Converting to clean energy is excellent for the environment, but complex installation procedures make it hard to turn to alternative power sources. Span, a company ran by Tesla alumni, is hoping to change that with the introduction of its Smart Electric Panel.
Founded by Arch Rao, Tesla's former energy head of product, Span builds products that can deliver a positive impact on the environment. The Smart Electric Panel, for example, encourages conversion to a clean energy smart home by removing the need for several different pieces of installation equipment. Instead, it offers a single integrated device that aims to replace the traditional home electric panel.
“Electrical panels haven’t seen significant innovations in over three decades despite being the ideal center for controlling home energy and bringing intelligent connectivity into homes,” Rao said. “We are excited to launch a product that will accelerate the adoption of renewables while transforming the customer and installer experience.”
While there are smart circuit breakers and even a few other smart electric panels currently on the market, the Span team’s experience with Tesla could bring significant interest to such a device. Tesla helped make electric cars cool, after all.
The Smart Electric Panel streamlines clean energy initiatives and hardware in the home such as solar, storage, and electric vehicle chargers. It offers customizable backup power, giving customers the ability to prioritize the available energy in their homes. This could be useful during situations like a power outage.
Customers can use the Span mobile app to monitor and operate home energy from anywhere at any time.
The San Francisco-based company is hoping its Smart Electric Panel proves an innovative and realistic alternative for clean energy homes.
“I’ve been waiting for a product like this for years,” said Josh Powell, CEO of Revolusun Smart Home and Hawaii’s leading solar and storage installer. “It’s the perfect technology innovation for the next generation of clean-energy homes. It’s going to look better, perform better for homeowners, and simplify everything we do as installers both today and for retrofits down the line.”
Span is working with select installation partners to station the Smart Electric Panel system as early as this year. The company hopes to expand production and deployment next year.
The company plans to provide more detailed information about partnerships with specific battery providers as it launches the Smart Electric Panel.
