I remember when I bought my first house how vulnerable I felt when it came to upgrading my home with contractors. I didn’t know much about product specification or even which products to buy, so I felt very in-the-dark during the whole process. I expressed interest in learning more about the home contracting industry from my father-in-law who has a business in the field. Since I was pretty handy, my father-in-law agreed and I took some vacation time from work to make the most of the opportunity.I called and met with customers, installed products, and visited manufacturers to better understand the products he would be offering. I recall the experience as pivotal:“I knew this was for me. Over time when I revisited those homeowners, I learned that some who bought quality products still had high heating and electric bills. That’s when I decided to study the connection between house systems and energy conservation.”