124: The Plug in Future of Solar with Whit Fulton

Aug 27, 2025

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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

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Q3 End Credits

Greenlane, Ampion, Tigo, USBI, 247 Solar