Where can I find siding contractors for exterior insulation energy upgrade?
I’m a technician with a national lab working on a residential research project that aims to validate adding ext c.i. during siding replacement (more here: https://www.pnnl.gov/projects/re-siding-ext-insulation). An aspect of my job is to engage siding contractors to partner with us on this project, as a big part of the research is finding out from siding contractors how realistic this approach is from both the technical and marketing sides. We’re aiming for 3 to 5 siding contractors in each of these regions:
- Buncombe County, NC
- Charles County, MD
- Davidson County, TN
- Essex County, NJ
Here are my main questions:
- What is the best way to engage contractors right now?
- Is there a method of getting my foot in the door (so to speak) enough so that I can explain that that we aren’t trying to sell them a product in any way, or convince them of anything? Really just trying to offer a free energy upgrade to homeowners and have contractors install it, so that we can gather data to present to the Department of Energy.
- Contractor recs in the area?
I am planning on sending out a recruitment postcard to companies we’ve identified in our target regions, but any and all advice/recommendations would be greatly appreciated!
I think your first step would be to search the Ecohome Building Directory to find green home building contractors. You can search by region and by trade, so hopefully there may be some local experienced green builders in your area that may want to be part of your research project. And if you aren’t able to find any right now be sure to check back regularly as new companies are added every day. Also, I would keep an eye on this thread, with luck some siding installers will see it and perhaps reach out. This is about the only way we can help you, any contacts we would have would be in the listing pages.
Good luck with your project, and please feel free to stay in touch with us as you progress, and if you have any stats to share with us and our readers that you think may be of value just pop them on this thread.