API terms of service

Last Updated: November 6, 2024

Please read these Terms carefully. By requesting an API key for a Rewiring America API or using an API, you’re agreeing to these API Terms of Service and any accompanying documentation that relates to your use of the API. This is a legal agreement. Note: if your Legal department requires modiﬁcations to these terms for your specific proposed use, please email us ﬁrst at api@rewiringamerica.org.

These API Terms of Service (the “Agreement” or “Terms”) grant rights from Rewiring America, Inc. a non-proﬁt (“us” or “we” or “Rewiring America”) with a business address at 6218 Georgia Avenue NW, Suite #1, Washington, D.C. 20011 to you, the API Customer (“you” or “API Customer”) and the Agreement is eﬀective on the date that an API key is granted to you (“Eﬀective Date”).

1. SERVICE AND THE API

Rewiring America oﬀers online properties including websites and one or more APIs (collectively, the “Services” or "Rewiring America"). Our APIs are available directly from us (“API”) and our websites include rewiringamerica.org and aﬃliated web properties (the “Website”) under separate Terms of Use. Our API allows you to connect to the logic behind electrification planning tools including a calculator (“Calculator”) and other Website planning tools from within your website or service (“Integration”) so that you can either embed a widget of the Calculator or other tool or surface data directly within the context of your service ("Results") to your users (“Users”). The Services are owned and operated by Rewiring America, Inc. This Agreement grants rights to the API.

We may change any of the Terms for the Services by posting revised Terms of Use on our Website. The new Terms will be eﬀective immediately and apply to any continued or new use of the Services including any API. We may change the Services or any features of the Services at any time including any API. Changes to this Agreement are addressed below.

2. RIGHTS

2.1. Proprietary Rights Owned by Us

You must respect our proprietary rights in the Website and the software used to provide the Services including any APIs (proprietary rights include patents, trademarks, service marks, and copyrights).

2.2. Proprietary Rights Owned by You

You represent and warrant that you either own or have permission to use and share all of the material you oﬀer in connection with our API. You retain ownership of any materials you provide to us in connection with the Services. You grant us permission to use or disclose your materials only as we describe in these Terms and our Privacy Statement.

2.3. Privacy Statement

By using the Services, you indicate that you understand our information collection, use, and disclosure practices described in the Privacy Statement. We retain the right to access and use your information as it relates to your use of the Services as described in our Privacy Statement, which is available here.

3. RULES AND ABUSE

3.1. General Rules

As a condition for your use of our APIs, you must comply with these Terms including our API Guidelines and Acceptable Use Policy below. If you fail to comply, then we may suspend or terminate your rights to use our APIs.

3.2. Reporting Abuse

If you think anyone is violating any of these Terms, please notify us immediately.

3.3. Bandwidth Abuse and Throttling

We may throttle your sending or connection through our API at our sole discretion to protect the Services or for the reasons laid out in section 7.2.

3.4. Compliance with Laws

As a condition of using any of our APIs, you represent and warrant that your use, including the data you use and how you acquired that data, will comply with all applicable laws and regulations. Our APIs are intended for use by API Customers in the United States. You may not use our APIs for any unlawful or discriminatory activities.

3.5. Permitted Usage; Usage Restrictions

Provided your usage of our APIs and the way you acquired, uploaded, and use any data is in compliance with all applicable laws, you may use the API solely as described in this Agreement and you may use or store data from the Services solely as necessary to use the Services, or as otherwise permitted by any license terms accompanying the data. We use reasonable eﬀorts to determine that our underlying data sources permit replication, but you take responsibility for ensuring your usage complies with our sources' licenses. You take on full responsibility for your use of the Services including any API.

3.6. U.S. Export Controls

The software that supports the Services including the API (the "Software") is subject to United States export controls. None of the Software may be downloaded or otherwise exported or re-exported in violation of United States export laws. You’re downloading or using the Software at your own risk.

