Smart Home Rate Frequently Asked Questions

If you have questions about your thermostat, go to Emerson Sensi Support.

Participation in the Smart Home Rate ends April 2023.

The Smart Home Rate offers eligible customers a free smart thermostat and smart home software, as well as a new electric rate based on real-time electricity costs. Participants with compatible systems received a free Emerson Sensi Touch Smart Thermostat ($169 value) and are billed on the new Smart Home Rate from April 2021 through March 2023.

Since the Smart Home Rate is ending, you will be automatically unenrolled and put onto the standard electric rate.

Now that the Smart Home Rate program is ending, the smart home software will not operate on your thermostat any longer.

Your smart thermostat is connected to smart home software which pulls data on your preferences, your home profile, weather forecasts, and real-time energy costs to adjust your Auto or Cooling schedules in a way that keeps you comfortable while managing your energy costs. While your rate is active year-round, your smart home software only operates during warmer months (June to September), when your thermostat is in Auto or Cooling mode.

Use the Sensi mobile app to set schedules for your home. Learn how. 

You can also set temperature limits on your thermostat to keep the temperature setting from going too high or too low. Learn how.

Temperature Limits allow you to put parameters on the highest temperature and lowest temperature your Sensi Smart Thermostat can be set to. You can change your thermostat temperature settings at any time. Learn more.

All thermostats will be disconnected from the smart home software by April 28, 2023. You will no longer see the program listed as "enrolled" in the Simple Savings screen in the mobile app or will see a message that there are currently no Energy programs available for your smart thermostat.

The Smart Home Rate is active year-round and includes three components:*

• Supply Charge: Based on the total amount of electricity you use, billed at a new, variable price that will change throughout the month as the supply and need for electricity in the region varies.
• Delivery Charge: Based on your maximum demand for electricity within a 60-minute period from noon to 8 p.m. every day. It can be higher if you use many electric appliances and your A/C at the same time.
• Event Charge: During an “event,” you may pay an additional charge for your maximum electricity demand within any given 60-minute period.

The Smart Home Rate event charges may appear on your bill as “Adjustments.” You can log into My Account in a web browser or through the Orange and Rockland app and see additional information about your new electric rate, your energy demand on event days and non-event days, and tips for getting the most out of the Smart Home Rate and more.

If you have questions about your bill, call 1-877-434-4100 or contact us.

We want to provide customers with a dynamic electric rate that aligns with the real-time cost of delivering electricity. We also provide a new smart thermostat connected to smart home software to help you manage your energy use and costs related to cooling your home. The Smart Home Rate encourages you to use less electricity during certain peak times, like hot summer afternoons, when demand increases dramatically in our region. Reducing your energy use during these peak times makes the grid run more efficiently and reliably, ensuring there will be enough capacity to meet these rare spikes in electricity demand.

Participants received a free Emerson Sensi Touch Smart Thermostat ($169 value). The Wi-Fi-enabled thermostat allows you to easily adjust your home’s temperature and set schedules from its touchscreen, remotely through a mobile app, or by connecting to devices like a smart speaker. It also allows you to set up vacation schedules. Although the program is ending, you can continue to use your smart thermostat to help manage your energy use.

Your smart home software only adjusts your thermostat schedule when your thermostat is in Auto or Cooling mode during the warmer months. It will not operate on your thermostat when it is in Heat mode. The smart home software does not connect to any other home systems or appliances other than your thermostat.

The smart home software is active when you see a Smart Home Rate schedule active on your device. If you see the term “Schedule” on your device or app home screen, click into the schedule. If the schedule reads “Smart Home Rate” or “Smart Home Rate Event”, then your smart home software is active and helping you manage your energy use and costs. One of these—“Smart Home Rate” or “Smart Home Rate Event”—will be active from June through September. Since the Smart Home Rate is ending, all thermostats will be disconnected from the smart home software by  April 28, 2023. 

When the “Smart Home Rate” schedule is running on your device, it will be managing your thermostat’s temperature setpoints to stay within your schedule and comfort settings (based on what temperatures you set your thermostat to in the past) and help you manage costs on the rate. This might mean your thermostat cools your home earlier in the day when costs are lower and then reduces the amount of cooling during higher cost periods.

No, the smart home software only helps you manage energy use when your thermostat is on and in Auto or Cooling modes.

On the Smart Home Rate, the price for electricity varies throughout each day. Your bill is also impacted by how much electricity you use within any given 60-minute period from noon to 8 p.m. When your thermostat is in Auto or Cooling mode, your smart home software knows your real-time costs and automatically adjusts your Auto or Cooling schedules to help you stay comfortable and control costs. You can save by shifting your electricity use outside of events or by staggering use of large electric appliances (like a dishwasher, clothes washer, or pool pump) that use a lot of energy, instead of using them all at once.

Shift: Use large electric appliances when electricity costs less, such as mornings, after 8 p.m., and outside event periods. For example, set your dishwasher to run at 9 p.m. or wait to do laundry until after an event ends.

Stagger: Use less electricity all at once by staggering the use of large electric appliances. Have your dishwasher, clothes washer, or pool pump “take turns,” instead of turning them all on at the same time.

Your electric bill was calculated based on your electricity use. For your first year on the Smart Home Rate, you had a price guarantee. That meant if your bill was higher than what it would have been on your old electric rate, we credited you the difference at the end of your first year on the new rate. If you did not stay on the Smart Home Rate for at least the full year, you were not eligible for the price guarantee.

Enrollment capacity was limited, available on a first-come, first-served basis. As of March 2021, enrollment has closed.