Ciel Power

Natalie T [redacted] presented the Ciel Power proposal in a clear and understandable format

The process has been excellent so far! I look forward to the results

Very professional and knowledgeableHelped me better understand various NJ state incentives available to homeowners to help finance home improvements

John was fantastic Very thorough, very knowledgeable and extremely courteousHe was willing to answer my questions; however foolish they may have been And he was willing to explain as he was going through the house I would recommend him and Ciel to anyone

Natalie T[redacted] presented the Ciel Power proposal in a clear and understandable format.

John S from Ciel Power was punctual, knowledgable and friendly.
We learned a lot, and found the audit very interesting.
Would definitely recommend.

Very professional and knowledgeable. Helped me better understand various NJ state incentives available to homeowners to help finance home improvements.

I was very pleased with all the employees of Ciel Power. They were extremely efficient, courteous and left my house in pristine condition. Everything was explained to me and handled expeditiously. Natalie, the representative, was a pleasure to deal with and followed up on progress until the job was done.

From beginning to end the experience was very nice. The work was done very professionally. I had a 3 month old child when they installed it and added every concern of mine. They went an extra step to get things done more than promised.

Review: On or about May 31, 2012 I entered into a contract with Ciel Power, LLC to fully insulate our home. During our initial meeting with [redacted] from Ciel Power, he assured us that we would never have to worry about frozen pipes and that our energy bills would drop dramatically. He also advised us that the temperature in our home would be significantly more comfortable once the home was insulated. The work was delayed throughout the course of summer and was finally completed by September 2012. As the weather turned cold later that year, we noticed that our home did not feel any warmer than it had prior to the insulation work and we did not see any decrease in our home energy bills, in fact, the bills were higher than in previous years. In January our pipes froze as they had the previous year. When the bathroom wall was cut open to expose the pipes, we noticed that there was no insulation at all protecting the pipes from freezing. We were shocked to see this as these specific pipes were our main concern and what lead us to insulate in the first place.We had an energy audit done and were told that there were many cavities left un-insulated. [redacted], owner of Ciel Power, did admit that the home was not insulated according their standards and that this would be remedied. Ciel Power did send back some guys to insulate again to try and remedy the uninsulated areas. During the second attempt to insulate our home, Ciel Power caused damage in and around our property. The siding around our home was pulled out in order to add insulation. This caused “waves” when the siding was re-installed after insulation was added. We spent $750 to have the bathroom fixed when the pipes froze again.Desired Settlement: Ciel Power has the responsibility to not leave us in a worse position than we were in before we contracted with them to insulate our home. We now have a $10,000 loan we are repaying, damaged siding, a house that is not insulated as our bills are still the same amount or more than before we insulated the home. Ciel Power gave us a presentation in our home that promised we would cut costs drastically and never have to worry about frozen pipes. Within a few months our pipes are frozen and bills are higher than before. I ask you, what exactly did we get for our $15,000? We would like a refund for the work performed as this will cover siding repairs to our home.

Business

Response:

Ciel Power performed work for this customer as per a signed Home Improvement Contract dated May 15th, 2012. As per the signed contract, Ciel Power installed 2040 sq' of exterior wall insulation, 75 sq' of attic flat insulation, 250 sq' of attic slope insulation, 210 sq' of crawlspace wall insulation, 70 linear feet of crawlspace sill insulation, applied 240 sq' of insulation to the underside of an overhang, installed vapor barrier over 485 sq' of crawl space, and performed air-sealing throughout the entire home. This customer participated in the New Jersey Home Performance with Energy Star Program which provided the customer with a $5,000 cash-back incentive and financing related to her project.

The contracted measures were installed in the residence during the month of September 2012. On the weekend of January 26th 2013, our office was made aware of concerns related to the installation installed in an exterior wall located in the front of the home. These concerns were brought to light as the result of a frozen plumbing pipe located in the front exterior wall of the home. Within twenty four hours of being notified about the issue, Ciel Power technicians completed a quality control inspection of the entire residence. Regrettably, during this QC inspection, it was established that insulation had not been properly applied to several areas of the home including the outside wall in the front of the home containing plumbing for the second floor bathroom.

Ciel Power installers performed a warranty repair on Monday, January 28th 2013 of the affected area located on the front exterior wall of the home and in the cavities of an overhang extending over the front porch in the same area. Insulation was added to these affected areas and confirmation of the effectiveness of this material was documented using an infrared camera. Because insulation in this area had not been properly installed, Ciel Power absorbed a nearly $500 plumbing repair as a gesture of good-faith towards the inconvenience incurred by the household as a result of the oversight of our installers. Additionally, Ciel Power installers repaired the drywall opened to provide access to the plumbing pipes in the home.

The New Jersey Home Performance with Energy Star Program provides estimated energy savings projections for customers participating in the NJHPwES program. These projections are obtained using software provided by the NJHPwES program administrator using data collected during a home energy audit. Projected energy savings are estimates and will vary based upon behavioral, climate, and other factors. Ciel Power LLC does not provide a written or implied guarantee of energy savings related to customer participation in the NJHPwES program.

