Brian Griego's Pearl-Certified Silver Home

When homeowner Brian Griego set out to replace his two aging AC units, three or four different companies came out to provide an estimate. “Most of the places were just replacing like for like,” Griego said. His experience with Alex Williams, co-founder of Ideal Energy — a Pearl Contractor Network Partner — was different. “When Alex came out, he was very professional. He did air tests, checked square footage, and used his computer to run all sorts of information. He wasn’t just replacing like for like. He wanted to make sure I wasn’t paying too much for two AC units when I may only need one,” Griego said.

“Ideal Energy wanted to give me exactly what I needed for my house, and I was very impressed with that,” Griego said.

Williams suggested to Griego that he only really needed one AC unit–and that if he combined an updated cooling system with other energy efficiency measures, such as attic insulation, he could greatly reduce the cost of keeping his Phoenix home cool year-round. “The way he showed it, I was going to actually eliminate the problem that I was currently having, which was ridiculous electric bills in the summer because the cold air was escaping. The other places didn’t even mention insulation, but it makes sense. This was the main reason we went with [Williams and Ideal Energy],” Griego said.

During the walk-through and after the improvements were complete, Williams talked to Griego about Pearl Certification, explaining that, when marketed correctly, Pearl Certified homes can add 5% or more to a home’s sale price. Griego – who works as an environmental chemist for the City of Peoria, outside of Phoenix – was impressed by what he learned. “Pearl is really cool. It reminds me of a LEED certification, which I’m familiar with,” he said.

Following the work, Griego’s home was certified by Ideal Energy as a Pearl Silver home. “Now I have a certificate to show how efficient my house is. This is something I’ll definitely bring up with my Realtor if I decide to sell my home,” Griego said.

Griego also expressed confidence in the longevity and quality of the home improvements because of Ideal Energy’s relationship with Pearl. But the real kicker is the added comfort and savings that Griego has already experienced as a result of working with Ideal Energy and Pearl. “I’ve been very pleased. No one likes to spend a ton of money for AC units, especially if it isn’t broken yet. But I knew I wanted to do it,” Griego said.

“Now, after these and many other improvements, I’ve seen significant savings on monthly home energy costs,” he says. “I brag about this [amount of savings] at work, and later people will come up to me and say, ‘Hey weren’t you talking about somebody you would recommend?’ And I tell them, ‘You should at least have Ideal Energy come out and give you a quote.’”