Electric Home Show Connects Clean Tech to Local Contractors

A single phone call just proved that bringing people together can move markets faster than any advertising campaign.

CleanTechnica is hosting the Electric Home Show in Honolulu this April, a three-day festival designed to accelerate the shift to electric homes. The event includes one day for industry professionals and two days for consumers, featuring workshops, product demos, and hands-on experiences with everything from heat pumps to electric vehicles.

Three months before the doors even open, the show is already changing the game. Event organizer Scott Cooney was making calls to local contractors when he reached an AC installer. After hearing about Quilt, a heat pump company with stunning design and industry-leading efficiency, the installer pulled up their website immediately and fell in love with the product.

That moment created exactly what the clean energy transition needs most. The installer may become Quilt certified before the show even happens, meaning Hawaii homeowners will now have access to a trusted professional who recommends ultra-efficient heat pumps instead of pushing outdated gas systems.

This solves what experts call the contractor bottleneck. When homeowners want to upgrade to clean technology like heat pump water heaters, they often call a contractor who pushes them toward familiar gas systems instead. It's not malicious. Contractors simply stick with what they know, and everyone loses: the homeowner gets locked into fossil fuels, innovative companies can't reach customers, and climate progress stalls.

The Electric Home Show tackles this head-on with Pro Day, where contractors meet company representatives, learn installation techniques, understand warranty support, and get sales training. Local rebate programs will be there to answer questions about available incentives too.

Air conditioning is the biggest energy user in Hawaiian homes and offices. By connecting contractors with companies like Quilt and Rinnai, the show is helping reduce overall electricity demand. Lower demand means more affordable power for all residents and faster progress toward Hawaii's 100% clean energy goal.

Major sponsors like Rinnai are already on board, and the show is growing organically on social media without any advertising yet. For $7, attendees can test drive electric vehicles, ride e-bikes, watch celebrity chefs demo induction cooking, and eat corn grilled on a Rivian-powered electric BBQ.

The Ripple Effect: The team behind the Electric Home Show wants this model replicated everywhere. They're offering to help anyone who wants to run a similar event in their own city, sharing their blueprint and providing support as long as there's no greenwashing involved. The goal isn't to own the concept but to spread it fast, empowering communities to build local clean energy economies. One show connecting the right people at the right time could transform how an entire region powers and heats its homes for decades to come.

Clean energy wins when the people selling it believe in it too.