I wanted to write a review of Green Collar, as it could help others who are debating about doing an insulation upgrade, attic fan, etc. Install: I had my install done about 1 year ago, late June 2010. The installers knew their jobs well, and finished after a few hours. They did an attic insulation upgrade (added blown-in insulation) to my existing insulation, and they added an attic fan. The attic fan took a few visits to work out, due to my metal roof, and placement issues, but, in the end, it works okay. I did have to add my own shroud around it to block off the intake. In my opinion, the installers should have done this, but it was fairly easily to add plywood around my gable opening. Results: I have been quite impressed with the results in terms of energy savings. I have a 2 story older ranch style house, and both of my AC units (Heat pumps) are 25yrs old! Yeah, that old. So, having them "not" run makes a big difference naturally in my home. I've tracked the cost since 2009 thru 2011. My savings are running about 25-30% on average. Some months, like summer, I have seen 40% savings which is awesome. I was hoping for at least 20% savings to justify the cost. Regarding the attic fan, I don't know if it helps that much. It pushes very little air, and I've read reviews that mention folks needing several fans to really cool an attic, but with my metal roof, the attic cools very rapidly after sunset anyway, so in my case, it might not have been needed. Since it is a large cost, I would weigh that carefully. Also, I forgot to mention, the duct work that Green Collar does also seems to help a lot. They are able to measure this with their equipment, and it's pretty impressive actually. In total, I'm happy with the energy savings, and the investment. I figure one more year and it will just about pay for the investment, and of course you do get a tax write off for some of the materials (helps some). Dave read more

We had Green Collar out to our house in December because I knew I had some duct issues and needed insulation. My experience with them was truly great. Not perfect (thus, no 5) but I'm very pleased. When it comes to home service providers, what I want is someone who is reliable, responsive, knows what they're doing, and charges a fair price. Anything else is gravy. Green Collar did well in all these metrics, and also scored high in another. Before I comment further, let me explain briefly my situation. I wanted to get this work done in 2010 so I could take advantage of the federal tax credit. The problem is I waited until early December to call anybody. One thing that stands out for Green Collar is their level of service, which starts with the people. I don't know if this is typical, but I dealt with 6-7 different people of the company over the 4 visits they made to my house. The first visit was from the sales guy and energy inspector, Jeff. He seemed very knowledgeable and didn't try to sell me stuff I didn't need. He did point out an issue with our hot water heater venting that I didn't know about, and that was obviously an issue. I'm glad to have that fixed now too. He explained things well, such as R-value and the rebate process, and I liked the audit report they provided. The other thing about my meeting with Jeff is how quickly it occurred. It was December and other companies I called could not come out for weeks...in my case, in 2011...too late. The guys who did the work called to say they would be late, and that was appreciated. I liked the service guys too and they appeared to do a good job. I did discover later that a duct attachment to our main attic unit was not sealed very well when they told me they sealed all of those. I thought they did an excellent job on sealing the door from our garage to our house. Regarding our front door, however, I either misunderstood or was misled. I believed they would seal that too, but the service guys explained that aesthetics matter to people so they can't put the same thing on every front door and so don't do anything. I just mentioned the two things that went wrong. When they came out to fix the poor duct seal, it showed another example of their service commitment. I was given the name of a guy that would be out. A different guy showed up. He was the owner of the company (Rob). He said they were swamped with business with everyone wanting the tax credit. Thus, he filled in because the scheduled guy was busy elsewhere. He knew what he was doing, agreed it was an issue, and was happy to do the laborer's job to satisfy the customer. I admire that. Another example of their great level of commitment is when the sales guy, Jeff, was trying to schedule our job. He said if they couldn't get their normal service guys in, he would come do the job himself to help us get the work done by the end of 2010. Again, that's super service that I appreciate. My experience with them ended with a visit by them and an energy auditor for Austin Energy. Their work passed the audit, and I got my two checks in the promised time period. I know other service providers offer to do this rebate filing too, but Green Collar did a great job with setting expectations and handling this for us. In the end, these rebates paid quite a bit of the service cost. And I also got my tax credit. Ultimately, an important measure of quality service for work such as this is how does your house feel and are you saving money? The duct repairs made an immediate and tangible difference in two rooms...that was awesome. As the hotter days have recently begun, our A/C seems to be keeping up better whereas before it was sometimes challenged. We'll see how it does in the steamy summer days ahead. On the dollar side, after 4 months, we've saved about $190 on our Gas and Electric/Water bills compared to the same four months last year. That's over $45/month of savings. I heard gas rates went down since 2010 and the weather may have been different, but I attribute a lot of the savings to this work. This means I'm paying back my cost darn quickly. All in all, I give Green Collar a strong recommendation. Whether you work with them or not, however, these simple energy efficiency improvements to your home can be paid back pretty quickly with the rebates and other incentives so look into it if your house is aging or if you have any known concerns. This is a long review, I know, but when you're paying over 4 figures for home service, it helps to know something about who you're hiring. I hope this helps. read more

