowners to help them determine what their energy concerns are in their home and find out what the solutions are to those energy concerns. So, in turn making their homes more comfortable and more energy-efficient. Now the industry's changed so much that whereas we started this working with heating and air conditioning contractors, we've now found that working with homeowners is really where we love helping them and finding solutions for them. We've loved becoming part of their homes and their solutions versus just the heating and air conditioning side. So, I think that although we started it with one aspect in mind, we've really gravitated to another one simply because the energy demands have become so much greater in California, and a lot of people have those concerns that they want to find solutions for. So, we have determined that the way we want to run this business is with the highest of quality for our customers. Not only for the contractors that we work with, but for every single homeowner that we walk into their home. We want to make sure that we're presenting ourselves well. We have hired the best in the industry to actually go in and do the testing that we do for homeowners. We want to make sure that we present ourselves well. We have wrapped vehicles. We always have wonderfully clean clothes when we walk into a customer's house, regardless of how many jobs we've done a day. We wear shoe booties, the best equipment that's available to test on each job site we have. So, we want to make sure that not only are we bringing the best into each customer's home, but we're providing them the best service when we're out there. So high quality to us isn't just appearance, but it's also the way that we interact with our customers and the day-to-day solutions that we're going to provide them when it comes to their energy needs. The thing that I enjoy most about what we do here at Cal Raiders is providing solutions to homeowners for their energy concerns. Day-to-day, we're able to walk into a customer's home, determine what their comfort issues are or their energy concerns are, and we're able to actually find solutions to those problems. The fact that homeowners come to us with those issues is exciting. We're able to actually determine what they need in their home, what their concerns are in their home, and we, in turn, provide them with solutions. So every day our industry changes. We work with big California run rebate programs as well so that we can help homeowners along the process. So after we've given them a solution, we can in turn help them by getting rebates for upgrades they may do and different things like that as well. So the dynamic of our industry is constantly changing which I think is really exciting. Plus we are providing those solutions. I think that customers need to be aware of the home energy testing that each energy auditing company performs. So, a lot of companies will walk in a door and they're going to do a visual assessment of a customer's home. They're going to look at the main energy-consuming items and provide them with their report on what they actually found. We take it a bit further. So, we do a lot of advanced testing when we're out there. We don't stop with just doing a visual inspection. We're going to fine-tune it. We're going to do pressurized duct leakage testing, air infiltration testing, infrared testing. It's not just your basic walk in the door and give you an answer to what they think your problem is. We're really going to find each and every problem. We're going to give that solution. We're going to do the testing that needs to be done. So, I think that homeowners need to ask more questions in a sense of what is going to be done when a home energy auditor walks into their home and in turn, what is the aftermath of that? So yes, we've gone in there, we've given them our ideas of what we think is the problem with their energy consumption in their home. We've given them the solutions, but we don't just stop there either. We're going to take it full spectrum. We're also going to help them find a contractor to do the work. And not just any contractor, a great contractor to do the work. We're going to see it through to make sure the work is completed, that it's done the way that we think it should have been done to make their home as energy-efficient as possible. And then we're also going to help them obtain any rebates or things like that in the long run. So, we're going to make sure the job is completed through fruition. So, we're not just going to stop in the beginning stages and give them what they thought they wanted in terms of a report and walk away. So, I think they really need to know what the course of action is for the person walking in the home and how far they're going to go with their project. What makes us different at Cal Raiders versus other companies in the home energy auditing industry is number one, we are family owned and operated. My husband and I have put forth as much as we can into this industry. We love what we do. We're aren't just the type of people that have started a company and walked away from it. We are going to be involved long term. So, not only are you getting the best raiders, the best building analysts there are, but you're also getting the two owners of the company that are going to be involved in every project that we do. We want to make sure that every project is done to the highest standard. And that means that all of our raiders are very honest. We work with honesty and integrity. That is one thing that we will always stand by in this company. So, we will always try to set ourselves apart. We want to stand out amongst our competition. We want to be that different company, the one that's taking every approach they can to help every single homeowner. And at the end of the day, we have made an impact and made California more green, customers homes more comfortable, more efficient, and even our own homes more comfortable, and more efficient. So, we want to stand out amongst our competition in so many ways, but that's at least the start of it.