Dan Musicant wrote:

I just got a call from the guy who came over my house on Saturday. I
told him I'm investigating my options. Then I asked a few questions:

I tried to find out what exact relationship his company has with
Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E, my utility company), and he says that
this is a state program (CA), and that it's just with PG&E and
California Energy Services, noone else, and that the contract was
awarded to CES because of their stellar record, rated A+ and 15 years
without a complaint.

He says that the Trane discount on the furnaces is $2000 apiece (2
furnaces proposed for my house) for a total of $4000 and that that
discount will expire at the end of the month (i.e. end of July 2011).
PG&E's rebates are $150/furnace. He says that the Trane discounts are
for this program only (I asked him that question specifically). He
said there's also a tax credit available of up to $200/system, but in
my case it probably doesn't matter. My income was so low the last two
years I paid zero federal taxes.

I asked him about permitting (I'm in Berkeley, CA) and he said the
inspector would come out and check out the furnace installation,
nothing else and that it would be part of the program, no charge to
me. If the program wasn't involved, I would be subject to a $300-$500
permit fee.

The no interest loan for one year is just that, never pay any interest
with one catch, being that I have to pay off the loan entirely by the
end of one year or I pay plenty of interest. The loan is through Wells
Fargo. If I don't anticipate being able to pay off by the end of a
year I can get a 9% fixed interest loan, otherwise it could be
25-26%. I have a HELOC, so I could pay off the loan no problem before
a year's up.

He says the furnaces would be 20,000 BTU apiece (he said that since my
house is almost 2000 square feet, the rule of thumb to have 10,000
BTU/500 square feet of floor space determines that), with 6 registers
each. He said if I need a 7th register it would be no problem, no
charge. The ducts would be 6-8" R6 insulated. They'll run flu exhaust
as required, the one in the attic up through the roof and sealed as
required. The furnaces would be suspended (i.e. in the crawl space, it
would be suspended above the ground by brackets) and would be in the
center of the house to avoid long/short runs, or at least ameliorate
them.

The problem of access was another thing I brought up. I wanted to know
if I'd have to pay extra for that. He said around $150-200. The
furnaces are 95.5% efficient, dimensioned 20" x 30" x 40", so they'd
need a 20x30" hole to get them in.

Do you guys still think this is a scam or that I'm being over charged
or that they really should check out the house more carefully?

40,000 BTU total sounds quite low from my experience. I just had an
80,000 BTU York (98% efficiency) installed in my house in Seattle. All
my previous houses (around the country) had furnaces of around 100,000
BTU (80% efficiency).

If there is an "exclusive state program," he should be able to refer
you to the appropriate state agency for information and confirmation of
details.

Permit fees are often included in the quote from major installers.

The 25%+ interest for not paying in full within a year is typical. It
is likely that that rate will be charged on the FULL amount, even if
only a small payment remains. Be sure you KNOW all the terms in
advance!

Again, get at least one other quote from a contractor of your choice;
preferably 3. Find out what they recommend in the way of number, size,
and positioning of the furnaces as well as the cost.