Zero Energy

Thank to all the hard work of Mr Connor Lock that had done I finally got my rebate !! 5 stars go to Mr Connor Lock and those who put afford in helping me to get my rebate !!!

Update: about 5 months ago Chase from Zero Energy contacted me on Unilocal to ask if I would take down my review. We talked about the issues that I had during and after the project over the phone since he wasn’t aware of the details. I was told they are improving their customer service, and they offered me money so I would keep quiet about the details of my project. I would only agree to it if they ensured that something would be done to protect future customers and they would address some of the unresolved issues. Guess what? I never heard back from them!
I’m telling you — be careful with this company. A contractor is a contractor. They will bait you, take your money, and create some headaches you don’t need to have in your life.

I am not sure where the other reviews are coming in, as my experience was simply the best. I have owned homes for 25 years and have never had a contractor so attentive. I had my audit done, met the salesperson, and signed the deal. I got an email from their corporate office thanking me for the business. The construction team immediately called to set up my appointment, and I had to postpone it for personal reasons and asked them to call again in two weeks. They followed up like no other company has for me, EVER. They called a week before to confirm and again the day before. They showed up on time, masked my house for the job, and were super clean and friendly. Within an hour of them leaving, I received a «Thank you for your business» email and a contact number if I have any follow up questions. They then called later in the day to do the same. So I was very pleased start to finish. Great follow up before and after the project. I have copied the email I received. Very impressive.
_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​
Your installation is now complete!
Congratulations! The installation is now complete and your home is now onto the permit completion and submission phase.
We are here to ensure that your home is more comfortable, safer, and saving you money but we also ensure that you are satisfied with all work completed, we guarantee it! If anything pops up, call us!
Once you have confirmed completion with your Project Manager, we will be able to submit all information related to facilitating the receipt of your Energy Upgrade California Rebate, and if you went solar with us, we will be reaching out to you to schedule the Preliminary Inspection with your municipality. Not to worry, we handle all of that.
Generally, the city will often come back with small adjustments that need to be made based upon the inspector’s preference. If this is the case, you do not have to be home for any adjustments, our installation experts will simply need access to the electrical panel. You will be notified of our expected arrival times.
Regards,
Zero Energy

So I get an email to go in for an interview from a Craigslist ad I responded to about 7 – 8 weeks ago. The guy who emailed me «Jacob Brighton» (not sure if this is his real name) was extremely lousy at responding efficiently. Finally, we came to an agreement on what time & date to go in for an interview. When I get to the building, I realize he didn’t leave me a suite number. There also wasn’t any sign that said «Zero Energy» anywhere.
I go to my email to look for a phone number (which every business professional provides) and realized he didn’t have a phone number in his email signature anywhere. I thought this was fishy, but I look past it and just go online to get the phone number and I realize that they don’t provide a phone number on google nor on thier website.
I then go to send an email «Jacob Brighton» to ask why he didn’t provide a suite number, phone number. Also, to let him know I’m here waiting! So I wait another 30 minutes, and no response of course. Not to mention, they have my phone number on my resume I submitted. So here I am, after driving 30 minutes, wasting gas and time, pissed off that this unprofessional, shitty company cant be do basic business tasks.
I’m also curios as to what this company has to hide? Why no phone number anywhere? Why no signs representing the company for «customers» to find? So many fishy things going on here. Don’t waste your time people! So many more great companies out there.

Here we go again! So if you read allll the other post about this company you will come to find this is not a company you want to do business with. So here’s the new update. Since I last posted, a few people had called me from ZE and promised to get jumping on finishing my project. (Pulling permits barely!!!) So ZE rep says sign these papers from the county (I did, even though this just opened another can of worms, I won’t get into that) so they can pull permits. This was like 2 – 3 month and I haven’t heard from anyone since. I tried called three contacts from ZE today and no one answered or has returned my call. If I had a time machine I would go back in time and tell myself DON’T DO IT!!!

