Cozier, healthier homes.(HOMES GOING GREEN)

No one who speaks with Ed Singbeil can miss how enthusiastic he is about the product he sells. "It's about building healthier, more energy efficient homes," he says. "I hear back from my customers about how cozy their home is. That's why we're doing this."

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Ed Singbeil and his son Mike Singbeil are partners in PolarTech Spray Foam Insulation, a new company that began operating in Saskatoon in the summer of 2008. Their technicians spray liquid polyurethane into the wall cavity of a home or building and the spray expands rapidly to create foam and provide an airtight seal against heat and energy loss.

"It's thermal insulation, a vapour barrier and an air seal all in one. When you can seal the air and stop the process of convection, you eliminate moisture problems like mold and mildew," Ed says. "Wet basements are big problem in Saskatchewan--we see a lot of them in our business."

PolarTech is a certified applicator with the Canadian Urethane Foam Contractors Association (CUFCA) for PolarFoam PF 7300-0 Soya, a closed-cell rigid polyurethane foam manufactured in Quebec. Ed says his product is 'green' on two fronts: it reduces energy consumption by improving heating and cooling efficiencies and secondly, the foam itself is an environmentally friendly product, made from soya oil and recycled plastic. "It does not deplete the ozone, contains no VOCs [volatile organic compounds] and there are about 1,000 recycled plastic bottles in every 45-gallon drum of liquid resin," Ed says. "Along with the energy efficiencies, it's a win-win all the way around."

Ed's son, Mike, worked as a framer and remodeler in the residential and commercial construction industry for years. When father and son began renovating Mike's home, they found wood rot and mold behind the conventional fibre-glass insulation. "We knew there had to be a better way," Ed recalls.

After two years of researching the insulation market, the pair selected PolarFoam as a premium product to work with. They're not the only ones who like this kind of insulation. Mike Holmes, the popular television contractor who rescues homeowners from renovations gone wrong, is a well-known proponent of spray foam insulation. "I love this insulation, use it all the time and recommend it," he said in the Globe and Mail back in 2007. One of the reasons the Singbeils like this particular foam is that it does not contain urea formaldehyde and since it uses water as a propellant, the soy-based spray foam does not emit volatile chemicals, ozone or chlorofluo-rocarbons (CFCs) into the atmosphere.

Despite the fact that foam insulation has a higher initial investment than more traditional methods, interest in their service is growing, Ed says, especially in the face of rising energy costs. "Our customers are concerned about lifelong savings, not just up-front costs. A properly foam-insulated home can save 50 per cent of your home's energy costs over and above that of a conventionally insulated home."

Foam is simply a better long-term investment than conventional insulation, he stresses. It bonds securely with beams and surfaces, so it stays in place longer than fibreglass insulation that can sag down within the wall over time. "It maintains 100 per cent of its insulating value over the life of the house and adds to the structural integrity of the building as well," he says.

"We established the company with the goal of targeting residential home insulation. To a large extent, this segment has been overlooked," he says, with foam being used mainly in commercial properties up until recently. PolarTech now employs five people with clients mainly in Saskatoon and the surrounding area.

"Once people learn what the benefits are, they're very receptive," Ed says. "This is good for our business, better for the environment and most importantly, it's a service that's good for families overall."

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