4. LIABILITY

4.1. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, YOU ASSUME FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY LOSS THAT RESULTS FROM YOUR USE OF OUR API, INCLUDING ANY DOWNLOADS. WE WON’T BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, EVEN IF THEY’RE BASED ON NEGLIGENCE OR WE’VE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF THOSE DAMAGES. IF YOU HAVE ANY BASIS FOR RECOVERING DAMAGES (INCLUDING BREACH OF THESE TERMS), YOU AGREE THAT YOUR EXCLUSIVE REMEDY IS TO RECOVER DIRECT DAMAGES FROM US UP TO AN AMOUNT EQUAL TO WHAT YOU PAID US FOR ACCESS TO OUR API FOR THE YEAR BEFORE THE CLAIM WAS MADE (AND IF NO FEE WAS PAID, THEN $500). These limitations and exclusions apply even if this remedy doesn't fully compensate you for any losses or fails of its essential purpose or if we knew or should have known about the possibility of the damages. To the maximum extent permitted by law, these limitations and exclusions apply to any claims arising from or related to these Terms and the Services.

4.2. No Warranties

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WE PROVIDE OUR API AND ANY RESULTS ON AN “AS IS” BASIS “WITH ALL FAULTS” AND “AS AVAILABLE.” THAT MEANS WE DON’T PROVIDE WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND (EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED), GUARANTEES, OR CONDITIONS WITH RESPECT TO YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES. YOU UNDERSTAND THAT USE OF THE SERVICES INCLUDING OUR API IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW WE EXCLUDE ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, NONINFRINGEMENT, TITLE, SATISFACTORY QUALITY, WORKMANLIKE EFFORT AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT ONLINE SERVICES ARE NOT FAULT-FREE AND OCCASIONAL PERIODS OF DOWNTIME OCCUR. WE DO NOT GUARANTEE THE SERVICES OR ANY RESULTS WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE OR THAT CONTENT LOSS WON'T OCCUR. For the avoidance of doubt, all the information returned in Results by the API or presented by the Website is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide speciﬁc investment or tax guidance. WE DON'T GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY OF THE RESULTS.

4.3. Indemnity

You agree to indemnify and hold us harmless from any demands, loss, liability, claims or expenses (including attorneys’ fees) claimed by any third party due to or arising out of or in connection with your use of the Services including the API, your Integration or any Results, or connected to any claims that you or someone using your access to the API did something that, if true, would violate any of these Terms.

4.4. Attorney Fees

If we ﬁle an action against you claiming you breached these Terms and we prevail, we’re entitled to recover reasonable attorneys’ fees and any damages or other relief we may be awarded.

4.5. Equitable Relief

If you violate these Terms then we may seek injunctive or other equitable relief.

5. OTHER TERMS

5.1. Notice to U.S. Government End Users

The Software (including our APIs) and Website, including all documentation, are "Commercial Items," as that term is deﬁned at 48 C.F.R. §2.101, and consist of "Commercial Computer Software" and "Commercial Computer Software Documentation." The Commercial Computer Software and Commercial Computer Software Documentation are licensed to U.S. Government end users: only as Commercial Items, with the same rights as all other end users, and according to the Terms.

Published and Unpublished rights are reserved under the copyright laws of the United States. Manufacturer is Rewiring America, Inc.

5.2. Assignments

You may not assign any of your rights under this agreement to anyone else. We may assign our rights to any other individual or entity at our discretion.

5.3. Dispute Resolution

Delaware’s laws, except for conﬂict of laws rules, will apply to any dispute related to these Terms or the Services. If you have any claim or dispute related to the API or Results, the Terms, the Privacy Statement, or the Services, you agree to notify us in writing and we will try for 60 days to resolve it informally with you. If we can’t resolve it, you and we agree your claim or dispute will be subject to binding arbitration in the state of Delaware or another location mutually agreeable to the parties. An award of arbitration may be entered by any court of competent jurisdiction, and each party agrees to be subject to the jurisdiction of those courts.

