NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Thousands of Con Edison electricity customers in New York and Westchester received cash payments for using GridRewards™, a free mobile app, to make smart energy choices. The creator of the GridRewards app and operator of the program, Logical Buildings, completed cash payouts to rewards earners in late January. In 2021, 98% of GridRewards users earned money by tracking their energy use and responding to notifications to cut back at specific times.
“GridRewards is demonstrating that making smart choices to help decarbonize the grid not only helps the environment, but is financially beneficial for the tens of thousands of New Yorkers participating in this program,” says Jeff Hendler, CEO of Logical Buildings. “Not only is GridRewards saving consumers money on their monthly utility bills, while earning significant cash rewards, but it is also helping mitigate the sticker shock of skyrocketing energy costs precipitated by the pandemic.”
Following a spike in electricity and natural gas rates in the New York metro region in early February, many ConEd customers are searching for new ways to reduce or offset their energy costs. GridRewards helps users lower their energy bills by working directly with smart devices like thermostats and providing clear, actionable tips for using energy more efficiently. GridRewards can also earn users big cash rewards by automatically or manually reducing their energy use at certain times. Average households can make up to $100 a year simply by following the prompts in the app. Last year, one apartment resident in Hudson Yards earned more than $500, while another user in Chelsea brought in more than $200.
Now, GridRewards users can choose from three ways to receive those rewards for energy saving. Recipients can choose in the app to be paid via PayPal, have paper checks sent to them by mail, or donate their earnings to designated nonprofit organizations.
GridRewards’ revolutionary technology helps homeowners, renters, and small businesses take advantage of smart electric meters and receive cash rewards from their energy utilities while simultaneously reducing their monthly electric bills. Using graphics on their smartphones that have been designed in a gamified style, consumers are able to easily track their energy usage and cut down when based on customized suggestions, reducing energy use at peak times. Not only are users saving money and helping stabilize the grid, they are also curbing carbon emissions from energy production.
This year, five nonprofits have been selected as recipients for donations, including: City Harvest, which for nearly 40 years has distributed food and supplies to hundreds of food pantries, soup kitchens and other community partners across the five boroughs; Mothers Out Front, a national climate action group that also works at local levels to identify ways protect the environment; WE ACT, an environmental justice organization working with people of color and/or low-income residents to create and support fair environmental health and protection policies and practices; Natural Areas Conservancy, a New York City-based organization championing 20,000 acres of area forests and wetlands; and Sustainable Westchester, a consortium of local governments that facilitates effective collaboration on sustainability initiatives.
In the two years since the program was rolled out, the GridRewards community has prevented more than 200 tons of carbon from entering the atmosphere. This substantial reduction of carbon is equivalent to taking more than 11,000 homes completely off the grid during high electric load events, 15,000 cars off the road for one day, or offsetting more than 500,000 miles driven. In New York City, alone, the reduced load this past summer drastically decreased the use of pollution-producing peaker plants.
With the next enrollment cycle currently underway, more GridRewards participants will be able to earn money for themselves or give to nonprofit organizations without having to invest in any equipment other than a smartphone.
As another incentive to help grow the “climate activist” community, GridRewards™ users can receive a ten-dollar bonus for every new subscriber they introduce to the app, simply by having them add their personal code on the application and participate in upcoming events. As an additional benefit, these new subscribers will also receive a ten-dollar “thank you” bonus when they save electricity during the GridRewards™ season.
About GridRewards
GridRewards was developed in 2019 by Logical Buildings, an AI technology solutions leader in sustainability, smart building and virtual power plant software and a solutions provider for the built world. The firm’s revolutionary technologies combat climate change by empowering residential, commercial, and industrial energy users to earn money, enhance building health and reduce carbon footprints through user-friendly, award-winning mobile apps. GridRewards was initially introduced as a digital program in 2019. It was launched as a free app in spring 2021 and is downloadable via the Apple Store and Google Play. Logical Buildings, which was founded in 2012 as a smart building technology software developer, IoT and DER systems integrator, and smart building services provider, currently operates in major national urban markets, including New York, Boston, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington, D.C., Camden, Chicago, and Miami, and more. To learn more, visit logicalbuildings.com and follow Logical Buildings on LinkedIn.
