Winner Insulation

Because business isn’t just about what you know, it’s about who you know.

Insulation.  It’s one of those hidden components of a building’s construction that we don’t tend to give much thought to – certainly not as much as, say, final finishes such as flooring and light fixtures.

Yet insulation can impact a person’s comfort and quality of life in their home even more than new marble countertops.  Even better? While the government isn’t handing you money to remodel your kitchen, they do have cash available – thousands of dollars’ worth – to encourage you to upgrade your insulation. 

That, coupled with the savings on your utility bills, can make an insulation renovation a no brainer.

In advance of the upcoming OJBA Mid-Atlantic Expo, we met with David Winner, owner of Winner Insulation, office manager Chaya Green, and Mark Hearn of Enverge, which manufactures Spray Foam insulation and serves as a partnering company with Winner.  The conversation was eye-opening.

“The average 2,500 square foot home has air leakage that’s the equivalent of the front door being open all year long,” says Hearn.  This leads to unnecessarily high utility bills, but also to reduced indoor air quality and temperature control.  The Spray Foam technology is uniquely designed to prevent this common air leakage. Installed in liquid form, it expands once inside the wall to fill in all of the cracks and gaps – thus serving both as an insulator and an air barrier. 

Winner Insulation specializes in Spray Foam insulation installment, though they install all other types of insulation as well.  They service residential and commercial customers, working with both new construction and renovations in the metro DC area and beyond (within a two-hour radius). A veteran of the U.S. Air Force, David Winner has started focusing on government and military contracts as well, and recently did a job for the VA hospital that was expanding its hospice division.

While he has worked on many large commercial and high-end custom home projects, Winner says there’s something uniquely gratifying about going into an attic of a simple residential home and upgrading their insulation, and seeing the immediate impact the upgrade has on their customers.

“These are people who’ve been living in their home, with high utility bills and uncomfortable air quality, and then we come in and perform this life-changing project, uncovering areas they’d never even known about.  It can be petrifying to see what goes on inside of an attic.  We clean up the space, take out the old insulation and replace it with Spray Foam.  And all at once, they’re breathing healthier, cleaner air plus paying less for their energy bills.”

In today’s economy, it can be hard to justify hefty home renovation bills, but insulation, Winner explains, is a no-brainer.  That’s because, aside from the reduced energy costs, both the federal and many local governments offer cash incentives to switch to more energy-efficient insulation. And these incentives, some of which apply to homeowners and some to builders, can be quite significant.

On the federal level, there’s a $5,000 cash credit available for builders who build a new home according to Energy Star 3.2 and Department of Energy Zero Ready standards.  In addition, local municipalities offer their own incentives for using energy-efficient insulation such as Spray Foam, providing property tax discounts based on the building’s HERS (Home Energy Rating System) rating.  A rating of 70 gives an automatic 30% discount for three years, and every rating point lower is an additional percentage point discount.  According to Green, many of their customers have been able to get 45% property tax discounts, which, for a large property, translates into huge savings. Additionally, there are rebates offered by local municipalities for energy-efficient insulation that can cover up to 75% of the installation cost.   Green explains that when customers contact them, whether builders or homeowners, she will inform them of all of the various federal and municipal rebates, discounts and credits available to them and how to obtain them.

Winner was thrilled when he heard that the OJBA show would be coming to the Baltimore area.  (“I have a great mother-in-law,” he says. “She works in real estate, and when she saw an ad for this show, she immediately WhatsApped me and said, ‘You gotta be there!’”)

Having heard from friends and colleagues who’d had a great experience participating in the New York show, he’s very excited to have the opportunity as well.  He’s looking forward to building more brand awareness, introducing his team to their customers, and networking with other professionals and companies looking to invest in the area.