BEWARE: this is the second time someone comes to my door completely ignoring my «NO SOLICITORS» sign like they have some kind of official business. They say that we should have received notices from our utility company, blah blah blah. Yes, I am fully aware of available rebates as we’ve already taken advantage of some. Their shirts have the Home Upgrade symbol just like the notice which is very misleading since the phone number goes straight to Zero Energy CONTRACTORS! I double checked the license number to make sure I’m posting on the correct company’s Unilocal page. Good thing I’m a competent adult who does my research. I feel bad for the elderly or non-​English speakers who may not be as savvy and get duped into thinking this is more than just a cover for another contractor trying to take milk the benefits of the HERO program and/​or get a misleading foot in your door.

They signed a contract in my name and my wife’s name electronically! This is ILLEGAL!!! They agreed to conditions without letting us read them! My wife was NOT even present and they signed our names electronically!
I seriously wanted to do business with this company until I saw the contract the rep signed in my name and my wife’s name. There is NO way I would sign these terms.

So far so good. Solar was installed, turned on and inspected in much less time than others who have gotten solar elsewhere lead me to believe. Still waiting to see how this impacts my energy bill. I also had to obtain some documents on the purchase for a home refi and everyone at Zero Energy was super quick and responsive and helpful getting me the paperwork. Added bonus: owning the panels on a financed program like this makes home loans and sales far, far easier than leases.

I found this company through a postcard that had the Energy Upgrade program on it. I had expectations that I could insulate my home and reduce the heat in the summer and the cold in the winter, especially in my upstairs.
Lots of nice and charming people talked with me. All of the contractors were nice. Never felt unsafe or worried about their presence in my home. BUT… knowing what I know now, I would not have embarked on the projects performed by their subcontractors. I don’t think it was worth the expense, given that it appears that I have received minimal return on the investment.
I knew upfront that I wouldn’t reduce my financial footprint by much, since my energy footprint is relatively small. I was aware that I was doing for comfort reasons, not financial ones (i.e., cooling the interior).
In retrospect, they have a process/​model for working with homeowners, but it doesn’t seem to take in to account cases like mine where the square peg doesn’t fit into the round hole.
Examples:
I’m glad they removed the asbestos, but they weren’t able to do much for the heating duct system, given that most of it is embedded in the walls and floors. I have no attic or basement. I kept mentioning that I wanted to look into the ceiling (I have a flat roof) to see if it required insulation. Never happened, so I’ll rely on my handyman.
Contractors failed to inform Zero Energy that they performed less work than earlier estimated. Once I mentioned it, the costs were reduced. Still, not my job.
Paint contractors showed up without paint, asking if I had it. I went to the hardware store and purchased it. ZE reimbursed me. Clearly, not my job and not what was promised.
The wall insulation contractors had difficult getting onto my narrow street and I tried coordinating the right day to ensure they had minimum fuss. Didn’t happen.
The wall insulation contractors drilled into every wall in my house, despite the fact that it was clear early on that every wall already insulation. [I bought the house 15 years and I had always assumed that I had no insulation, given how hot the upstairs was.] I presume they drilled into every wall to get paid and fulfill the contract. Only one wall (9′ x 8′) required insulation.
Lastly, I never received a final and official accounting of the total cost. Lots of handwritten notes, but nothing on paper. Ticks me off and makes them look sketchy. If I did receive it in follow-​up materials, it wasn’t clear to me.
I’m a nice guy; I’m not the most assertive person; I just have a reasonable expectation of service. Stuff happens.
Lots of effort was made to get me to give them a good Unilocal review.