Ciel Power advised the customer on several occasions both verbally and in writing that her plumbing pipes should be re-routed through interior walls. In this case, these pipes extend out through an overhang and up an exterior wall. The current route exposes the plumbing to extreme temperatures and leaves the plumbing system vulnerable to the issues described in her email.

Over one year after the initial installation, and close to eight months after warranty repairs were performed, Ciel Power received correspondence dated August 1st, 2013 from the customer seeking a payment of $5,000 for "inconvenience and aggravation". Upon learning of these concerns, Ciel Power performed a review of all documentation related to this project including photos taken prior to work commencing on the residence, call logs, work schedules, and related paperwork. Additionally, we performed interviews with managers responsible for overseeing this project and installers who performed the installation. Due to the nature of our work, our office maintains detailed records of preexisting damage in customer homes, call logs, work orders, and customer correspondence.

This was the first complaint or concern we received from the customer since the warranty repair in early January. We took the complaint very seriously and issued credit for two items mentioned in her correspondence including $20 towards a vent cap that we could not prove had been replaced, and $100 towards the cost of painting an area of less than ten square feet located in the affected bathroom.

Photos submitted with the customer's correspondence dated August 1st, 2013, included photographs of siding damage that match existing siding damage documented by our technicians prior to work commencing at this location (photos available upon request). Digital time stamps, photo server upload dates, office logs, and staff interviews all confirmed the siding damage photographed in the customer's correspondence as being pre-existing. Based on these facts and the duration of time that has passed since our installation and warranty repair, we cannot offer credit towards siding repairs.

Ciel Power installed, qc'd and performed warranty repairs as needed for each item on the Home Improvement Contract signed by the homeowner. We have made every effort to be responsive to the customer's concerns, performed thorough quality control inspections, and have completed warranty repairs within reasonable time periods.

Consumer

Response:

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:

We are in receipt of Ciel Power’s response to our complaint and do not find it acceptable, nor accurate. Our pipes froze the very first day the temperature fell to below freezing after the insulation work was completed by Ciel Power and after they signed off that the work passed their “strict audit standards”. We informed Ciel Power of the frozen pipes immediately and although they did come and make an attempt to add more insulation, this additional work was not completed until the middle of February. While they did pay for the plumber as indicated in their response, this was not a “good gesture” on their part but rather due to their being no insulation at all surrounding the pipes that froze. Once the walls were opened up and the fact that there was no insulation surrounding the pipes was visible, they could not argue that the pipes froze for any other reason but that they did not do the job. Ciel Power indicates that they sealed up the walls for us once the pipes were insulated. Again, this is not accurate. They put some plaster on the walls to close the holes up but we had to hire a painter to spackle the plaster smooth and repaint the bathroom with primer and two coats of paint. Our bathroom was recently renovated and because of Ceil Power’s negligent work, the bathroom had to be spackled in two areas and completely repainted. They offered us $100 for all this to be done – where were we supposed to find someone to spackle and paint the bathroom, including purchase of materials for $100? That is absurd and the offer of $100 for all this work is insulting.

Ciel Power claims that no promises were made as to actual savings after the insulation work was done. They are correct in that the contract does not make any assurances as to how much we would save each month and the fact that we would be more comfortable in our home but their sales pitch promised all of these things and were we not led to believe that we would save money in insulating our home, what other reason would there be for us to insulate? Insulation is not a cosmetic improvement – home owners do not do this work to improve the look of their home, just to save money and gain comfort. Again, we have not experienced either of these benefits.

The most egregious result of Ciel Power’s work was the damage they did to our home. Aside from the bathroom work mentioned above, Ciel Power caused significant damage to our siding. There are numerous cracks and holes throughout the siding. The worst damage is along the sides of each side of the house where their contractors pulled the siding out in order to spray the insulation inside the walls the second time they came to fix the work. When the siding was pushed back into place, it caused ‘waves’ along the top of each side. The only way to repair this is to reinstall the siding. Ciel Power claims that they have date/time stamped photographs of the house before they began work. I welcome them to show me a photo with all the cracks that are on the house now and the wavy siding along the top of the house. In addition, they left insulation debris all over our property which we were left to clean up. Ciel Power has no respect for the homeowner’s property and made trumped up claims about their company and product in order to make a sale. Our home is damaged due to their negligence and they are refusing to pay for the cost to repair damage that THEY caused.

Regards,

John S from Ciel Power was punctual, knowledgable and friendly.

We learned a lot, and found the audit very interesting.

Would definitely recommend.

John was fantastic. Very thorough, very knowledgeable and extremely courteous. He was willing to answer my questions; however foolish they may have been. And he was willing to explain as he was going through the house. I would recommend him and Ciel to anyone.

The process has been excellent so far! I look forward to the results.