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This start-to-finish guide covers all you need to know about Rhode Island Energy’s smart thermostat demand response program, ConnectedSolutions.
How to Enroll & Start Saving
Enrolling is simple. If you already own an eligible thermostat you may have received a notification from your thermostat manufacturer asking you to enroll. You can also enroll by following these steps:
What is Demand Response & How does it Work?
Demand response programs offer customers financial incentives for conserving electricity during periods of peak demand, thus helping to stabilize the electric grid and lowering electricity prices. Much like any industry, electricity is all about supply and demand. When demand is high, power plants must work to increase the electricity supply by using costly generators, thus stressing the grid and increasing prices for consumers. If demand is reduced, there is no need to stress the grid, increase the supply, or increase prices.
Take a hot summer day as an example. Imagine everyone coming home between 5:00 and 7:00 P.M. and cranking their ACs to cool their homes. This causes a peak demand event that can be reduced by a smart thermostat DR program. Those who are enrolled automatically receive a signal to their thermostat to precool their home before 5:00 P.M., effortlessly reducing the electric load. On a hot summer day when electricity use is at its highest, a little bit goes a long way in reducing costs! The more people who have a smart thermostat connected, the greater the impact.
How Demand Response Helps You Save
The ConnectedSolutions smart thermostat DR program helps save in many ways:
Whether you are a homeowner or renter, earn a $25 enrollment incentive and a $20 annual incentive for every thermostat connected to a central air conditioner.
How Rhode Island Energy’s ConnectedSolutions Works
Connecting qualified thermostats to the ConnectedSolutions program enables your Rhode Island Energy electricity provider to make small adjustments to your energy use during times of peak demand while rewarding you for helping reduce demand on the electric grid on hot summer days when electricity use is at its highest.
Rhode Island Energy has made it easy for you to conserve energy at these peak times— and earn incentives for doing your part. If you enroll your thermostat in ConnectedSolutions, Rhode Island Energy will automatically send a signal to your thermostat to precool your home before a peak demand event, and then increase your thermostat setting by no more than 4 °F during peak demand.
All events will occur between 6 am to 10 p.m. on non-holiday weekdays and weekends between June 1 and September 30. There are typically about 15 peak events every summer, and each event lasts 3 hours.
You will maintain control of your thermostat and you can opt out of a peak event at any time by changing your thermostat setting. You can opt out of most or even all peak events. However, we may unenroll you from the program for the following year if the program is not a good fit for you.
ConnectedSolutions Eligibility Requirements
ConnectedSolutions is available to residential electric customers of Rhode Island Energy
To participate in the ConnectedSolutions program, your thermostat MUST be connected to a central air conditioner, defined as:
Which Smart Thermostats Work with Demand Response (DR) and Where to Purchase Them
There are many options for purchasing a smart, Wi-Fi thermostat that is supported by the DR program.
