Connect an AI Assistant

Netzero can be connected to an AI assistant such as Claude or ChatGPT, so that you can ask questions about your system, energy use and costs in plain language. The assistant reads the same data the Netzero app shows you, and can combine it with information you give it, such as a utility bill. An assistant can only read your data unless you allow it to control your system: it can then also change the Powerwall configuration and start or stop EV charging.

Example questions:

Of the utility rate plans offered by my utility, which would have been cheapest over the last 12 months?
Would another Powerwall pay off, based on my last year of solar, usage and prices?
Here is my latest utility bill. Does it match what Powerwall recorded for the same period?
Why did my home draw from the grid during yesterday's peak hours? Was it one of my automations?
Is anything wrong with my system? Check the diagnostics, the alerts and each solar string.

With an assistant’s voice mode you can also ask hands-free, for example while cooking:

Is there enough in the Powerwall to get through this evening's peak?

Requirements

A Netzero Pro subscription or active trial.
An AI assistant that supports custom connectors (remote MCP servers) with sign-in, such as Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok or Muse, or a coding tool such as Claude Code, Cursor or VS Code.
The Netzero app (iOS, Android or web), signed in to your account, to approve the connection.

Connecting an Assistant

Claude

In the Claude app:

Open Customize > Connectors > Discover and search for Netzero.
Select Netzero for Powerwall and click Connect to Claude.
Approve the connection on the Netzero page that opens.

On the web, open claude.ai/directory/netzero and click Connect to Claude.

A connector you add is available in Claude on all of your devices, including the mobile app.

On Claude Team and Enterprise plans, an Owner first adds the connector for the organization with Connect for your team. Each member then connects it to their own Netzero account with Connect to Claude.

ChatGPT and Other Assistants

Add Netzero as a custom connector (remote MCP server) with this server address:

https://api.netzero.energy/mcp

Assistants name this differently:

ChatGPT: open chatgpt.com/plugins, select the plus button, then Add custom MCP server. Availability depends on your account and workspace settings.
Gemini: add a custom app under Connected Apps on the web. Availability depends on your country and account type.
Grok: add a custom connector at grok.com/connectors.
Muse: ask Muse in a chat to create a custom connector for the server address.
Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code and other coding tools: add the address as a remote (HTTP) MCP server.

Any other assistant that supports remote MCP servers with OAuth sign-in can connect the same way.

Approving the Connection

The connection is approved in the Netzero app, where you are already signed in:

The assistant opens a Netzero page in your browser. What happens next depends on where the page opens:
- In a browser where you are signed in to the Netzero web app, the request opens there directly.
- On a phone, tap Open Netzero to open the request in the Netzero app.
- On a computer, scan the QR code with your phone to open the Netzero app, or choose Sign in on the web to approve in the browser.
The app shows which assistant is asking for access and what it will be able to see.
With more than one energy system, choose All energy systems (this includes energy systems added later) or Selected energy systems.
To let the assistant make changes as well, check the option to control your system, for example Allow Claude to control your system (see What the Assistant Can Control). Leave it unchecked for an assistant that only reads.
Tap Approve. The page returns to the assistant and the connection is ready to use.

What the Assistant Can See

A connected assistant can read the following for the energy systems you selected:

Data	Details
Energy systems	Name, time zone, city, installed solar, Powerwalls and Wall Connectors, and the rate plan.
System status	Live power flows, Powerwall charge, grid status, and the current settings (backup reserve, operational mode, energy exports, grid charging).
Energy history and costs	Solar, home, Powerwall, grid and vehicle charging energy by day, month, year or lifetime, the energy flows of a month in 30-minute intervals, and the grid cost the app shows.
Utility rate plan	Seasons, time-of-use periods and prices.
Solar estimates	The estimated solar production for each hour and day.
Diagnostics	Firmware version, network connections, Powerwall capacity, solar strings and other gateway reports.
Alerts	The health alerts Netzero raised, and hardware alerts reported by the system.
Automations	The configured automations and their runs over the last 14 days.
Vehicles and chargers	Vehicles, EV chargers and heating/cooling devices linked to Netzero, their state, and the EV charging history.

The data an assistant reads is sent to the provider of that assistant and handled under the provider’s terms and privacy policy. Assistants can make mistakes: check important figures against the Netzero app.

What the Assistant Can Control

An assistant can only read unless you allow it to control your system. With that turned on, it can also do the following for the energy systems you selected:

Action	Details
Powerwall configuration	Change the backup reserve (or preserve the current Powerwall charge), the operational mode, energy exports, grid charging and Storm Watch.
EV charging	Start or stop EV charging, as the EV charging action of a Netzero automation does: starting begins charging on the first plugged-in vehicle or charger that is not charging, and stopping stops every vehicle and charger that is charging.

These are the same actions Netzero automations take, so an assistant can run them on conditions that automations do not cover, or as part of a routine that involves your other apps. Examples:

Tomorrow looks cloudy. Check the solar estimate and set the backup reserve so the Powerwall lasts through the evening peak.
Stop charging the car.

An assistant cannot create, edit or run your automations, take the system off-grid, or control heating and cooling devices.

Control is off for a connection until you turn it on, either when approving the connection or later with Edit Access (see Managing Connections). Most assistants also ask you to confirm each change before they make it; that is a setting of the assistant, not of Netzero. A change an assistant makes takes effect as if you had made it in the app, and an automation that runs later can change the same setting again.

Managing Connections

Your connections are listed in the Netzero app under Settings > Connect AI, each with the date it was connected, when it was last used, the energy systems it can see and whether it may control them.

To remove a connection, tap Revoke. The assistant loses access immediately. Removing the connector in the assistant alone does not revoke the connection in Netzero.

To change what an assistant has access to, tap Edit Access. Choose All energy systems or Selected energy systems, check or uncheck the option to control your system, and tap Update. The change applies right away, without connecting again.

A connection that has not been used for 90 days expires.

Troubleshooting

The assistant says a Netzero Pro subscription is required: the subscription or trial on the account has ended. Subscribe in the Netzero app under Settings > Subscription.
The assistant says the Tesla sign-in expired: open the Netzero app and sign in with your Tesla account again.
The code is not valid or has expired: start the connection again from the assistant.
The assistant says the rate limit was reached: wait a minute and ask again.
The assistant says the connection may only read: control is not turned on for that connection. Turn it on in the Netzero app under Settings > Connect AI, with Edit Access.