Our Span Smart Panel review will take a deep dive into the latest tech from the X-Tesla team! With the growth of home solar panels and modern energy storage devices, many homeowners find that they need to upgrade their electrical panel and move to one that is smart and can seamlessly integrate with other smart devices throughout the home.
The Span Smart Panel accomplishes this goal by providing everything you need in an electrical panel while still being reasonably priced and easy to install.
This smart electrical panel replaces the traditional model and works best in a home with solar power and battery backup. It is weather-resistant and may be placed outdoors. You can control it by downloading the app to your phone or using Alexa.
In this comprehensive review, we look at all the features of this modern circuit breaker and help you decide if it’s right for your home.
Read on to learn more about the Span Smart Panel!
Product Features
The second-generation Span Smart Panel is basically the same as the original version. But this newer model is designed for use in installations where the household circuit breaker panel and the utility’s metering device are combined. This can be applied to existing home electrical systems (with or without critical load panels).
If the Span Panel is used alongside a utility’s demand-response program, it can better match the demand for power with the supply. As a result, it reduces your consumption when demand is high and shifts it to times when supply is more plentiful.
Current Carrying Capacity
The new model now supports 90 amps current carrying capacity for each circuit instead of just 70 amps. That brings the input power from 200 amps to 2,000 amps per circuit. It’s an intuitive installation with excellent load-shifting capability.
Suitable for Indoor and Outdoor Installations
Span can be customized to complement your living spaces, no matter what they are—hallways, kitchens, living rooms, garages, basements, and more. It includes a skirt which covers roughs in the cut.
Despite being larger than most electrical panels, it’s very attractive and equipped with a fashionable glass door. Lights turn on automatically when you open the door.
Made to withstand outdoor elements such as rain, snow, and sunshine, Span can take the place of your outdoor electric panel as well.
Wireless Control
For homeowners, Span Smart Panel offers circuit-level control over a home’s electrical system, along with usage and functional analysis of connected devices, via its mobile app. This combination offers a better assessment of issues related to malfunctioning appliances than conventional electrical measurement can.
The app also displays the source of the power (solar, battery, or grid) and its destination (home, battery, or grid). Once there, you can click and see power consumption, then dig deeper and view each circuit.
With Span, you can exercise an unprecedented level of control over your battery — you can place any circuit within the following three predefined levels of priority:
- Must Haves – mandatory circuits that will stay on until the battery is completely drained
- Nice To Haves – auxiliary circuits which use a small amount of power and can run until the battery is drained by 50%
- Not Necessary – auxiliary circuits that don’t rely on power and turn off when the power goes out
Universal Compatibility
While the Span panel is typically paired with Panasonic EverVolt, LG Chem, and Tesla Powerwall, it is compatible with standard residential circuit breakers.
It can be connected to any WiFi network, and with the app, you can toggle any of the house’s circuits on or off with a single tap.
Additionally, it’s integrated with solar panels so you can track how much power your home produces. If you have a grid-tied system, you can see how much energy you’re exporting to the grid.
Span can also be tied to a whole-home battery, and you can choose the circuits that the battery will power and shut off during an outage.
Backup Battery Power Management
The Span Panel app quickly tells you how long your battery will last in the event of an outage. It also allows you to view the impact of changes on your priority levels to better manage your household’s energy consumption.
A critical load panel is important because an inverter in a battery-operated house can only handle so much power. But with Span, you can overcome this limitation. Its very own system prevents overloading. Plus, it responds to your requests for priority inputs to gently switch off circuits before you cross the maximum load.
Price
The Span Smart Panel costs $3,500 exclusive of installation fees, shipping, and taxes.
The Span Smart Panel At A Glance
| Electrical | Installation | Certifications |
|---|---|---|
| Main Breaker: 100A-200A Bussing: 225A | Locations: Indoor and Outdoor Rated (NEMA 3R) | UL 67, UL 916, UL 869A |
| Grid Voltage: 120/240 VAC, 60 Hz | Mounting: Wall-mounted, Semi-flush, or Surface | Emissions: FCC Part 15 Class B |
| Circuit Breakers: Standard 1-in Residential | Dimensions: 39.3 x 14.3 x 6.0 inches | NEC Compliant |
| Control: 32 controllable circuits per panel | Warranty: 10 years | |
| Energy Metering: ± 0.5% accuracy | ||
| Connectivity: WiFi, Bluetooth, Ethernet, Cellular LTE |
Additional Features:
- Customizable Battery Backup
- Backup Time Remaining Estimates
- Real-Time Load Control
- Energy Monitoring and Insights
- Load Management for Upgrade Avoidance
- Automatic Grid Disconnect Relay for Power Outages (optional)
Source: SPAN Panel Data Sheet
Span Smart Panel Pros
Aside from the product features enumerated above, Span Smart Panel comes with other unique advantages, such as:
- Power consumption control and insights
- Ease of Installation
- The circuits can still be toggled on or off by hand in each column of breaker switches
- The panel works with Alexa
Span Smart Panel Cons
Like any tech device, Span is still a work in progress with scope for improvement and a few disadvantages.
For example, while it makes life easier by controlling everything in your home via phone or voice commands, it requires special wiring installation by licensed electricians. This is not a DIY project!
The 32-circuit limit of Span is also quite low for an average residence. You could find it difficult to connect some devices, such as inverters, with its app.
Another drawback is that it requires a big investment. ROI can be realized only after 3-5 years when all your circuit breakers are replaced. And if you have solar panels installed at home but no battery storage, you might not need Span as it already has enough protection from surges and overloading.
The Verdict
When it comes to electricity, it’s important to have a modern and reliable circuit breaker that can keep up with all the demands of the electrical devices you use daily.
For homeowners looking to install a modern electrical panel, we highly recommend Span Smart Panel. It is one of the smartest and most reliable on the market, with many smart features and high safety standards.
Authored by Ryan Douglas
NRG Clean Power's resident writer and solar enthusiast, Ryan Douglas covers all things related to the clean energy industry.
