When a House Doesn’t Stay Warm
Joel Berkowitz of AirSeal Insulation Systems
In some homes, the problem isn’t the heating — it’s how the house holds onto it.
People usually notice it the same way. The temperature drops, the system is running, but the house still feels cold. This usually means heat is escaping — and utility bills are going up without solving the problem. Older homes, especially those built before the mid-1980s, often don’t have the insulation needed to keep heat in.
AirSeal Insulation Systems has been working in insulation for 25 years, including the kind of heat-loss issues common in older homes. The company started out in around the year of 2000, with a single truck; when spray foam insulation was still relatively new in the region. Today, it runs a fleet of 25 to 50 trucks out of multiple locations — growth that reflects both demand for the work and how the company has kept up as insulation practices have changed.
For older residential properties, AirSeal also works with a New York State program that covers the full cost of insulation upgrades. To qualify, a home needs to be a one- or two-family property built before 1985.
“We can come in and do insulation… you don’t have to pay for it,” Joel Berkowitz said.
Eligibility depends in part on income. The application takes around 20 minutes. Once funding is approved, AirSeal’s team looks at the home and determines what work is needed. In many cases, that’s where the real issue becomes clear — not the heating system, but where the house is losing heat. That can include open-cell spray foam in attics, blown insulation in roof areas, and closed-cell spray foam in basements and garages — where moisture resistance matters.
These are often the areas where the problem goes unnoticed until comfort drops or energy bills start to climb.
On the commercial side, the company works across new construction and retrofit jobs, looking at each building and applying insulation based on how it’s built and used.
AirSeal has exhibited at OJBA before and returned as it marks its 25th anniversary.
See Joel Berkowitz describe AirSeals work in insulation and how the team approaches both residential and commercial projects.
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