Buy Local, Build Local: Beyond Small Business Saturday

Back to Blog

Watch out, Black Friday and Cyber Monday: there’s a new shopping day in town.  Small Business Saturday encourages shoppers to kick off the holiday season on Main Street because, “When we all shop small, it will be huge.” There’s real possibility behind this feel-good slogan: half of America’s workers either own or work for a small business, and their businesses champion local causes and create local character.  That’s certainly true for the home performance industry, because the advantages of buying local apply to building local, too.  Here’s how:

Help the environment: Shopping downtown reduces the sprawl associated with big box strip malls and the carbon cost of shipping goods from afar, but improving your home’s energy efficiency is the ultimate green move.  One-fifth of greenhouse gas emissions come from residential structures, and the average home performance upgrade reduces energy use by 25%.

Encourage entrepreneurship: Making American homes more energy efficient has a double financial benefit: homeowners save money by cutting energy costs, and workers earn money by retrofitting exisiting homes. The only stumbling block in this win-win scenario is a lack of green entrepreneurs, but improving your home’s comfort and efficiency directly encourages this new breed of business.

Foster local job creation: Retrofitting and weatherizing older homes – especially in Maine, which has the oldest housing stock in the nation – will be an ongoing process, requiring a new “green-collar” workforce. Trained home performance contractors are in demand, and they’re uniquely qualified for sustainable jobs that cannot be exported.

Keep local dollars in the local economy: Half of the oil we use each day is imported – which is as far from local as it gets.  Energy efficient homes reduce our dependence on foreign oil and keep dollars that might have gone overseas right here in Maine.

Celebrate what makes our community unique: Old houses are the norm in Maine.  From ship captain’s mansions to hundred-year-old farmhouses, these buildings tell the unique story of our communities.  Home performance retrofitting preserves the historic character of old homes while meeting modern expectations for comfort and energy efficiency – making the buildings and the community stronger.

Nurture our community: Our homes are the centerpiece of our community.  When homeowners, green entrepreneurs, and green-collar construction workers collaborate to make them more comfortable, more energy efficient, and more durable, we’re demonstrating our confidence in the community we share.

Contact us today to learn more!

207-594-2244

We needed basement encapsulation to stop moisture coming up into the house from our regularly flooding basement. We had mold growing on windowsills and furniture. All the staff were friendly, respectful of our home, and easy to work with. Humidity has gone from 70% down to 40% and mold has not grown back after two months. Very grateful.

Sarah C.

Belfast

Professional, friendly and hard-working staff. The product/approach they use for insulation is top notch. We felt the difference immediately, both from added warmth and eliminating drafts. The team and management were easily available to answer our questions or coordinate meeting times. Highly recommended.

Kevin J.

Yarmouth

Evergreen was so helpful in securing us Efficiency Maine funding for a big attic insulation project early this winter. They did all of the paperwork, and totally guided us through a vermiculite removal process that included a payment from a trust for the procedure. I could instantly feel the second floor being so much warmer than before. The boiler does not kick on nearly as frequently since they completed the job. It was worth every penny! Brian Robinson was so thorough throughout the whole process including a full walk through after the job had been completed.

Todd W.

Camden

They were highly recommended. I found them to be very knowledgeable and so helpful, with practical ideas. Despite my not living within their service area, they were generous with their knowledge, describing the usual solutions to correct leaks in my basement, and what the result is likely to be by following path A, B or C, and why. I was discouraged. Talking with Evergreen helped me see that my basement problems are far from insurmountable and really, fairly common in 100-year old homes. There are proven solutions.

Rosalind J

Damariscotta

Working with Brian and with Nate and the rest of the crew was a pleasure. They made everything very easy and understandable. This was a major renovation and they were always at the ready with a lot of information. We had an extensive renovation on the basement which was a dirt basement and it came out beautifully. We can already tell from all of the insulation work what a difference it's made in sound and temperature. Brian worked with me on the rebates that are available when you do this kind of work. I would highly recommend this company to…

Valerie L.

Rockland

We had Evergreen redo the insulation in our roof. The team handling our project did a great job. They left the house spotless. We've already noticed the difference in how much better our house is retaining heat. I would definitely recommend and will use them for future projects.

Ffej C.

South Portland

The folks at Evergreen did a great job fixing a rather major insulation problem in my house, which they helped identify with a great audit. When the work began, they were thorough, upbeat, and -- dare I say it -- efficient. I strongly recommend them.

Michael Williams

Thorough, smart, informative, integrated, and communicative -- that's how my experience was with Evergreen even with the covid interruption midstream. The team picked up where they left off, insulated basement and air sealed attic and knee wall in 100' temps under the eaves! This business group was a pleasure to work with.

Karen W.

Gray

Evergreen removed and replaced the insulation in my attic. They did a great job!, Crew was excellent, and the whole thing went smoothly, and the attic was NOT easy to get into or work in, so kudos to some hard work done well!

Joel A.

Portland

Evergreen Home Performance shows its expertise from start to finish. Evergreen did three house projects in winter/spring/summer 2020 for me, attic insulation, crawl space under a porch insulation, and basement foam/vapor barrier. From my initial discussion with Bryan, I understood the reasons for choosing different types of insulation, the associated costs, and time estimates. Evergreen scheduled in advance, came when they said they would, and the crews were highly professional in their work and demeanor.

Iris S.

Portland

Our house still the most efficient home we’ve ever lived in. And we have you folks to thank for that! A special howdy to Brian Robinson please!

Bruce O’Donal and Eva Butler

We absolutely loved our experience with Evergreen. The team was incredibly kind, professional and great to work with. We're very impressed with the quality of work of the Evergreen team and how easy they made everything! Our house had barely any insulation ahead of this project and the results are amazing. Insulating the attic, walls and basement with Evergreen allowed us to tear a 50-year-old furnace, ductwork and oil tank out of the basement and now heat the home with new heat pumps. Evergreen also added 100 sq ft of clean, new storage space to the attic!

Nick S.

South Portland

I cant say enough about this company and the benefits that it created for our family. They are very professional and have effectively re-insulated our home. The heating bill proves the point.

Bob O.

Springvale

Awesome company. It was a few years ago that they did the audit and then we commissioned them to do the work. We subsequently sold our house and moved to South Africa, but their level of service and expertise will live on.

Odette Brown

Really great experience from start to finish with Evergreen. They helped us prioritize what needed to be completed first, and has made a significant difference in our hearing costs already. Plus they were really friendly and considerate to work with!

Amy W.

Kennebunk

Portland Buy Local
Efficiency Maine
EPA Lead-Safe Certified
Building Performance Association
BPI Certified