Use your Battery Storage Device to Make the Grid More Sustainable

The ConnectedSolutions offering uses batteries to make the grid more sustainable by reducing peak energy use which reduces air pollution and lowers electricity cost.

PROGRAM APPLICATION

Eversource’s customers should use the application available on Eversource’s website.

PROGRAM DETAIL MATERIALS

How it Works

By enrolling your home or small business battery system in ConnectedSolutions you’ll earn incentives for allowing us to draw energy stored in your battery during times of peak electricity demand to help balance out the electric grid and avoid the use of energy from “peaker plants.”

Earning incentives is easy. Your Mass Save Sponsor will automatically send a signal to the inverter that controls your battery when energy is needed. Most battery owners will never even notice an event.

Your Mass Save Sponsor will call upon your battery no more than 60 times per summer with each event lasting a maximum of 3 hours. Summer events will occur on non-holidays between June 1 and September 30, between the hours of 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.

What's the incentive?

In return for your participation, your Mass Save Sponsor will pay $275 per kilowatt (kW) for your battery’s average contribution during summer events.

Different batteries can contribute different amounts over the 2 or 3-hour events. For a typical battery capable of a 5-kW continuous contribution during these events, customers could receive up to $1,375 per year of participation through the ConnectedSolutions program.

Please consult your inverter manufacturer or installer to help estimate how your battery system would perform and what annual incentive you should expect.

Which Battery Storage Systems Qualify?

You can participate in this offering either by installing a battery storage system with a new solar panel system, adding a battery storage system to an existing solar panel system, or installing a stand-alone battery storage system for your home or small business.

A device called an inverter will control your battery. Some inverters are integrated into a battery as a single unit, and some a separate device. The inverters supported by this offering are:¹

[1] These systems may not be available for your utility. Refer to your Sponsor's website for more information ↩

0% Financing

Customers are eligible to apply for 0% financing through the HEAT Loan Program for the material and labor costs associated with installing a battery storage system to participate in ConnectedSolutions. The HEAT Loan cannot be used to cover the cost of the solar PV or the cost to use setup your battery system for backup power. If you are interested in receiving an authorization form which can be brought to participating lenders to apply for a HEAT Loan, please mark the appropriate field on your ConnectedSolutions application. Please consult your installer or inverter manufacturer for more details.

FAQs

What is Battery Storage?

A battery storage system operates like a rechargeable phone, tablet or laptop battery, but at a much larger scale. It is considered a “solar battery” if it is charged by a solar panel system. Solar battery storage systems can store electricity from your solar panels and then either send that power back to the electrical grid, or to your own house, for use when the sun isn’t shining. For a solar battery to participate in ConnectedSolutions, it must have an interconnection agreement, a standard step taken when you install solar on your home.

How can I find a Battery Storage device?

To participate in ConnectedSolutions, customers must use a battery storage system controlled by a supported battery inverter manufacturer. Please see the list of supported inverter manufacturers above. You can also reach out to your installer to see if they install one of the supported inverters.

What about using my battery for power outages?

Many customers install energy storage systems to be prepared for power outages. We want to ensure that customers with batteries remain prepared if the lights go out.

In New England, most power outages occur during the winter, whereas events called in the ConnectedSolutions program will be in the summer. Additionally, if the weather forecast calls for an extreme weather event, we will not call an event, allowing ConnectedSolutions participants to keep charged batteries in preparation for a possible outage event.

Do I need to maintain an internet connection to my energy storage system

Yes, to be able to call on your energy storage system when it is needed, we need you to maintain an internet connection to your battery.

Since your summer incentives are based on your energy storage system’s average contribution during the season, anything that causes your battery to not contribute will decrease your incentive for that season.

If we cannot communicate with your energy storage system, or if your energy storage system cannot discharge when needed due to a maintenance issue the incentive payment will be affected.

Can I participate in this offering if I already have a solar PV system?

Yes. Customers with existing solar PV systems can add an energy storage system to their home or small business to participate in this program. As part of this process, your solar interconnection service agreement will need to be updated. Please work with your solar PV or battery installer to complete this update.

What if I choose to unenrolled from the offering?

Back to Rebates and Incentives