5.4. Force Majeure

We won’t be held liable for any delays or failure in performance of any part of the Services, from any cause beyond our control. This includes, but is not limited to, acts of God, changes to law or regulations, embargoes, war, pandemics, epidemics, terrorist acts, riots, ﬁres, earthquakes, nuclear accidents, ﬂoods, strikes, power blackouts, volcanic action, unusually severe weather conditions, and acts of hackers or third-party internet service providers.

5.5. Survivability

Even if this Agreement is terminated, the following sections will continue to apply: Proprietary Rights Owned by Us, Proprietary Rights Owned by You, Compliance with Laws, Limitation of Liability, No Warranties, Indemnity, Dispute Resolution, Severability, and Entire Agreement. In addition, all Terms regarding API customers will also continue to apply.

5.6. Severability

If it turns out that a section of this Agreement isn’t enforceable, then that section will be removed or edited as little as necessary, and the rest of the Terms will still be valid.

5.7. Interpretation

The headers are provided only to make this agreement easier to read and understand. Use of the terms “include” and “including” are meant to be inclusive and mean “include without limitation” or “including without limitation.” The fact that we wrote these Terms won’t aﬀect the way this Agreement is interpreted.

5.8. Amendments and Waiver

Amendments or changes to these Terms won’t be eﬀective until we post revised Terms on the Website. That aside, additional terms may apply to certain features of the Services (the "Additional Terms"). The Additional Terms will be considered incorporated into these Terms when you activate the feature. Where there’s a conﬂict between these Terms and the Additional Terms, the Additional Terms will control. If we don’t immediately take action on a violation of these Terms, we’re not giving up any rights under the Terms, and we may still take action at some point.

5.9. Further Actions

You’ll provide all documents and take any actions necessary to meet your obligations under these Terms and as we may reasonably request.

5.10. Notices

Any notice to you will be eﬀective when posted on our Website, or when you next make use of our API. Any notice to us will be eﬀective when delivered to us via our provided email address.

5.11. Entire Agreement

This Agreement, our Privacy Statement, and any Additional Terms you’ve agreed to (all of which are incorporated into these Terms by reference), make up the entire agreement and supersede all prior agreements, representations, and understandings, unless you have signed an alternate agreement with Rewiring America that expressly overrides these Terms.

5.12. Feedback

You hereby grant Rewiring America under all intellectual property rights a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide license to use any Feedback (as deﬁned below) you communicate to us during the Term, without compensation, without any obligation to report on such use, and without any other restriction. Our rights granted in the previous sentence include the right to exploit Feedback in any and every way, as well as the right to grant sublicenses. Notwithstanding any terms between us, such as in an NDA, Feedback will not be considered your Conﬁdential Information. “Feedback” refers to any suggestion or idea for modifying any of our products or services, including without limitation all intellectual property rights in any suggestion or idea.

6. API USE

6.1 Eligibility

In order to use our APIs, you must: be at least 18 years old and legally competent to enter into contracts; complete the registration process; agree to the Terms; and provide true, complete, and up-to-date contact information.

By requesting an API key, you represent and warrant that you meet all the requirements listed above and that you won't use any of our APIs in a way that violates any laws or regulations. Rewiring America may refuse service, close accounts of any API Customers, and change eligibility requirements and terms at any time. If you request an API key on behalf of a company or other entity, you represent and warrant that you have the authority to accept these Terms on its behalf.

6.2 Term

The Term begins on the date you request an API key and continues as long as you use our APIs, except for the provisions listed in Section 5.5 above. Signing up for an account and checking the box to accept the Terms means that you’ve oﬃcially signed the Agreement.