Adam from Green Collar Operations came out to bid on new ductwork, remove the existing insulation, and add new insulation. Green Collar does not remove insulation, and Adam was very up front about this, and even recommended a company they work with for the removal. He was very thorough in explaining the whole process and setting expectations for the Austin Energy and Texas Gas rebates. He reassured us that the ventilation in the attic is sufficient, and we feel the information he provided is great. Ultimately, because Green Collar does not do insulation removal, we decided to go with another company for the attic work. That being said, if the circumstances were different, we would not hesitate to use this company, and we will be recommending them to friends and family. read more

These people were great start to finish! I got a quote long before I could afford to do the work, but they went all the way at the initial meeting, letting me know what was needed, then were happy to pick up again when I was ready to go. Bill was terrific in leading me through what was needed and how it was going to be done. My house is a nightmare under the surface and even the COA inspector hadn't seen anything like it (bad!). Bill and his crew were creative in figuring out how to get it done absolutely right (without rebuilding the entire house ...). The work was done efficiently and in the time promised. All members of the crew were polite, knowledgeable, and trustworthy. Finally, they did all the filing for substantial rebates from the City which I received before the promised date. I highly recommend this company! read more

We had Green Collar replace all the ducts in our house and add insulation. They were extremely efficient, and most of the work was done in a day and a half. They pulled the necessary permits for the job, and did all the leg work for filing rebates. Additionally, their price was extremely reasonable. I'm very happy with the results of their work. After replacing the ducts and insulation, they balanced the airflow in our home and adjusted our AC unit settings to make the unit more efficient. We had the AC unit replaced 3 years ago by another company, they had left the settings on default so the AC was not working to full capacity. Green Collar took all the necessary steps to make sure that our AC unit and house is energy efficient when it comes to heating and cooling. We used to keep our house at 75 degrees just to make sure our master bedroom was cold enough. We had major hot and cold spots throughout our home. Now our house is set to 80 degrees, and temperature around the house is pretty consistent. Hiring Green Collar to replace our ducts and increase our insulation was not only a great investment for our home, but has made our house a more comfortable place to live in. read more

Delighted with the customer service and support of just about every one from Green Collar - from Adam to Matt, to Allison and everybody else we interacted with. Have already recommended them to our friends, in need of similar weatherization and insulation. Keep up the good work, guys! read more

We called Green Collar because we had a few known heating and air conditioning issues and we were curious to see if they could provide additional recommendations. We recognized that a "free energy audit" is really just an invitation to write an estimate for all sorts of corrective measures, whether cost effective or not. We were very satisfied with the audit. Brad identified a few tangible things that would provide the best bang for the buck, and he was very careful not to suggest marginal improvements and he even talked us out of a few ideas that we suggested because he thought they would not be cost effective. In addition to recommendations to correct our obvious needs (mostly insulation), we plan to pay them to seal HVAC leaks and test air flow through our ducts. Pricing compares favorably with other estimates. Hopefully the install will be as good as the "audit". This review will be updated after the work is done read more

Very professional operation. I called Green Collar after receiving a proposal from another HVAC company to add insulation and resolve some temperature imbalance and leaking air duct problems. Bill C arrived at my home at the scheduled time and went through the entire house including attics. Then he sat down with me and reviewed what he had seen and discussed options to resolve problems that existed. He left me with an itemized list of potential improvements with costs. After taking several weeks to decide what we needed to do, I called Bill with some final questions and then told him which items we wanted to go forward with and the work was scheduled. The office called me the day before the crew arrived to confirm the expected arrival time window. The crew arrived on time and reviewed with me the work they planned to complete that day, then got to work. They were friendly and courteous, and were careful to clean up before they left. The work was completed as planned after a second day that went much like the first. Rob, the owner, made an appointment and come out the following week to check the work and make sure we were happy with everything. read more

