This Detroit startup is turning to utilities to make home efficiency upgrades cheaper

Ask any homeowner: Renovation projects are no fun at all. From finding a contractor to determining a fair price, the process is rife with uncertainty. 

Plenty of startups have popped up to help homeowners tackle electrification projects, including installing solar panels and replacing gas furnaces with heat pumps. But they still struggle with the cost question: acquiring customers is often more than half the battle.

Pearl Edison thinks the answer is utilities.

“As much as anything, we are leveraging their brand equity and trust,” Evan…