Free batteries power AC during heat waves

A New York City startup called Every Electric gives households free batteries to power window air conditioners during peak demand periods while earning money through utility programs.

How the program works

Residents receive Bluetti batteries, plug them into wall outlets, then plug air conditioners into the batteries. Every Electric manages charging and discharging remotely while Con Edison pays households through demand response programs.

The startup's origins

Andrew Wang and Richard May met as postdoctoral researchers at the Columbia Electrochemical Energy Center at Columbia University in New York City. They launched the startup in two thousand twenty-three, initially focused on sodium-ion battery chemistry.

A pivot to virtual power plants

The company rebranded as Every Electric in two thousand twenty-six and shifted focus to deploying residential batteries across New York City households to create a network of energy storage resources acting as a virtual power plant.

Low barrier to entry

Every Electric loans batteries to renters in exchange for a thirty dollar deposit, which is returned when households send batteries back. Customers can also purchase batteries outright for six hundred fifty dollars each.

Earnings through Con Edison

Customers get paid through Every Electric online accounts linked with Con Edison's Smart Usage Rewards program. Every Electric generally promises residents can earn one hundred fifty dollars each year per air conditioner.

The Bluetti Elite two hundred V two

Every Electric uses the Bluetti Elite two hundred V two, a lithium iron phosphate battery storing two kilowatt-hours of energy. It fits smaller New York apartments and works with any one hundred twenty volt plug-in air conditioner.

Circuit breaker challenges

When Con Edison reduced voltage during extreme heat, the power draw from batteries tripped circuit breakers in some apartments. Every Electric updated firmware to reduce the risk, though challenges vary by building and wiring age.

“You have to manage both some of the losses that are on the ConEd side and then some of the losses that might be in the wiring in people's walls.”

Rapid scaling from test to deployment

Every Electric deployed one hundred batteries across sixty-five households in summer two thousand twenty-five. This year it scaled to two thousand batteries across about one thousand households, providing four megawatt-hours of energy storage.

Why New York City is ideal

New York City has more than two million rental homes and more than eighty percent of housing was built more than fifty years ago, meaning they typically rely on window air conditioners without central air conditioning.

Demand outpaces supply

The wait list grew to requests for more than fifteen thousand batteries in summer two thousand twenty-six. Every Electric is aiming to scale up to more than ten thousand deployed batteries in two thousand twenty-seven.

Expansion beyond New York City

Every Electric remains focused on New York City but is exploring how to map the model onto new markets. New utility territories are approaching the company after seeing it can drop-ship megawatt-hours to customers as a grid solution.

“You can drop-ship literal megawatt hours to customers as a solution.”