Rising Sun Energy Center

Rising Sun literally saved our renovation project. In May 2012, we purchased a home using a 203K FHA loan. We found a contractor to complete about $ 60K worth of repairs and renovations. Unfortunately, due to a medical illness the contractor couldn’t continue our project, and in December 2012 we needed a new contractor to complete about $ 17K of the remaining work — including a full bathroom renovation.
Rising Sun responded to our request for proposals and were extremely pleasant to work with from start to finish. They thoroughly reviewed the bid documents and inspected our property to ensure that they were providing an accurate cost estimate. True to their word, they charged exactly what was quoted. We also received great support from the administrative staff who helped us make sure that we had the correct permits in place before the project begun.
The construction process was great and their project manager kept us up to speed on progress and schedule. We received daily written updates and were informed about any outstanding issues.
We are extremely pleased with Rising Sun’s work and hope to soon work with them to complete much needed energy efficiency projects that we didn’t get to the first time around. I would highly recommend them for home renovation work beyond energy upgrades.

Rising Sun Energy Center came to do some insulation and weather stripping work on our old Berkeley home. There service was professional, polite, and first rate from the guy who did the appraisal to the fellows who performed the installation. We are very pleased with the result and I would highly recommend them to anyone looking to insulate, weather strip or moisture seal their homes. They also do quantitative assessments of heating system efficiency which can count towards government rebates. Very Happy!

We contracted them to blow insulation into the walls and attic of our 1950’s ranch house. They did a great job — even when a few unexpected circumstances arose. Everyone we worked with was super polite and they did fantastic work.
And then of course the fact that they offer green job training and work to better the community was the icing on the cake.

Buildings contribute more to climate changing gases than cars and trucks. And that is what motivates Rising Sun Energy Center, saving the planet — not making a buck. They are extremely professional, worked around my schedule and completed the work quickly. There is no doubt that blowing insulation into interior walls is a messy job, but the crew did a great job cleaning up at night, making our house livable throughout the project. In many ways they left our house cleaner than when they started.

I’m having a difficult time imagining a more pleasant experience with a contractor of any sort. Rising Sun wins on all fronts: they are a conscientious, caring, dedicated, scrupulous bunch who pay attention not only to the work but to the customer’s experience. I found them accidentally and was committed to hiring them BEFORE I found out they also provide job training for youth who might otherwise end up in unfortunate circumstances. They give back to the community so when you hire them you’re giving back to the community. Indeed, they seem to me to be the paradigmatic example of how we can effect community and grassroots based change for the better. Meanwhile, I’m going to save a small wheelbarrow full of money on energy costs every month now that my 100 year old house is properly insulated and sealed. If you live in West Berkeley or have a «moderate income» most of the work will be subsidized by grants and incentives from local, state, and federal governments, plus PG&E (we paid $ 800 for $ 3000+ of work).
Rising Sun = Awesome.

The best part of this program is that funding through various agencies picks up a lot of the tab for their work. I would not have had this work done otherwise. And, I have noticed a dip in my gas bills and that the house stays cooler when it is hot out. And, they discovered some crazy electrical shenanigans in my walls and helped me take measures to get it fixed. So that is good.
Now for the bad. It is really a hack operation. I understand it is a training program but expected that the trainers, the contractors in charge, really knew their stuff. And I was wrong. It took like. I lost count… I think SIX times for them to patch our walls after the insulation was put in. Basically, the many many little holes in the wall were filled with some kind of plaster that just never held. Though they didn’t say as much I could tell GETS got more irritated each time I called them to let them know their plaster wasn’t holding up. At one point they kind of exasperatingly asked me «well are you planning to do anything like lean or put pressure against that part of the wall?» Uh… yeah. Everything outside of blowing insulation in seemed outside of their expertise. It got really annoying. Their proposal was filled with all kinds of recommended items that I mistakenly thought they were going to work on (like why else would they recommend them?). But the scope of work buried in the proposal showed they would only be doing a fraction of the recommendations. Why? Everything, everything was outside of their expertise. Repainting was part of the contract, and it was verbally explained to me that they would not repaint. But that is annoying to have to seek out other contractors. I think a lot of people just don’t have time for this.
So in the end I’m happy we have insulation and the price was right. I just wish this program was linked to a professional contracting service.