Get to Know an Energy Efficiency Contractor: DNR Construction

We often tout the environmental and community benefits of energy efficiency. But did you know we’re also making things easier for local contractors and creating jobs along the way?

Here’s how. As part of our energy efficient buildings service, our team works directly with building owners to identify, explain, and prioritize the most cost-effective improvements for their buildings and properties. We help the owners find and connect with qualified contractors. We also work with the owners to review the contractor bids, perform on-the-spot oversight, and inspect buildings once work is complete.

In short, we serve as intermediaries between building owners and contractors. In the process, we help good contractors find quality jobs and reduce the time they spend completing  paperwork and promoting services. This enables small business growth and increases the work available to reliable, local contractors. In fact, since we started our buildings service, we’ve helped to create more than 500 local jobs!

We recently spoke with some local contractors about how they’ve benefited from energy efficiency programs in general, and from and working with Elevate Energy, in particular. We’d like to share these stories of local businesses that are creating good jobs and helping our communities do more with less energy.

We’ll feature four contractors as part of our Get To Know a Contractor series. Tune in every month!

DNR Construction

First, let’s meet DNR Construction, a family business based in Oak Forest, Illinois.

DNR Construction added energy efficiency and weatherization services in 1996. Getting into energy efficiency work helped the company grow, even when new construction work was slow. “We’ve increased our staff to 75 full-time employees,” said Tom McElherne, who manages marketing for the company. “About 60 of our employees are dedicated toward just energy efficiency install measures, whether it’s air sealing or insulation.”

Here’s what Tom has to say:

Tom said working with Elevate Energy has helped DNR Construction bring in more work. “Elevate Energy has been great for us because what they do is provide a market. They actually go out and help us pursue potential customers who need this type of work. They’ve also been great with leveraging funds through state-funded programs and utility rebates,” he said.

As the company’s staff has expanded they have grown from one company truck to 22 trucks and added other equipment such as blower door machines, which are used to measure the airtightness of a building.

Tom says it’s gratifying to see how the company’s work benefits their customers. He says the programs they work on typically save households $400 to $600 per year on energy costs. “Especially for some of the low income programs, this is a huge amount of money that they have to spend annually – a large percentage of their yearly income,” he said.

Click here for a full case study on DNR Construction.

Please tune in next month, when we’ll meet Anthony Stonis of Building Energy Experts, an energy efficiency company based in Crystal Lake, Illinois.

Help Expand Your Business

Are you a contractor? Join us! We’re always looking for quality contractors who perform top-notch work. Learn more at https://www.elevatenp.org/contractors/ or get in touch with us at 773.269.4037 or info@ElevateNP.org.