How I kept cool with NYC's free battery program for window AC units

NYC’s free battery program shows how distributed energy storage can turn ordinary air conditioners into a monetizable grid resource, reducing peak-load strain while preserving comfort and creating a new revenue stream through demand-response participation. For CIOs and technology leaders, the strategic takeaway is that energy infrastructure is increasingly becoming a software-orchestrated, networked asset class—one that depends on reliable connectivity, remote device management, firmware updates, and integration with utility programs to deliver both resilience and cost savings.