In this episode of Earthlings 2.0, we sit down with Whit Fulton, founder and Chief Product Officer of ConnectDER, to explore how a simple but powerful innovation, the meter socket adapter, is reshaping residential solar, storage, and EV adoption. By turning the meter socket into a universal plug-in point, ConnectDER removes one of the biggest barriers to home electrification: complex, costly, and time-consuming wiring upgrades. Whit discusses the origins of the idea, the industry’s over-reliance on policy incentives, the persistent challenge of soft costs, and the larger paradigm shift from hardwired to plug-and-play clean energy systems.

Key Points:

• Solar’s Soft Cost Problem – While panels themselves are cheap, permitting, sales, and installation overhead make solar feel like a construction project instead of an appliance purchase.
• The Plug-In Breakthrough – ConnectDER’s meter socket adapter lets homeowners plug solar, EV chargers, or batteries directly into the grid interface, cutting installation from days to minutes.
• Scalable and Universal – Compatible with 95% of U.S. homes, the technology has already reached ~30,000 deployments across 20 states, with California soon joining.
• Whit Fulton, Founder and Chief Product Officer of ConnectDER, LinkedIn
• Lisa Ann Pinkerton, Earthlings 2.0 Host, CEO of Technica Communications, and Founder of Women in Cleantech and Sustainability, LinkedIn
• Previous episodes discussed:
• #74 - Making Home Energy Storage Accessible For All
• 
  
• #91- Building Resilient, All-Electric Homes for the Future with Arch Rao

🚀 Calling all Earthlings…  

Visit our website for more episodes!

Sign up to our newsletter for the latest news on the most exciting technology and research shaping our futures! 

We want to learn more about you! It’ll take just a few moments to complete our survey. Thank you for helping us make your listening experience the best it can be!

Are you new to Earthlings 2.0 and don’t know where to get started? Check out our Life at 3C episode on our website

Thanks for tuning in! If you like what we’re doing over at Earthlings 2.0, you can support us by heading over to our Patreon Page.

Let’s stay connected! Follow Earthlings 2.0 Socials for the latest updates and news: 

• Follow us on LinkedIn
• Follow us on Instagram 
• Follow us on our Facebook Page
• Follow us on X 

Thanks to Resource Labs for having us on the network!

Mentioned in this episode:

Q3 End Credits

Greenlane, Ampion, Tigo, USBI, 247 Solar