​​​​​The Hawaii State Department of Education’s (HIDOE) announced today that a number of qualified contractors have answered the call to apply for heat abatement​ work in an effort to cool more classrooms. Since March, the number of prequalified contractors has increased from 18 to 36 as HIDOE prepares to put projects back out to bid.

“We appreciate the attention and effort by our local contractors who have come forward to work on our sustainable cooling projects,”said Dann Carlson, assistant superintendent, Office of School Facilities and Support Services. “Cooling classrooms is much more than just installing an AC unit, it requires professional contractors who can complete a job the right way. This includes ensuring electrical capabilities, properly sealing rooms, and more.”

The Department prequalified contractors in the Spring with a goal of implementing cooling measures in 1,000 classrooms by the end of the year.  Of the more than 3,000 contractors that were sent the notices multiple times, 18 qualified. 

In May, the Department restarted the prequalifying process and sent notices to more than 3,000 contractors. That resulted in 25 contractor applicants and 18 qualified applicants. The total 36 contractors are able to bid on projects to cool classrooms.

Projects have been identified at 33 schools using a variety of AC products including photovoltaic air conditioning (PVAC) with both PV and electrical power, PVAC with battery power, and standard split system AC with full electrical power. 

The Department is required by law to minimize the amount of electrical usage increase as much as possible and add passive cooling. This is one reason HIDOE is looking at various energy efficiency measures. 

HIDOE will be meeting with the qualified contractors to review project specifications and the timeline for bidding. These contractors include:

Round 1 Qualifying Contractors

1. Able Electric, Inc.

2. All Maintenance and Repair, LLC

3. Allied Pacific Builders, Inc. 

4. Arisumi Brothers, Inc.

5. CC Engineering & Construction, Inc. 

6. Contech Engineering, Inc.

7. Economy Plumbing & Sheet Metal, Inc.

8. Greenpath Technologies, Inc.

9. Honolulu Roofing Company, Inc.

10. Island Wide A/C Service, LLC

11. MJ Construction, Inc.

12. Pacific Blue Construction LLC

13. Rambaud Electric, LLC

14. S&M Sakamoto, Inc.

15. Starcom Builders, Inc.

16. Tory’s Roofing & Waterproofing, Inc.

17. Banks Pacific Construction, Inc. 

18. A’s Mechanical​

Round 2 Qualifying Contractors

1. Arita-Poulson General Contracting, LLC 

2. BCP Construction of HI, Inc. 

3. Brian’s Contracting, Inc. 

4. Central Construction, Inc.

5. Commercial Roofing & Waterproofing Hawaii, Inc.

6. Elite Pacific Construction, Inc.

7. F&H Construction

8. HBM Acquisitions, LLC dba Hawaiian Building Maintenance

9. HSI Mechanical, Inc.

10. Index Builders, Inc.

11. Isemoto Contracting, Co., Ltd.

12. LTM, Corporation dba Civil-Mechanical Contractor

13. Nan, Inc.

14. Performance Systems, Inc. 

15. Ralph S. Inouye Co., Ltd. 

16. RevoluSun, LLC

17. Su-Mo Builders, Inc.

18. Shioi Construction, Inc.