Why should I weatherize my home?
The foundation of weatherizing is sealing areas where air is leaking in and out of your home. When you plug the holes, you:

  • Prevent hot air from flowing to cooler areas (that is, your heat escaping)
  • Reduce moisture that the air carries
  • Provide less oxygen to fuel a fire (in fact, air sealing materials are fire-retardant)
  • Attenuate sounds and noise
  • Increase the durability of your home.

Read more about the benefits of air sealing from Energy Star.

What is Mr. Slim? 
It’s a mini split by Mitsubishi: a heat pump heating and cooling system that is extraordinarily energy and cost-efficient. These systems represent the world’s leading technology in energy-efficient equipment,  with over 90% penetration in Japan, China and Europe. They can deliver both heating and cooling with or without ducted systems and save up to 40% – 70% compared to old style electric resistive baseboard or fossil fuels. The systems also dehumidify and improve indoor air quality.  As part of our energy-efficiency offerings, we help you find the right system for your home or office and get the rebates you are eligible for. ($400 or $600 from Con Edison!

Are there tax credits or other incentives?
Your energy advisor can direct you to information about federal and state tax credits, utility programs, cash rebates, or low-interest loans for qualified homeowners to pay for energy savings improvements.

Find out more at:

The Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency

Con Edison Energy Efficiency

Renew Greenburgh for local programs

Is sealing my home going to cost a lot?
Our goal is to make weatherizing affordable for all budgets. Our introductory Seal & Save package starts at $550 and offers the shortest payback of any energy-efficiency measures. Once you have this foundation, you can add to it as your budget allows. If you have already sealed your home, add-on products to the Seal & Save package start at $600.

What is an Energy Advisor?
NeighborGreen Energy Advisors are trained to assess your home and help you prioritize the weatherization measures that best meet your needs and budget. Energy Advisors ensure all work is performed in accordance with agreed upon terms and to your satisfaction.

Why go with NeighborGreen?
We are different in the following ways:

  • Service is fast–you can get your entire home sealed within two weeks–if not sooner.
  • We do first things first–air sealing and weatherizing–and work our way up from there to tackle any project or provide any product that makes sense for your home.
  • Your Energy Advisor is dedicated to helping you get the most for your money.
  • We find the right contractors for the work to be done in your home. That means evaluating all the options and finding the best fit.
  • Your to-do list will be done. We offer a broad array of products and services not typically offered by home performance contractors. This means you won’t be left with a list of things to buy (and install) from the hardware store. We will find, fashion, or create any solution that adds to your home’s energy efficiency.

How long will the initial Energy Advisor visit take?
Your Energy Advisor will need about an hour to fully inspect your home. S/he will then discuss recommendations with you and generate an agreed upon Sales Contract so work can be scheduled. The sooner the work is scheduled, the sooner you start saving.

How soon after I sign the Sales Contract will you start work?
You will get a call within 48 hours after signing the contract to schedule the work. The contractor will have all the notes from the Energy Advisor and bring all the needed supplies to do the job. Our goal is to complete your job within two weeks of the signed Sales Contract–if not sooner.

How long does the Seal & Save package take the technician to complete?
Depending on the scope of work, it could take anywhere from 3 to 5 hours.

What is a blower door test?
The blower door is a big fan that we fit into your door frame to pull air out of your house. This allows us to find all the obvious and less obvious places where air is coming into your home. We set up the blower door test during the Seal & Save package so we can find the cracks, gaps, and penetrations and seal them.

Why use NeighborGreen as my Whole House Energy Advisor? Wouldn’t it cost less if I went directly through a contractor?
We negotiate discount prices through our contractors and pass the savings on to you. Working through us means you have your own Energy Advisor who explains the options, finds the right contractor, oversees the work, and ensures the job is completed on time. It’s like having your own General Contractor for no appreciable difference in price.

You can find Home Performance Contractors to do whole house energy audits and retrofit work and we encourage you to look at http://www.getenergysmart.org.

Will we save money on electric bills?
Yes! Your Energy Advisor will review estimated annual savings based on the services you purchase, and will also make suggestions for modest lifestyle changes to save even more.

How do you track the savings of all NeighborGreen customers?
NeighborGreen customers are enrolled in Wego, an online service that tracks your electric and gas consumption and costs. Wego aggregates data from all participating NeighborGreen homes to measure our collective energy savings, from which we can calculate reductions in carbon emissions. Your home’s data is available only to you.

What materials do you use?
We select the “greenest” material that effectively does the job needed. We can provide chemical composition sheets for every material we use. If you have specific allergies or requests, please let us know and we can identify other products or procedures as necessary.

I keep hearing about R-value. What does that really mean?
The R-value indicates an insulation’s resistance to heat flow. The higher the R-value, the greater the insulating effectiveness. However, the R-value loses its effectiveness if it is not installed properly.

What else can I do to save energy and money?
Modest changes in your lifestyle are necessary to realize the full savings potential and  reduce your environmental footprint. This can be as easy as turning off, turning down, and turning into energy-conscious consumers. Three of our favorite resources are:
Energy Saver’s Booklet from the U.S. Department of Energy
Join the Fight Against Climate Change from Energy Star
Households Guide from Westchestergov.com