Zerodraft offers a variety of energy saving services for all types of residential and commercial structures, from keeping homes safe and comfortable to increasing the indoor air quality in schools, health care facilities and office buildings.
Zerodraft takes a “whole building approach” by decreasing customers’ energy costs and consumption, increasing energy efficiency, cutting wasteful spending and maximizing productivity and comfort.
Chief Operating Officer Mike Borek called Zerodraft’s approach when it comes to home performance “relatively new and sometimes misunderstood by homeowners.”
Using the house-as-a-system approach, Zerodraft conducts a comprehensive whole-house assessment that goes beyond a traditional audit to establish performance levels in the home while getting to the bottom of any problems. Using the detailed assessment results, Zerodraft can prescribe and prioritize state-of-the-art solutions based on proven building science.
Borek said Zerodraft makes sure to keep the customer informed during the entire process.
“We focus on education and awareness,” Borek said. “We work together with the homeowner to optimize energy efficiency, comfort and health safety. Those all need to be integrated in order to ensure that the improvements are done in the most cost-effective, efficient and safe manner.”
He used the example of the homeowner who might unknowingly have high levels of carbon monoxide when they decide it is time to airseal gaps in their home in order to save energy.
“On the one hand, airsealing is a good thing because it will save money, but on the other, the elevated carbon monoxide levels, which may have originally been reduced by passing through existing cracks, are now trapped in the home. We look at the big picture – the HVAC, insulation, windows, all of it, when we assess a project. If the owner were to have a general contractor come in to do the sealing of the house, they might not catch the leak, creating an unsafe environment.”
Borek said Zerodraft, along with trying to share the concept of the “whole house approach” with Upstate New York through its Syracuse, Buffalo and Albany locations, is also trying to make it easier for the customer to afford needed improvements.
“We are educating people about the programs that are out there to help them do these projects in the most economical way,” he said. “There is the Home Performance with Energy Star program that includes rebates and grants depending upon income to help people finance the improvements. We customize comfort and energy solutions and properly align them with the most cost effective financing programs.”
Borek said Zerodraft was one of the first companies in New York to get projects set up through NYSERDA’s On Utility Bill Financing Plan.
“We determine what the savings per month the customer will realize on their utility bill based upon a prioritized list of energy improvements – a $100 per month reduction or $1,200 a year over five years equals a total savings of $6,000,” Borek said. “The customer can then get financed for a $6,000 energy reduction project with the idea that the loan payment for the project will be offset by the savings from their utility bill.”
Visit getzerodraft.com for information, to follow zerodraft on Twitter or visit their linkdIn or Facebook pages.