Our solar panel company recommended Green Collar for our Energy Audit and we were very pleased. The work was done quickly and efficiently and everyone involved was knowledgeable, courteous, and professional. We highly recommend Green Collar! read more

We worked with Bill and Green Collar to evaluate and ultimately replace our ducts and have been very pleased overall. Bill was friendly, helpful and prompt to reply to all my questions. They did a great job from start to finish, quick to give the initial eval and give me a quote and completed all the work when they told us they would. We would certainly recommend them to others. read more

Green Collar Operations did a great job on my house. They sealed the AC unit, installed window strips to all doors and added an additional 16x25 return path to my AC unit which greatly improves the overall AC quality of the house. One caveat is that one needs to know what makes sense to do and what is not as far as AC improvement is concerned. The manager did a great job in inspecting the works and made arrangement with the City to come out and re-inspected the whole house in order for the rebate to kick in. I am happy with the works that Green Collar Operations did for my house. read more

My recent insulation and weatherization experience with Green Collar was positive from beginning to end. The free estimate was easy and lower than the estimate I received from another business. There was no sales pitch or attempt to persuade me to spend money on changes that weren't needed. The work was done efficiently and unobtrusively. The final inspection by the city was speedy and now I'm looking forward to the $800 rebate. Our house definitely stays cooler with less use of the a/c now and our electric bill has gone down. I highly recommend Green Collar Operations! read more

Very pleased. Thanks for the good work and lower utility bills!

I would highly recommend Green Collar. Although I did not choose their offer, it was practically a coin flip given that I went with the repairman I had used for the last 4 years. I felt I needed some other bids and advice along with the offer from the current repairman I had been using. Brad came over on time and was extremely professional and knowledgeable. He knew more details than anyone that came over. He also prepared more bids on more brands of A/C-furnace systems than anyone. They offer state of the art insulation for your attic that does not contain formaldehyde and it does not compact like other types. They will help you get any rebates being offered. I would not hesitate to have used them. Be sure to have them over to learn about what is best for your home and you will find their prices very competitive if not the best. read more

Based solely on other Yelp reviews, I had Adam come out to give me an estimate. I was impressed with his friendliness and professionalism. The bid came in below another and the same as yet a third, but they were willing to throw in some extras like sealing my doors. Rob Scott, the owner, showed up punctually and in no time had the job done. Extremely nice guys, very respectful of my home, and they did a great job of cleaning up after themselves. I highly recommend them to anyone! read more

Bill at Green Collar was awesome start to finish. They redid all the duct work in our house and added new insulation all though out. They were very professional and they did all the work in a couple of days and cleaned up everything after themselves. I would definitely use Green Collar again and highly recommend them. read more

We bought a house last Nov/Dec and the inspector mentioned that the attic was badly in need of insulation. We received quotes from a few different folks but what made Green Collar stand out was how thorough Adam was in explaining just what would help. He gave us a few different combinations, talked us through our old HVAC system but didn't try to push on us a new one. Adam was not pushy at all and in fact honored the price he quoted us after we sat in the quote for about 3-4 months. They were very fast in scheduling a time for us, and the team who came to do the duct work and insulation were very professional. I was not around but my husband who was home the 2 days mentioned how polite those guys were and how they cleaned everything up. Alison also scheduled an appointment after for the owner to take a look to make sure the work was up to scratch and we were impressed by this attention to detail and pride in their work. We don't have real data comparisons since we've not lived a summer in this house but we're able to keep our thermostat at 75 and feel absolutely comfortable (far cry from when we were in a smaller place and had to constantly keep it at 68 for the place to be cool). I have no complaints and would them any day. In fact when we do need a new HVAC, we will give them a call. read more

We used Green Collar Operations to replace all of our duct and insulation in our home. They were awesome! Bill was very thorough when putting together the bid and going over the process. The guys were on time, professional and did a really good job. I would highly recommend Green Collar Operations. read more

