Are you looking to earn a little extra cash while reducing your electricity use? Here is my OhmConnect review to help you do exactly that. I partnered with OhmConnect and in this article I’ll cover whether OhmConnect is legitimate and safe, how much members typically earn, and how the service works.
If you live in California, OhmConnect can be an easy way to save money and electricity.
California residents can earn hundreds of dollars a year by linking their utility account to OhmConnect. The program typically asks members to reduce electricity use for about one hour per week; if you meet the savings goal, you earn rewards.
Here’s a quick summary of OhmConnect – it’s a free service that rewards Californians with PayPal cash or gift cards for lowering electricity use during peak demand times. You generally receive a notification about once a week asking you to save energy for an hour. When you reduce usage during that period, you receive rewards.
Besides helping the environment, OhmConnect is a simple way to earn extra money.
Most members earn between $100 and $300 per year, while some users have reported earning more than $2,000 in their first year.
Using OhmConnect is straightforward and requires minimal effort.
I consider it a smart option for eligible California residents — there’s little downside and potential upside in both savings and earnings.
Below is my full OhmConnect review explaining how it works and how you can benefit.
My OhmConnect review
What is OhmConnect?
When many households use electricity at the same time, utilities sometimes must run older, less efficient, and dirtier power plants to meet demand. To avoid that and to reduce costs, utilities and grid operators increasingly pay people to lower their electricity use during peak demand periods.
OhmConnect is a free service that helps users shift their energy use to cleaner times and rewards them with cash or gift cards when they save electricity during peak demand events.
There are no fees to join, and you don’t have to install any equipment unless you choose to use optional smart devices. OhmConnect also doesn’t change your utility bill — it simply tracks and rewards reduced usage during specified events.
During an “OhmHour” event, you’re asked to turn off or reduce certain appliances for an hour or two. If you save enough energy compared to your predicted usage, you earn points that can be redeemed for PayPal cash or other rewards.
How much can you earn with OhmConnect?
OhmConnect awards points for meeting savings targets during OhmHours. Points convert to cash at a rough rate of 10,000 points = $100 (so one point ≈ $0.01). For many events, the maximum reward is 2,000 points per hour, meaning a single-hour event could earn up to $20 if you reach the max.
Actual earnings depend on how much electricity you can reduce during events. On average, members earn around $100 to $300 per year, though some active users who optimize their homes and habits report significantly higher earnings.
OhmConnect highlights success stories, such as a San Diego resident who combined smart home technology with strategy to earn hundreds per month.
How does OhmConnect work?
OhmConnect is simple to use if your utility is supported. You need an online account with one of the eligible California utilities and to connect that account to OhmConnect.
Steps to get started:
- Sign up for a free OhmConnect account
- Link your OhmConnect account to your utility account
- Receive notifications when a high-demand period is expected
- Reduce your electricity use during the OhmHour (turn down HVAC, delay appliances, unplug devices)
- If your usage is lower than the predicted baseline, you receive points and rewards
Ways to save energy during OhmHours
There are many practical steps to reduce electricity for an hour or two. Examples include:
- Unplugging unused electronics (TVs, chargers, computers) to avoid phantom loads
- Raising or lowering your thermostat a few degrees to reduce HVAC use
- Using smart devices like thermostats and smart plugs to automate reductions
- Postponing dishwasher, washer/dryer, or other high-demand appliances until after the OhmHour
- Insulating electric water heaters to reduce heat loss
- Keeping refrigerator doors closed to limit compressor run time
- Turning off unnecessary lights
These actions are generally easy to adopt and can help you meet OhmHour goals consistently.
Who is eligible to use OhmConnect?
OhmConnect is currently available to customers with online accounts at these California utilities:
- Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E)
- San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E)
- Southern California Edison (SCE)
What is an OhmHour and how often do they occur?
An OhmHour is a short period—often during weeknight evenings—when electricity demand is high. These are times when many people are home using appliances, cooking, and running HVAC systems. OhmConnect typically notifies members about a day in advance so you can prepare, and you can set your preferred hours to receive notifications.
Using smart devices makes it easier to capture savings during OhmHours since you can control devices remotely and automate reductions even when you’re not home.
How to increase your OhmConnect earnings
To boost earnings, consistently meet your OhmHour goals and stack successful events. You can also earn referral bonuses—OhmConnect pays for inviting other households to join (the referral reward can vary by program, commonly around $20).
Is OhmConnect legitimate and how does the company make money?
OhmConnect is a legitimate and safe company. The organization participates in energy markets where reducing demand is valuable to grid operators. By aggregating many users who reduce consumption during peak periods, OhmConnect effectively provides demand reduction that has the same benefit as adding supply to the grid. Utilities and grid operators compensate OhmConnect for these reductions, and OhmConnect shares a portion of that revenue with its users as rewards.
Overall, OhmConnect offers a low-risk way for eligible California residents to help the grid, reduce environmental impact, and earn modest rewards. If you’re with PG&E, SDG&E, or SCE, it’s worth signing up and seeing how much you can earn.
If you’d like to try it, you can sign up for OhmConnect to link your utility account and start receiving OhmHour notifications.
I hope this OhmConnect review was helpful.
Are you interested in trying OhmConnect? What steps do you take to reduce electricity use in your home?