The ConnectedSolutions program: What you need to know

If you live in the Northeast and own a home battery or smart thermostat, you can earn money by enrolling in the ConnectedSolutions program. ConnectedSolutions is a virtual power plant (VPP) that rewards homeowners for helping to stabilize the grid by giving their utility access to their devices.

The ConnectedSolutions program is open to people in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island who own solar batteries or smart thermostats. New Yorkers who have National Grid as their utility can only enroll their smart thermostats.

We’ll walk you through the pros and cons of the program and how much you can earn (spoiler: it can be upwards of $1,500), to help you decide if it’s worth joining.

The ConnectedSolutions program is relatively straightforward for battery owners: your utility will pay you an annual incentive to access and use the energy stored in your battery on a limited number of days each year. (We recommend checking out our guide on how VPPs work if you’re not already familiar with it.)

The program design, frequently referred to as a "bring-your-own-battery" or "bring-your-own-device" program, is available in numerous states under different names—ConnectedSolutions is the largest one in the Northeast. It was originally started in Massachusetts, but the program is now available throughout many Northeastern states for eligible customers of the following utilities:

• Eversource

• National Grid

• Rhode Island Energy

• Cape Light Compact

Several solar batteries qualify for the program; be sure to ask your utility which batteries qualify, especially if you’re still shopping for solar batteries and want to choose one compatible with the ConnectedSolutions program.

Here are the battery companies partnered with ConnectedSolutions as of 2025:

• Emporia

• Enphase

• Fortress Power

• FranklinWH

• Generac

• Panasonic

• QCells

• Sonnen

• Sol-Ark

• SolarEdge

• SunPower

• Tesla

There are different eligibility requirements based on each type of battery. For example, Sonnen battery owners are only eligible in Massachusetts, while Enphase owners can join in Massachusetts or Rhode Island, and Tesla Powerwall owners can join in Massachusetts, Connecticut, or Rhode Island.

ConnectedSolutions also offers a smart thermostat program, allowing you to earn incentives for reducing your energy use during peak demand hours in the summer. You must have a wifi-enabled smart thermostat connected to a central heating or cooling system to qualify—here’s a current list of eligible devices:

• Ecobee

• Emerson Sensi

• Honeywell Home (including Lyric)

• Lux

• Google Nest

• Building36

• Vivint.smartHome

You may be able to enroll both your smart thermostat and battery in the program, but some eligibility restrictions apply depending on where you live.

At their core, ConnectedSolutions and other VPP programs like it were created to help stabilize the grid. On very hot days, electricity prices increase and can be quite high as homeowners and businesses run their air conditioning at full blast. This requires utilities to turn on infrequently used power plants, which are expensive to run and have higher carbon emissions than other types of power plants. The idea behind the ConnectedSolutions program is that instead of relying on these high-cost, high-emission power plants, your utility can instead pull energy from your battery and the batteries of other homeowners.

Essentially, your utility pays you to participate in ConnectedSolutions, which allows them to decrease overall costs by avoiding running costly power plants. That, in turn, benefits all electricity consumers because it means you’re off the hook for paying for more expensive electricity from these infrequently used power plants.

The way the program works for you will look different depending on what kind of device you’re enrolling into the program.

ConnectedSolutions incentives vary by utility. According to National Grid, its Massachusetts customers who enroll their battery earn $1,500 annually on average, while smart thermostat owners receive about $70 ($50 at enrollment plus $20 at the end of each summer).

The ConnectedSolutions program is designed to pay you by season based on the power output of your battery. Most home batteries have power output between 5 and 9 kilowatts (kW), but performance also varies based on size, configuration, internet connectivity, and a few other factors. The incentive rate may also vary by state and utility; below are the rates for Massachusetts customers, with Rhode Island Energy being the exception:

Accurate as of February 2025

The program is designed to lock in your incentive rate for the first five years and continues offering incentives at a revised rate. This means that for a 5 kW solar battery, you would receive incentive payments of between $4,000 and $9,000 over the five-year life of the program in most states.

Many solar batteries cost between $10,000 and $15,000 to install before rebates and incentives (which often shave a few thousand dollars off that price.) Of course, these incentives vary by state and for residential versus commercial customers. But enrolling in the ConnectedSolutions program provides an additional incentive that allows you to pay off your battery in much less time.

If your electric utility is Eversource, National Grid, Cape Light Compact, or Rhode Island Energy, you’ll (most likely) qualify for ConnectedSolutions. Each utility has separate requirements for participation. Currently, National Grid’s New York customers can only enroll smart thermostats.

The requirements, eligible batteries, and the program application for Massachusetts can be found on MassSave's website. For customers in RI, CT, or NY it's best to visit your utility's website, as National Grid and Eversource have pages dedicated to the program.