Our electric utility, Eversource, has a program called Connected Solutions to help manage the peak electric load on the grid. Managing peak loads becomes especially important in the hottest days of summer, when everyone turns on their air conditioning units (which all run on electricity). On these occasions, we see unusually high electricity demand, and smaller and seldom used “peaker” power plants are activated to relieve the demand. The electricity produced from these plants is often more polluting than the usual electric supply because it is almost always produced from older fossil fuel plants. In order to reduce stress on the grid and rely less on those “peaker” power plants, the electric utilities created a program called Connected Solutions to ratchet down the total amount of electricity use during peak events.
The program works with most smart thermostats that are connected to the internet. If you have the ability to control your thermostat from your smartphone, you are probably eligible to enroll in the Connected Solutions program. Once enrolled, if the utility expects that a peak event is about to occur, they will do a “pre-cool” adjustment to ratchet down the temperature setting of your thermostat by a few degrees for a short time. Then, when the peak event occurs, they will raise it by up to 4 degrees over your programmed setting during the peak event. Each event will last no longer than 3 hours, and will occur between 3pm and 8pm. After each event, your thermostat temperature will be returned to the normal programmed setting.
You are informed by email when an event is about to occur, and you have the ability to opt out of any peak event. Nevertheless, just being enrolled in the program earns you an annual payment every year of $20 per thermostat enrolled, and you also receive an initial sign-on cash bonus, which is currently $50. Once enrolled in the program, if you refer someone else to the program, you and your enrollee both receive a cash bonus. Last year, this program had around 78,000 households enrolled, and shifted over 88 Megawatts of energy off the electric grid during peak times of demand. I have been enrolled in this program over the past 4 years, and I rarely notice the thermostat adjustments during peak events. Admittedly, my family does not use a lot of air conditioning.
I recently received a notice from Connected Solutions to invite others to enroll. I will receive a cash bonus of $25, which I will donate to Green Newton for anyone who enrolls through my link, and each enrollee will receive a sign-on bonus of $50 plus the annual payment every year you remain in the program. Plus, you will become eligible to enroll others in the program, earning additional cash bonuses for yourself and others. If you don’t yet have a smart thermostat, now happens to be a great time to get one for as low as $4.99 during the pre-Black Friday sale at MassSave.
This is a chance to help green the grid, earn a little cash for yourself, and help Green Newton–all at the same time. Just use this link to enroll your smart thermostat(s) in Connected Solutions, and you will be on the way.
Craig Forman is a Newton resident and a Green Newton Board Member.
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