Healthy Indoors Magazine - USA Edition

24 | FEATURE— January 2018 Maybe There Is Something To This Health Trend After All Addressing health concerns can certainly play a role in the home performance industry. The concept is getting traction and technology is making people more aware of the air they breathe in their homes. I will, however, refer you back to my original blog and suggest you walk with caution when pursuing this approach. On more than one occasion I have been told by contractors that health-concerned clients were some of the most difficult they have dealt with. So be smart, be careful what you promise, and make sure you have a relationship with a professional that can measure the results, just in case your cus- tomer is not completely satisfied. Charles Cormany has been involved in the home performance industry for over a decade. Prior to his position as executive director, he was a home per- formance contractor. Working as a project manager, he supervised home performance crews for several different companies, including his own. After multi- ple years of managing home performance crews, he has a first-hand understanding of the challenges of the industry. With the knowledge gained from being involved in hundreds home performance projects, he has a fact-based understanding of what solutions pro- vide effective results. He is formally trained in HVAC design, installation, and troubleshooting and has wide-ranging experience with new technologies. Hav- ing run his own home performance company, he un- derstands the entire process from developing leads, closing sales, interacting with consumers, to building effective process. At EFCA, he has helped to stream- line operations and restructure the organization in order to meet the demands of an ever-changing in- dustry. Learn more at: http://www.efficiencyfirstca.org energy audit with a few more tests. Another example is a home performance contractor who has created a separate business to market to folks with health concerns. The business has its own health related name and website. At this point neither one of these approaches has proven to be a huge success, but as time goes on these efforts might become viable ways to generate new leads. One of the best partnerships you can foster is a good relationship with an industrial hygienist. There are a cou- ple of reasons to find one in your area before you start down the path of healthy home improvements. The first is that industrial hygienists have the ability to measure and quantify indoor air quality. Using high tech tools, they can sample air from a variety of sources and then send them to a lab. This means a hygienist can actually quan- tify which particulates are in the home. This has huge value if you ever have a problem cli- ent. Perhaps your client is convinced that the insulation you put in the attic is making their symptoms worse. You really have no way to verify or refute this claim unless you sample and test the actual air in the home, and indoor air sampling and testing doesn't come cheap. Most of the services I am aware of start out at about $2,000. There are some kits that allow you to install a small device yourself and then send it off to a lab for testing, but honestly if you've reached that point on a job I would call in the pro and pay the price. Another benefit of working with an industrial hy- giene company is that they can provide potential leads for jobs. As a contractor, I received more than one lead from a hygienist who recognized the value of mechanical ventilation but had trouble finding con- tractors who knew how to correctly install one. We sold a couple of heat recovery ventilator systems (HRVs) based on leads from our hygienist. Technology Is Helping Promote The Message In the past couple of years, several low-cost particu- late monitors have come to market. Now homeowners can have some idea of their indoor air quality for un- der $300. Awareness is the first step, so a home own- er who is measuring their indoor air quality is a great lead. I have even heard of a contractor who provides a low-cost particulate monitor as part of their evalua- tion. At a bulk price of about $150, this contractor is able to absorb the cost as part of his assessment. i

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