Spray foam insulation contractor celebrates major milestone – saving energy, saving money and keeping buildings warm for 20 years

Isotech Sprayfoam, installers of closed cell sprayed insulation foam, celebrates its 20th birthday this year. With a total of 40 years experience of installing insulation, owner Simon Vasey reflects on the enduring success of spray foam as an insulation medium, its green credentials, and the wide range of applications and projects Isotech Sprayfoam has been involved with over the years.

With the price of gas and electricity going up relentlessly, businesses are urgently looking for ways to reduce the cost of keeping their buildings warm and dry. Likewise, the green agenda is bringing energy-saving techniques into focus, as we all look to decarbonise before a climate catastrophe.

These issues may be front-page news today, but Portsmouth based Isotech Sprayfoam Limited has been insulating Britain (or at least the home counties) since 2001.

Although sprayed foam insulation contractors Isotech Sprayfoam, celebrates its 20th birthday as a business this year, owner Simon Vasey has 40 years’ experience in the industry. Mr Vasey has seen the profile of spray foam insulation grow steadily over this time, and recently reflected on the suitability of this product to mitigate rising energy bills:

"Poorly insulated commercial premises literally leak money for their owners, so many are taking a longer-term view to contain their costs. Closed-cell polyurethane foam acts as an efficient insulating barrier which can be applied to a wide range of cladding materials. Exceptionally light and durable, spray foam insulation is a safe and effective way of reducing heating bills and carbon emissions. In technical terms, sprayed insulation foam has high thermal resistance, meaning more of the heat remains inside the building rather than dissipating away outside. Conversely, it will also enable a cooler environment to be maintained in summer months."

Cured closed cell polyurethane foam is an inert building material, certificated as safe and appropriate for the applications by the British Board of Agrément and Local Authority Building Control.

Isotech Sprayfoam is approved as an installer by the leading material manufacturers in the industry: BASF, distributed exclusively in the UK by Econ Polyurethanes and Isothane.

The sheer range of applications for foam insulation is surprising, and Simon has worked on many interesting and high-profile projects with Isotech Sprayfoam over the years. These include architectural insulation projects such as The Churchill War Rooms and experimental buildings such as the Drawing Studio at the Arts University of Bournemouth; marine insulation applications including a fleet of ships for the Greek Navy;  creating a four-wheel drive demonstration track for Top Gear; roof and soffit insulation at luxury apartments; insulating high-capacity tanks for Tate & Lyle, work for utility companies such as Severn Trent Water & United Utilities; building disguised mobile phone masts for Vodafone and insulating part of the superstructure of Terminal 5 at Heathrow.

However, the most frequent applications that Isotech undertakes are to insulate commercial buildings, agricultural sheds, barn conversions and timber framed new build housing, as well as the shipping container insulation, boat insulation and swimming pools around southern England that form the bread and butter of the business. You can see examples of all of these on the Isotech Sprayfoam YouTube channel.

In each case, the owners are primarily looking to save money by reducing heat loss and increasing airtightness. Although being relatively light in weight, spray foam insulation will also help reduce sound transmission and increase structural integrity to whatever substrate it is applied.

Simon says of Isotech Sprayfoam's green credentials:

“I have not sat down and calculated the greenhouse gas emissions saved by the insulation Isotech has applied to every structure we've ever worked on, but we have certainly done our bit to save the planet! I have always been aware that my customers want to save money, and as we can install spray foam insulation more quickly, and often more cost-effectively than traditional methods, the business has grown steadily over the last 20 years. The new CFC & HCFC free low warming potential formulations of the material means that our customers can be assured that using our service will not adversely affect the carbon footprint of their project." Thanks to the skills of Simon's team and the properties of closed cell insulation foam, Isotech Sprayfoam's clients will continue to save energy and money for many decades to come.