What we cover, and what to watch for in each.
Below is the same briefing our consultants give at a kitchen table — including the parts that cost us money. If you read nothing else, read the “what to watch for” column in whichever trade you are about to spend money on. It is worth more to you than anything else on this site.
Home battery
A battery on its own — no panels, nothing on the roof — has its own economics now, driven by when you draw power from the grid rather than by generating your own. It is the thing we are asked about most this year, and the thing with the most fine print.
When it makes sense
- +Your bill has climbed past what feels reasonable and you would rather own the cost than keep renting the increase.
- +You want the house to run through an outage — no generator, no fuel to store, nothing to start in the weather.
- +You already have solar but no storage. That is one of the most common appointments we run.
- +You are on, or considering, a rate schedule where the time of day you use power changes what you pay.
What to watch for
- –Utility enrollment. Battery programs pay a modest monthly credit in exchange for the right to draw energy out of your battery. Under those terms it can be dispatched daily through the warm months and pulled down to a low reserve — exactly the afternoon you would want it full. We do not enroll your battery unless you choose that with the numbers in front of you.
- –Undersized systems sold on a monthly payment. Ask what it actually backs up, and for how long, in writing.
- –Chemistry. Current home batteries are lithium iron phosphate — built for daily charging and discharging over decades, unlike the cell in a laptop. Ask which chemistry, and what the warranty actually covers.
- –Savings claims not built from your own twelve months. Anything else is a guess dressed up as a number.
Solar
Worth doing on the right roof and a long, expensive mistake on the wrong one. The difference comes down to three things nobody selling it wants to spend much time on: which way the roof faces, what shades it, and how many years the roof has left.
When it makes sense
- +South or west-facing roof planes with real sun and minimal shade through the day.
- +The roof has fifteen or more years left — or you are replacing it anyway, which is the ideal time.
- +Your usage is high enough that an array of a sensible size actually moves the bill.
- +You expect to stay in the house long enough to see the payback.
What to watch for
- –Production estimates that assume a perfect roof. Ask to see the shade analysis, not just the annual number at the bottom.
- –Escalating-payment leases and PPAs. A payment that rises every year can quietly outrun the savings it was sold on.
- –Panels on a roof with five years left. Removal and reinstallation to re-roof is a real cost, and it is rarely mentioned at the kitchen table.
- –Who owns the system when you sell. Get the transfer terms before you sign, not when the house is under contract.
Roofing
A roof is a roof whatever your power bill looks like — this one has nothing to do with energy and everything to do with the house. It is also the trade where the corners get cut in the places you will never see, because they are covered up in an afternoon.
When it makes sense
- +Granule loss in the gutters, curling or cupping shingles, or you are past twenty years on asphalt.
- +Active leaks, stained ceilings, or daylight visible in the attic.
- +You are putting solar on. Do the roof first. Always.
- +Storm damage — though see the note opposite before anyone files anything.
What to watch for
- –Bids that don’t specify decking. “If we find bad decking” is exactly where the price changes after the tear-off, when you have no roof and no leverage.
- –Underlayment and ventilation. Both get cut to win a bid, both are invisible within a day, and both decide how long the roof actually lasts.
- –“Insurance will cover it” as the opening pitch. Sometimes true. Often the beginning of a claim you did not need and will carry on your record.
- –A warranty on the shingle but not the labor to tear off and put it back. The material is the cheap half.
Heating & cooling
The largest single load in most Utah homes, and the trade where a decision made in twenty minutes costs you every month for the next twenty years. It is also where the most common mistake is sold to you as generosity.
When it makes sense
- +Furnace past fifteen to twenty years, or air conditioning past twelve to fifteen.
- +Rooms that never get comfortable no matter what the thermostat says.
- +Repair quotes climbing toward a meaningful share of replacement.
- +You are weighing a heat pump. Utah’s mix of cheap gas and expensive summer electricity makes that a real calculation rather than a slogan — and it can go either way.
What to watch for
- –Oversizing, sold as doing you a favor. A unit that is too big short-cycles, dehumidifies poorly, wears faster and costs more to buy and to run. Ask for a Manual J load calculation, not a rule of thumb off your square footage.
- –Ductwork ignored. New equipment breathing through leaky ducts wastes a large share of what you just paid for.
- –Efficiency ratings quoted without your usage. A high rating on the wrong equipment for your house is a number, not a saving.
- –Permits skipped to move faster. It shows up years later, when you sell.
Windows
Sometimes exactly right, and the most oversold of the six. We would rather tell you where your money does more — and often it is insulation, air sealing or the furnace before it is glass. When windows are the answer, they are usually the answer for comfort and noise as much as for the bill, and that is a legitimate reason to buy them.
When it makes sense
- +Single-pane glass, failed seals, or fogging between the panes.
- +Frames rotted, racked, or windows that no longer open and close properly.
- +You are already doing exterior work and the access is paid for.
- +Comfort and noise matter to you as much as the energy number. That is a real reason, and we will not pretend otherwise.
What to watch for
- –“Whole house” pricing that hides the per-opening number. Get it window by window before you compare anything.
- –The frame material story. U-factor and SHGC tell you more than any material pitch. Ask for the NFRC label numbers.
- –Payback claims. Replacement rarely pays for itself on energy savings alone. If saving money is the only reason you are considering it, your money almost certainly does more elsewhere — and we will tell you so.
- –“Lifetime” warranties that are prorated down to nothing, or that die with the installer.
Thermal window film
The least glamorous item on this list and frequently the best value on it. A targeted fix for a specific problem — the west-facing glass that makes a room unusable from three o’clock — at a fraction of what replacement costs.
When it makes sense
- +West or south-facing glass that makes one or two rooms unusable in the afternoon.
- +Windows in good structural condition that simply let in too much heat and glare.
- +You want the improvement without the cost or disruption of replacement.
- +Flooring, artwork or furniture fading from direct sun.
What to watch for
- –Anyone claiming it replaces replacement. It addresses solar heat gain and glare. It does nothing for a failed seal, a rotted frame or a window that will not close.
- –The wrong film on the wrong glass. Certain films on certain glazing can raise thermal stress, and some window warranties are void once film is applied. Both get checked before anything is installed.
- –Vague performance numbers. Ask for the specific product’s solar heat gain rejection, not a brochure adjective.
- –Installation quality. This is a trade where the difference between a good and a poor job is visible from your couch for the next fifteen years.
Things we don’t do, and won’t start doing.
We don’t install
No trucks, no crews, no inventory sitting in a warehouse. Nothing about our week improves if you buy the larger system, and there is no schedule we need to fill. That is the whole reason the advice is worth anything.
We don’t invent a need
If none of the six is something you actually want, we would rather leave than sell you the one closest to a yes. We publish the list of people who should not book with us, which is not something a company chasing volume does.
We don’t do free energy reports
We used to run thermal-camera walkthroughs. They produced a great many appointments and very few homes we could actually help, which wasted everyone’s evening — including ours. We stopped.
Bring us the one you are actually thinking about.
Twenty minutes at your table, your own twelve months of usage on the screen, and a straight answer — including “not this year” when that is the honest one.