REEis in the Scottsdale Airpark News

Mr. Audit-man, Bring Me a Dream, Lowest Electric Bills I’ve Ever Seen
by Kimberly Hundley

“It doesn’t make sense to me why every homeowner in Arizona hasn’t called me yet.”

Todd Russo
Principal & CEO - REEis Inc.
(Residential Energy Efficiency
Improvement Specialists)
14429 N. 73rd St.
Scottsdale
480-969-7500
www.reeishome.com

There’s greenbacks in them thar energy-efficient homes, at least for those who know how to deliver big-time savings to clients. Todd Russo put his U of A degree in regional development to work managing construction for Meritage Homes. While engaged in the company’s Scottsdale green building program, Russo caught the eco-bug for mostly practical reasons; he believed it would increase marketing share and fast track permits. Energy efficiency became part of his development and construction career. When the new-housing market took a punch to the gut, he set his sites on launching REEis, a company that assesses a home’s energy  problems and fixes them. Since its debut in 2009, REEis has shot to the upper echelon of the energy-efficiency home retrofit industry.
A lot of people jumped into energy-auditing business in the last couple years. How is REEis faring?
We are the largest-volume energy efficient auditing and construction company in the Arizona. We complete 60 to 80 home audits a week, and 100 to 150 construction projects per month. We opened a second office in Riverside, Calif., in March, and we just opened our third office in Tucson. In the last two weeks alone, we’ve hired eight people.

From a business standpoint, why is REEis succeeding where others have failed?
The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act created a false sense of available work for struggling contractors. Suddenly everybody on the planet thinks they can become an auditor and make money at it. It’s not that easy. Someone can be a darn good auditor as long as they have a background in construction and get the building-science education. But there is a good chance they are not going to succeed at it. Our management experience goes above and beyond construction knowledge. We’re also well capitalized.

What differentiates REEis from a service perspective?
We start with an assessment, then we follow the process through construction. We have an all-inclusive service.

How are property owners bleeding energy without realizing it?
The three most common problems and easiest fixes are poor insulation, air conditioning duct leakage, and pressure imbalances.

How much do REEis services cost?
Our average ticket for a 2,000-square foot house is $2,000 to fix all the problems. If you’re an APS customer, you’ll receive approximately $1,000 in rebates, and about $400 to $500 in tax credits. At the end of the day, it’s going to cost you $500, and we facilitate all of the incentives on your behalf as part of the gross cost. 

My summer APS bills are close to $300 for a 1,000-square-foot house. What do you think?
You have major problems. You shouldn’t be paying over 10 cents per square foot.

I’ll be calling you next week.
The majority of people I talk to about this want us to come out and do an audit. It doesn’t make sense to me why every homeowner in Arizona hasn’t called me yet. [Laughs.]

What about bill-cutting options for those leasing commercial space?
If you’re in a lease negotiation or considering a lease, it would behoove you to get an energy audit. Why wouldn’t you spend $100 to determine what the condition of the building is and what your operating expenses will be?

Did you perform an energy audit on your offices off 73rd Street?
Yes, when we were looking at leasing our own space, we showed the commercial building owner where he had problems with disconnected A/C ducts and insulation. The landlord agreed to have us make the improvements.

What is your advice to commercial building owners in the Airpark?
When you’re competing in an environment that has 30 percent vacancy, making some simple asset improvements will increase your marketability. The message to prospective tenants is, “Your operating expenses will be lower here.” APS has a business-solutions program that will pay for a significant amount of some of these improvements.

What do you like best about your job?
We get a lot of emails, letters and phone calls saying, “My house is so much cooler,” or “My bill is so much lower.” I enjoy that. I enjoy there are a lot of winners in what we do. We also employ a lot of people—our Phoenix division has more than 50 employees. People really see value in what we do.

source: Scottsdale Airpark News (http://scottsdaleairpark.com/articles.php#JR599)