We had an energy retrofit done on our house in 2014. It took almost a year to complete. While the results have been beneficial, I cannot recommend Zero Energy on any level for any other homeowner. Every step of the process ran the gamut from a hassle to a major problem.
The communication with the scheduling and management was the most consistent problem. We had issues with scheduling, re-​scheduling, and misinformation at every step of the process. To illustrate:
I scheduled the final Zero inspection for a first-​slot morning appointment, as I work full-​time. At this late stage of the process, the scheduling office was well aware of this need. I was told the appointment would take about 30 minutes, which would fit into my schedule. I waited two weeks for this appointment. Firstly their worker was 20 minutes late. When he arrived I asked about how long the inspection would take; he said 2 hours. This was unacceptable. I stepped out to walk the dogs; 20 minutes later, the inspector was wrapping up. Why? Because I had a «hazardous fail»: Zero’s contractors left asbestos in my attic. This after re-​doing the attic work about three times. When I called Zero to find out what was happening, I was on hold for 26 minutes. This is just one example of the Zero process.
The actual work done was also problematic; almost every single thing Zero did to our home, and the list is extensive, had to be done at minimum once again, with several items needing to be corrected several times. They broke three different ceiling lights in the living room, broke through the ceiling in my bathroom, and those were the minor events. The plugs and repainting of the exterior of the house, which they promised would be «undetectable», was a hot mess: plugs sticking out of the wall, paint drips down the whole surface, matte paint instead of gloss; the list goes on. It was three weeks until that got fixed.
I will say that we had no issues with the financing or Zero not being a «legitimate» company. The initial salesman was very clear on the financing and it was all above-​board; I would think anyone who feels «swindled» simply didn’t understand the situation (or had a crappy salesperson.)
I do recommend getting the insulation done. My neighbors cut down the mature tree on our south side, but even with the increased direct heat, the house is much cooler in the summer with the insulation. One 100-​degree day I noted a 20-​degree difference inside the house. The insulation also reduces the outside noise quite a bit. The solar panels have shaved a bit off our electricity bill. So I do recommend getting your home retrofitted; I just wouldn’t use Zero to do it.

**** WARNING **** 5 STARS ONLY TO GET ATTENTION
DO NOT USE THIS CONTRACTOR, BETTER OPTIONS OUT THERE.
My husband and I were excited to start our hero program project. Zero’s front man was awesome, said all the right things. However everything went down hill once he landed his victims. Horrible customer service, over scheduling, misleading, contradictory, EVEN DOWN RIGHT LIES. Project has taken 6 months to complete and we are still waiting for Solar to be activated.
DON’T FALL PREY TO THIS COMPANY

Zero Energy is a company that my family found through the Hero Program.
We really needed to get roof work done– we had a lot of damage from termites in some areas and just wood rot. Through this program we were able to contract roof work, solar panel installation, a new HVAC system and get out house insulated.
This review is specifically for our construction manager, George. While the job is continuing on~ George (and our roofer Adrian– (Also, Adrian was a most exceptional roofer! Request for him too~) have so far been doing an amazing and excellent job. George has kept up every step of the way to make me happy and get my mom what she wants on the house. Even when our roof work was completed~ he made sure to come back and check to see if we were pleased with every detail. Any extra requests we made were dealt with immediately. He has gone above and beyond to even help fix things around our house that wasn’t in the contract. He takes his job seriously and goes out of his way to make sure that the client is pleased. We are very happy with the roof work so far! We love our roof! It’s beautiful!
If you’re ever doing any type of construction on your house or building you need to ask for to George as your construction manager! He’s the best~ and will take care of you down to the detail!
* I plan to update this review on the company experience as a whole when our entire project with them is completed! So far this project is going exceptionally well!

Everyone at Zero was great and very informative. My wife and I were unsure if we wanted to make the improvements to our home since we are first-​time home owners and found the whole process quite intimidating. Once the employees talked us through it, we felt much better. Everyone involved were very professional and we are very happy with their work. Our home is much more comfortable and efficient. If you are able to get the improvements done on your home with Zero Energy, you totally should do it.

Alison L.
I am pleased with my the final project done by Zero Energy.
I had abestos removal, ducts removed, replaced etc., things that really neededto be done.
My salesperson Tom was/​is fantastic, followed up by Chris Atlas my project manager!
The crews were prompt, polite, and professional.
I would recommend Zero Energy to other home owners.

