Because the director of Achieve Renewable Energy, LLC, Lawrence “Larry” Lessard:
- Refused to fix the deficient geothermal heating/cooling system Achieve Renewable Energy installed in my home,
- instead insisted on making other alterations to my home that were not part of the geothermal system we contracted for,
- the MA Attorney General’s office would not take any action on the complaint I submitted, and
- Lawrence “Larry” Lessard made multiple false accusations against me in response to my complaint to the Better Business Bureau,
- I had to resort to suing Achieve Renewable Energy, LLC and Lawrence “Larry” Lessard.
During the lawsuit, my attorney deposed—i.e. conducted a question and answer session under oath—Lawrence “Larry” Lessard of Achieve Renewable Energy, LLC. My attorney asked questions of Mr. Lessard on a range of issues. You may read the court reporter’s official transcript of that deposition taken in May of 2021 here:
Here are some of the key questions and answers from the deposition of Lawrence Lessard and Achieve Renewable Energy, LLC that I think prospective, current, or past geothermal system customers of Achieve Renewable Energy, LLC may want to know:
Achieve Renewable Energy LLC’s misstatement and inaccurate calculations of my home’s heating needs:
- On page 92 of the deposition transcript, Larry Lessard admitted that when designing and installing the heating or cooling system for a home it’s important to calculate the home’s heating and cooling loads accurately. But under further questioning (page 92), he admitted that Achieve Renewable Energy LLC outsourced the calculation of my home’s heating and cooling loads.
- On pages 92 and 93 Larry Lessard stated that the original contract for replacement of my home’s central heating and cooling systems with a geothermal system estimated the heating load of my home to be 49,900 BTU’s per hour.
- But under further questioning, he admitted that he had documents of three different calculations for my home—which he did not disclose to me before installing the system—each of which had different heating loads: 51,000, 68,000, and 94,000 BTUs/hour. (Pages 93 to 95.) And years after installing the system, he admitted that he now believes the heating load of my home was “Somewhere in the 60 thousands.” (Page 94.)
Larry Lessard’s statements about the electrical code violations his company left me with
On page 106 of the deposition transcript, Mr. Lessard admitted he had no idea how long he left me with electrical code violations before they were identified by an inspector. Also on page 106, he understated the electrical code violations. And on page 107 he admitted that I was the one who informed him of the electrical code violations rather than his company informing me of them.
Incidentally, I only found out about the electrical code violations by checking with my town’s Building department several months after the violations were created and left in my home by Achieve Renewable Energy LLC’s electrician. Yet Achieve Renewable Energy LLC had previously stated in writing to me that there was no “improper” “substandard” “unpermitted” or “uninspected” work. That was false. Not only did Achieve Renewable Energy LLC leave me with multiple electrical code violations, they had ducting work done in my home without the required permit or inspection.
Mr. Lessard considered it fair to violate the manufacturer’s installation manual without informing me
On page 169 of the deposition transcript, Mr. Lessard stated that he considers it fair to violate the ground source heat pump manufacturer’s installation manual instructions without informing the customer:
Question: Okay. If the manufacturer of the geothermal heat pump you installed in Mr. Bush’s home states that the unit’s performance would be adversely affected, do you consider it to be fair to connect the unit to uninsulated duct work in Mr. Bush’s unconditioned basement?
Answer: Yes.
Question: You think that’s fair?
Answer: Yes.
It did not surprise Mr. Lessard that my system’s actual heating costs were more than twice what he estimated they would be in our signed contract
On pages 174 to 175, Mr. Lessard answered questions about the heating costs of the geothermal system his company installed in my home like so:
Question: Are you aware that it’s actually cost Mr. Bush over $2,600 a month in electricity merely to just heat his home over the last 12 months with that system?
Answer: I’m not aware of that.
Question: Not per month, my mistake, over the past 12 months, I misspoke. If the cost of electricity was just over $2,600 for the year for 12 months, does that surprise you that it would be that high considering what was represented in the proposal that the annual heating costs should be around $1,186.47 for the year?
Answer: No.