Ask the Homeowner: Renovation projects are not fun at all. From finding a contractor to determining a fair price, the process is full of uncertainty.
Many startups have jumped out to help homeowners tackle electrification projects, including installing solar panels and replacing gas furnaces. But they still struggle with cost questions. Getting customers is often more than half the battle.
Pearl Edison thinks the answer is utility.
“More than anything, we’re leveraging their brand equity and trust,” Evan Anderson, co-founder and CEO of Pearl Edison, told TechCrunch.
Investors bought this idea. The Detroit-based startup has raised a $3.3 million seed round from new systems ventures and Common Wheel ventures, the company told TechCrunch exclusively. Lightbank and NewLab participated.
Pearl Edison will work with the utility to identify customers who are most likely to benefit from energy retrofit projects such as heat pumps and additional insulation. Build a white signed website for the utility and help larger organizations run campaigns and sign energy efficiency upgrades.
The company uses a variety of data sources to design jobs and generate prices that guarantee their customers. After the software creates the first draft of the plan, dispatches workers to verify everything in the field before completing the design.
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You will then send the employment to an examination contractor who will complete the installation. Pearl Edison makes money from the installation, and estimates that most of those jobs will cost more than quotes. Pearl Edison said homeowners should also save money as Pearl Edison can sign for less, as they don’t have to waste time acquiring customers.
Already, the company has set up programs for two utilities: DT Energy in Michigan and Duquesne Light in the Pittsburgh area, and one government, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Anderson said the company will add two more utilities this year.
“We found them to be good partners,” Anderson said.
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