I had the free assessment done, and I was really surprised what they found. Brandon was very nice and explained I had asbestos in my attic which is really scary! We didn’t qualify for any rebates but it was good to know about what’s going on in my house.

BEWARE of this company. They are not an honest operation. After a pressured sales meeting we agreed to the solar panels and insulation and signed the contract, but after reading the docs the truth came out. The interest rates are extremely high & partially hidden. Some how we went from borrowing 25K to 29K because of fees and accrued interest before our first installment. It made no sense… only more money for them. If we fulfilled our 5 year term. They would have made over 10K on interest from us. Because it was also a HERO program it was going to put a tax lien on our house. BE CAREFUL. People have had big problems selling and refinancing because of this.
Read the docs and do the math. And cancel within the time line if you so decide. Agreed with others… definitely shady. And they would not give me the info I need to cancel. They would not cooperate… as they did not want us to cancel. We did ultimately cancel though. Whew!

The Whole House Fan «Quiet Cool» system installed by Zero Energy is simply amazing!
We had the Quiet Cool system installed in our two-​story home located in the East San Gabriel Valley where the temperatures reach the high 90’s. The first time we used it was a hot California winter night, the inside temperature was 89 degrees and balmy. Once we flipped the Quiet Cool switch on the house cooled off to 76 degrees within an hour. Needless to say we slept quite comfortable that night.
The installation was performed by Zero Energy and started in the early morning at the scheduled time and they were done right after lunch. The installation team was efficient, professional, knowledgeable, prepared and cleaned up any messes.
The Whole House Fan «Quiet Cool» system has already saved us money and cannot wait to continue to see the savings we see on our electricity bills this summer.
Overall I would rate the Zero Energy team, the installation, and the Quiet Cool system a 100%.

I had a very positive experience with zero Energy. I waited for a while to write the review to see how my savings was effected. First off the salesman and also the installers were very courteous, professional and quick.
After four months of electric bills my savings is about $ 150 a month average. They also re-​ducted my AC and even when we were having 100 degree days in the Summer my upstairs bedrooms stayed cool for the first time in 10 years.
I would highly recommend them to everyone. I had a friend that also used them to make her house more energy efficient and she has had the same experience. Overall I am really satisfied.

I did the upgrades that Zero Energy oferered to make my house more efficient and cut my electricity bills considerably, also the removal of asbestos and other hazards, My husbandand and me received a great customer service by the sales person Tom, he was very professional and explain to us the best plan that could qualify for our house also benefits and the rebates.
After they did the upgrades in my house I can tell the difference and is great! right now i just waiting to receive all the rebates as they promised, and the credit for the light bulbs.
I will give five stars for now and if everything goes well in the upcoming weeks I will not bother and I will recommend to friends and family.
Elinor.

BEWARE!!!
False Pretenses, Creepy misleading sales technique.
FIRST let me explain that the guy who came to my door identified himself as someone who worked with the DWP. NEVER as someone who was from a company making a sales pitch. The words «Zero Energy» only came up when he called his dispatcher, but never to me. He said he had to ask me questions, then insisted on having someone come and inspect my house for efficiency ‘just to be safe’.
I WAS NEVER TOLD THIS WOULD BE A QUOTE OR A PITCH FOR SALES. I never felt like I had a choice, mostly because of the false identifier with the DWP.
After he left, I looked at the paperwork he gave me and that’s where it was clear that this was a company trying to use scare tactics to sell me sh@#. My husband was worried about having a stranger come back and come inside to ‘inspect’ my house after the other guy could confirm I was home alone. SO I’m writing this review with every shade drawn, my doors locked and deadbolted and a BAT beside me.
I called the number, cancelled as much as I could. When I was asked WHY I was cancelling and told them this story, I simply got a «okay bye».
I guess my fault was not stopping this guy after about 2 words at my door and asking «What are you selling?» But he’s got the scam down pretty good and quick so you don’t have time to think.
Don’t let these creeps in your home!!!