Hello everybody
I am currently a greeneo consultant for over a year. I would like to bring my point of view (I'm not here to advertise!).
I was one of the first consultants trained by greeneo, like Korben Dallas for that matter (whom I salute
, and I agree with him on many observations, linked to training and tools, and to the optimism of the departure. But I find that you are still a little hard with this new job, even if I understand the distrust of everything that is new and not yet confirmed (I myself went through this before I get started). We must not forget that greeneo is above all independent consultants who pool resources to try to make the best advice possible, and that if everything is not perfect at the start, that does not indicate anything. that the objective is not interesting: renovate effectively!
Greeneo is a beginner network. If it had exploded from 10 to 300 consultants in a year, then we could have cried opportunism ... But precisely, the goal is not to develop wrongly and through to sell training. Besides, all those who work in the training sector know that 800 € for 3 days, if we remove the costs and working time for the trainer (preparation + on site), there is not much left, and the trainer is not likely to become a millionaire. Greeneo will only work if there are consultants, and the consultants will only be there if they manage to make good, effective renovations and satisfied owners. In any case, the training was completely overhauled because it was very insufficient at the start.
Personally, I created my job thanks to greeneo, which, even with the concerns of a beginner network, was nevertheless of great support when at 25 years old we started in the creation of his business and his activity ... The training that I followed, in 2007, was indeed light and insufficient, that is why it has been completely redesigned, and it is now a much longer and accompanying training a follow-up over 6 months (and also a selection at the entrance, because as you said, not everyone improvises in this profession, I agree). It is still perfectible, it is clear (it is always perfectible), but they cannot make perfect the first time!
The job of advising individuals is very new and poorly understood. Yet I see it every day, there are many requests from individuals. In 9 months of operation, I have carried out around fifty diagnoses, and I assure you that many people are lost in the current offer, and even after going to the local FTA, have trouble compiling the sum of information needed to make a proper renovation, taking things in the right order, so as not to do things halfway, with the results we know. How many oil boilers are still installed in recent years?
Obviously not everyone needs us, and I guess a lot of people on this forum are already well informed about the existing possibilities and can do very well without going out without advising.
But some are completely lost, and it is a real job to help them. The FTAs give very good advice, the best there is thanks to their independence, but do not travel to make a real diagnosis (it's still very useful to make a good renovation right?). Besides, we have regular contacts with them, and they see very well the usefulness of advice to the client. But who takes care of it? Do you know a lot of people who hire an architect to change their boiler? It is however often there that the owners want to start, sometimes without thinking of the insulation before for example. Our goal is to promote a global approach, and help set up the work. We also work with architects during certain renovations, for example when there is an extension or an interior reorganization to redo, which is not our specialty, and it goes very well, since most of the time, changing the boiler and changing the windows (for example) is not what interests the architect the most. It also happens in the case of very large renovations to advise our customers to call on specialized architects (bioclimatic type) because it is then interesting to have a project manager (which is not necessary and outside budget for an owner making for example change of boiler + insulation + solar). The observation is there: the need exists for assistance with renovation, and it is still very different from the profession of architect. We do not replace architects, we do not draw plans, we do not touch the structure.
Obviously we are not experts in all areas (heating, insulation, solar, etc.). Obviously we know the products less than the installers. Obviously we still have to learn (moreover, with everything that is coming out at the moment, it is a real job to ensure regulatory, environmental, financial, technical monitoring in all these areas). But the global approach necessary for a good renovation of the houses implies a global and independent diagnosis of the building, and not a sector by sector approach. Besides, are the advisers of the FTAs specialists as expert as the installers in each field? Are they doing their job badly?
Personally, I am trained as an environmental engineer (no training as a salesperson or sicav seller ...;)). To my knowledge, there are no people in the network whose primary job was sales, finance, investment or sales. I have a colleague who comes from the industry, after having followed ECD training, thermal diagnosis, thermal imaging, ... He launches out in the creation of his activity with greeneo, because he wanted to go further than the dpe, with all the limits that we know of: he wanted to help the owners to do the work, and not just sell them a dpe. In short, it is simply an example, but we must not hastily judge people who are simply looking to do their job well, help owners make good choices, and manage to make a living from it.
Nobody has promised us incredible income by joining greeneo. We have created with our meager means our own activity, with the primary objective of living on it! Greeneo is only a means of associating with other advisers in order to have efficient and adapted tools and to ensure a quality service.
The network's objectives, which we of course fail to achieve each time (ultimately, it is always the owner who decides!), But which serve as a benchmark, are the division by 4 of the gas emissions to greenhouse effect of the house and reach 100kWhEP / m² / year or at least approach it (because it is sometimes very difficult when we start from 400 kWh / m² / year!). Our diagnostic service is also 80% subsidized by Ademe in Alsace.
Regarding the results, the network is still young, and a site is not done in 2 days: between the start of the diagnosis and the end of a site, it can easily happen 6 months (financial arrangement of the loan with the bank, contacts with service providers, response time of installers and actual installation, ...). The first results are therefore just beginning to arrive. Personally we arrive at around 1 to 3 sites per month (for myself), most of the time combining a change in the heating mode (often switching from fuel oil to pellets) and insulation (window, walls, roof, depending on the case), allowing on average, a reduction in heating needs from 30 to 75%, a saving of 60% on bills and the use of renewable energies and healthy products (wood, solar, wadding in particular) in almost all construction sites. We did not choose the easiness by working with quality products, it would be much easier for us to offer heat pumps or gas boilers at all costs, partial insulation or any other solution allowing to have a lower investment and therefore sell more worksites. Because what the customer sees first is very often his portfolio! and convincing him of environmental interests is sometimes very difficult, it takes us a lot of time, which we spend more on conviction than on economic interest. But we believe in the Negawatt approach, and try to apply it to the maximum.
The particular positioning offered by greeneo can be discussed, but who else can help owners to renovate? We all agree on the need to renovate on a large scale if we do not want to continue wasting energy, particularly fossil energy, at this rate. Government objectives are not ready to be achieved on the renovation, by continuing like this the factor 4 is very far. But who offers other solutions? Greeneo is one, certainly not perfect, certainly not the only one, but it has the merit of existing and going in the right direction, in my opinion.
Do not hesitate to ask me questions, there is nothing opaque in our operation, and your concern is legitimate, at a time of large-scale greenwashing and so-called very profitable green investment (our last visit to the Lyon renewable energy fair was staggering: 49% air / air heat pumps, 49% photovoltaic, and 2% insulation, wood boiler, solar thermal, wind, etc.!).
I hope I have made some clarifications? Your comments are welcome!
PS: Concerning the specifications of the ademe, you must have been badly informed, because there are:
"Energy audit guide 1999 (ADEME-COSTIC)"
http://194.117.223.129/servlet/KBaseSho ... atid=15030
A simple google search will have confirmed it ...
It dates from 1999 but is still used, notably in a lot of calls for tenders on condominium renovations.
