Energy Efficiency Is Top Priority At Louisiana Spray Foam Company

New Orleans, LA - October 4, 2011 - Star Spray Foam is currently offering free energy audits to residential homes and commercial buildings in the New Orleans area and nearby regions. The team will assess attic insulation, radiant barrier, attic ventilation, HVAC leakage, roof insulation, and overall home tightness and insulation seal.

The company, which offers residential and commercial spray foam services, has traditionally offered energy auditing and weatherization services as well. Star Spray Foam Systems & Weatherization, as well as its parent company, Star Energy Solutions, is owned and operated by Brad Harris, who became a champion of energy efficiency when he began as a builder in 1996. 

“It became so interesting to me, how we could completely seal the homes we were working on and be so cost-effective and energy-efficient using spray foam. I realized I was onto something.”

Harris, who also works as a consultant for builders striving to be more energy efficient, launched Star Spray Foam in 2005, when spray foam was starting to take place in the market. “People hadn’t really caught onto it yet, though,” he said. “They weren’t as concerned about energy efficiency or durability.”

After Hurricane Katrina, he said, people started to care. 

Between 2005-2008 Star Spray Foam was involved in the rebuilding of more than 140 homes in the New Orleans area, each one more green than its predecessor. Nowadays, Harris’ team is busy servicing homes under the “Energy Smart” initiative, a program which entitles New Orleans homeowners large rebates for making energy efficient improvements. 

Harris cited a particularly  massive project in August, in which Star Spray Foam worked on a 95-year-old raised home without insulation. The family’s monthly utility bill was at a staggering $940. His energy audit found a natural air change rate typically equivalent to that of a 8,500 sq. ft. space. The house measured a mere 1,700 sq. ft. 

“Literally, it was like having a window open on each side of the house,” said Harris.

The 7-person team performed an entire makeover, applying closed-cell spray foam on the bottom of the house and open-cell on the roof, closing the HVAC system, sealing the AC units and every penetration of wires and tubing with canned spray foam. They also weather-stripped the walls, changed 60% of the lightbulbs and applied blown-in cellulose within the walls of the house. After they were through, the family’s utility bill dropped to $170. The initial cost of the job was $6,350, but factoring in the Energy Smart bill, the family only paid $1,970 out of pocket while Star Spray Foam received the remaining rebate. 

“I love the engineering aspects of energy conservation,” Harris said. There are absolutely ‘rights’ and ‘wrongs’ when it comes to outfitting a home to properly conserve energy and spray foam is a large part of that.”

Harris hopes that the audits will help people to realize just how much they can potentially save by making a building more energy efficient. 

“People are always happy to see our crew,” he said, “and more importantly, they know that while they are making their home more comfortable and energy efficient, they are reducing their impact on the earth.”