America’s homes are quietly fueling the climate crisis. Residential buildings account for nearly 20% of U.S. emissions, yet retrofitting them remains a maze of contractors, estimates, and outdated systems. It’s one of the hardest — and most important — challenges in the clean energy transition.
In this episode of The Capitalist Hippie Podcast, host Marco Pimentel sits down with Grant Gunnison, Founder of Zero Homes, a startup turning that problem into opportunity. After building space lasers at NASA, Grant set out to reinvent the way homeowners power their houses — replacing weeks of confusion with a single digital experience that takes less than an hour.
Together, they explore:
- How a painful customer experience inspired a climate tech breakthrough.
- Why solving homeowner frustration could unlock massive emissions reductions.
- The role of software, AI, and data in scaling home electrification.
- What it takes to turn a local contracting problem into a national climate solution.
- How startups like Zero Homes are making sustainable living effortless — and profitable.
As Grant explains, “Almost no one comes to us saying, ‘I have a massive climate problem in my home.’ They just want something that works better.” This episode dives into how fixing the customer journey might just fix the planet — showing how technology, trust, and design can power both climate progress and business growth.
Play Episode 87: Grant Gunnison, Zero Homes