I got several quotes for insulation and weatherization. They were the least expensive (which is not a reason you should pick a contractor, necessarily, but they happened to be.) Once I gave them the go ahead, they set up the pre-inspection from Austin Energy, did the work, in and out. People were unobtrusive and cleaned up after themselves. As near as I can tell they did a good job. I definitely recommend hiring them, or at least letting them give you a quote. read more

We have used Green Collar two times with two different houses and found them to be very professional in every way. They give you a good assessment of the issues and a very honest bid for the projects. During the actual work everyone wears covers on the shoes and they lay plastic down to protect the floors. After the work is done, the owner came by for final inspection. I highly recommend this company. read more

Great process, respectful and efficient employees, and great work. Our house is now a consistent temperature throughout and we are looking forward to a cool (inside our house) summer! Would highly recommend for insulation, wrapping, sealing, etc. Competitively priced. read more

Review: Green Collar Operations - Adam Eastberg February, 2014, I contacted 3 companies to initiate an energy audit, and a complete HVAC replacement with a cost proposal - Green Collar Operations was one of the companies, and my contact was Adam Eastberg. All 3 companies submitted similar, competitive bids but it was my conversations with Adam (several discussions, lengthy at times (and after business hours), and an additional home inspection) that led me to select Green Collar Operations. The complete HVAC replacement and associated ancillary components would be a large job: Adam did not act like a salesman and try to push products that I did not need; he answered all my questions clearly and accurately; he spoke very highly of his company and the crew that would perform the complete HVAC replacement. The 2 units / HVAC replacement took a couple of days - when I would return home in the evening, I did not notice the crew had been to my house...no trash or evidence they had been working was apparent. Also, during the installation, one of the units did not satisfy Adam and it was exchanged (and upgraded) without a delay in the process or additional cost; this level of inspection and attention to detail probably prevented future, premature HVAC issues. Since the installation was complete, I have had a chance to test both the heater and air conditioning performance (and associated utility costs) - I have been very impressed and completely satisfied. Additionally, all the electric / gas rebates were handled by Adam / Green Collar Operations; I only needed to provide my account numbers. Lastly, any future HVAC maintenance / repairs will be handled by Green Collar Operations. To this end, I highly recommend Green Collar Operations, the installation crew, Rob and Alison Scott, and Adam Eastberg - an amazing team that seamlessly replaced my HVAC system without disturbing the life of my family. read more

I saw the work on my neighbor's house and had work done on mine. The service was excellent- fast, efficient, good cleanup. I had insulation put into my attic. Since then I have noticed a real difference in ease of maintaining house temperatures- stays warmer in winter, cooler in summer. Indeed, with the AC off, the house stays about 10 degrees cooler than outside in summer. My bills have reflected the better insulation. This seems to be an honest, well-organized, friendly small business that I heartily recommend to others. read more

We looked at a lot of companies before we replaced our air conditioning unit, and I can confidently say we got the best!!! We asked everyone about energy efficiency, but Green Collar was the only one who followed through. They offered us a smaller unit -- the right size for our house -- and extra attic insulation so that we could cool our house more efficiently. And while the others offered a wide range of excuses for not wanting to apply for the City of Austin rebates (or offered deals that kept most of the rebate for themselves), Green Collar got us rebates for both the a/c and the insulation -- and with so little trouble that I wondered what all the fuss was about! Adam and the crew were great to work with. They were clean and efficient on the job and explained everything clearly. This was sooooo much better than our last a/c replacement, where the company recommended by our contractor (the so-called "intelligent" air) said they'd get us the rebate, but then never applied for it. Green Collar truly deserves their 5 stars. read more

We were told soon after we bought our house that our ducts contained gross mold and would need to be replaced. We had multiple companies come out and give us outrageous estimates for what it was going to cost to replace them. I gave up on the whole project for a while because there was no way we were going to be able to afford it. Then I had Green Collar come out. Adam was incredibly thorough and provided us with a lengthy list of ways the company could make our house more efficient AND described how they could work with the city to get us almost $2000 in rebates. All of this work (much more comprehensive than any other company had even thought to include) came in as the lowest bid of all. They were efficient with scheduling, prompt with answering questions or returning phone calls, and everyone we dealt with was kind and professional. Adam truly went above and beyond to help us and was so polite and professional. Would recommend to anyone. read more