6.3 Ending Your Access

You or Rewiring America may terminate this Agreement at any time and for any reason. We may suspend our Services to you or revoke your API key and account at any time, with or without cause. Even if you've paid a fee, we won’t refund or reimburse you if there is cause to terminate or suspend your account, like a violation of these Terms. Once terminated, we may permanently delete any information about you. If you don’t access the API for 12 or more months, or we receive a bounceback that your email is no longer in service, we may treat your account as "inactive" and permanently delete your API key and all the data associated with you. You can request termination by emailing us at api@rewiringamerica.org.

6.4 Account and Password

In the event you set up an account name and password in connection with the Services or our API, you’re responsible for keeping them conﬁdential. You’re also responsible for any account that you have access to, whether or not you authorized the use. You’ll immediately notify us of any unauthorized use of your accounts or API keys. We’re not responsible for any losses due to stolen or hacked passwords or any other confidential information not in our possession. We don’t have access to your current password, and for security reasons, we may only reset your password. You can email us to do so.

7. API GUIDELINES

7.1. Application and Certification

You will only be able to access any Rewiring America API using a valid API key. Provide details of your organization and your proposed use to us through the form linked on our API page. If we approve your use, we'll send you a key via email and indicate our approval. Any material changes in use require pre-approval by emailing api@rewiringamerica.org. We may revoke your certiﬁcation by providing you notice by email at any time.

7.2. Spam and Abuse

You’ll follow all documentation we provide for our APIs and adhere to the acceptable use policy below. You won’t attempt to hack or change the way the Services function. We may monitor your use of our APIs for compliance with these rules and throttle your use of our APIs, deny you access to our API, or shut down your Integration if you try to go around or exceed the limitations we set.

7.3. Privacy

You’ll respect the privacy of your Users. Your Integration must display a privacy notice for Users, detailing your information practices when they use your Integration.

7.4. Use of Marks

You may not alter or remove any proprietary notices in our APIs or content. If you want additional rights to use our name or logo other than the attribution required below in our Acceptable Use Policy, please contact us. If you use our marks to create your logo or name, you hereby assign any goodwill and other rights to us at no expense.

7.5. Integration Representations and Warranties

You represent and warrant that you’ll maintain all the licenses required for your Integration, and that your Integration won’t violate any law or regulations in any way.

7.6. Updates

We may update or modify our APIs and our Terms including these Guidelines and Acceptable Use Policy from time to time by posting the changes on our Website. These changes may aﬀect your use of any API or the way your Integration interacts with any API. If we make a change that’s unacceptable to you, you should stop using our APIs. Continued use means you accept the change.

7.7. Conﬁdentiality

You may have access to conﬁdential, proprietary, and non-public information speciﬁc to our APIs (“Conﬁdential Information”). You may use this information only to build and use your Integration. You won’t disclose the Conﬁdential Information to anyone without our written consent, and you’ll protect the Conﬁdential Information from unauthorized use and disclosure in the same way you’d protect your own conﬁdential information.

7.8. Our Relationship

Your use of any of our APIs doesn’t create or imply any partnership, agency, or joint venture.

8. ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY

API Customers must:

Credit “Rewiring America” and link clearly and prominently to www.rewiringamerica.org alongside any information from our API that you present in your app, site, product, or service.
Abide by rate limits and request quotas. By default these are 500 requests/minute and 100,000 requests/day. We may choose to increase these on request or by separate agreement.
Not systematically copy data from our API or cache results for more than 24 hours (unless Additional Terms permit). Talk to us if you have speciﬁc needs for bulk access or retention.
Handle API keys with care and rotate any key that you believe may have been made public.
Include a link to our public-facing Terms of Use (currently at https://www.rewiringamerica.org/terms) clearly and conspicuously to your users of the Services via the API or otherwise ensure you provide your users enforceable terms that are equally protective of us as the Rewiring America Terms of Use.

9. CONTACT

For technical questions, contact us at api@rewiringamerica.org. For any notices under this Agreement, use the information in the header of this Agreement.