With OhmConnect, it’s easy to get rewarded for saving energy.
Here’s how it works: It all starts with something we call an OhmHour.
What’s an OhmHour, you might be wondering?
In short: The OhmHour is where the magic happens.
An OhmHour or an AutoOhm is a brief window of time (usually on weeknight evenings) when demand on the energy grid is so high that utility companies would rather pay their customers to reduce our collective usage than the alternative - firing up a dirty, expensive “peaker” plant.
It works like this:
For a deeper dive into the mechanics of how OhmHours work, check out this guide.
Currently, our service is only available to folks who live in California, where smart meter data is easily accessible and we can quickly and easily see how much electricity your household used in a particular hour.
Participating utilities include:
Click here to learn how to connect your utility to OhmConnect and get started.
Don’t live in California but want to get in on the action? You can still be part of our lucrative referral program! If you refer an eligible California resident to OhmConnect and they connect their utility and save energy, you earn $20.
How much you can earn with OhmConnect is up to you. In short summary, the more energy you can save, the more you can earn! The average OhmConnect customer earns between $100-$300 each year but it's possible to earn, and win, far more if you’re a savvy customer.
Also, with a $20 reward for every person you refer to OhmConnect, the earning potential is limitless!
Whenever you can successfully save energy during an OhmHour or AutoOhm, you'll earn what we call Watts. And Watts are worth money or rewards in the OhmConnect Rewards Marketplace! When you have Watts in your OhmConnect account, you can do any of the following:
Great question! And please bear with us, it’s a little complicated.
In the US and Canada, there are nine regional energy markets where energy is traded. These markets provide a trading mechanism for buying and selling energy over many timeframes. Multi-year planning is done to make sure that the region has the right development of infrastructure and minute-by-minute planning is done to make sure that supply and demand are balanced and there are no blackouts.
Here’s where it gets fun.
OhmConnect trades energy in these markets like a power plant. We bid a quantity of energy at a specific price and if the market accepts our bid, we are contracted to (and get paid to!) deliver that energy. The trick is that we don’t actually create any new energy - we simply reduce as a community, which has the same effect as contributing energy to the grid.
In order to earn Watts to use in the Rewards Marketplace, you’ll need to connect your utilities online account to OhmConnect. Each utility company is a little different, so you’ll want to check out the instructions for your specific electricity provider:
