Permanent load reduction, the practice of fixing a home's envelope first to reduce the load before sizing equipment, is gaining traction in high performance contracting. The building science behind it is well understood. The business case gets far less attention.
In this episode, Peter Troast talks with Ken Allison, who leads training and business development at insulation distributor IDI, with decades of experience in the business and building science of insulation.
Ken lays out the economics: The contractor who tests the house with a blower door and infrared camera, then shows the homeowner what's actually wrong, doesn't just close more jobs. They close bigger ones at far better margins. Ken also walks through how to ramp into this work without making a big upfront bet on equipment, crews, and trucks.
For contractors who already believe in the envelope but haven't fully committed to it as a business model, this episode makes the path concrete.
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