They even offered to buy me lunch, since I needed to be on site for most of the process in order to answer questions about the various circuits and how to configure them. Naturally my home was without power during the day, but Span’s crew bought big portable batteries so I could run my router, refrigerator, and other essentials. When the appointed day arrived, the installation crew arrived on time, ready to work. I was quoted an estimate of five to seven hours for the installation my home is large, but our electrical is fairly straightforward. From there, a site visit is performed, and the installation is scheduled if everything looks good. Span starts by having you take photos of all of your electrical gear, then discuss the install process with a rep over a video chat. Photograph: SpanĪs you might expect, upgrading your home’s electrical panel is not exactly a DIY affair. Light strips illuminate the interior of the case when the door is opened. The real intelligence is in the Span mobile app-but before I could start using that, I had to get the panel installed. Inside the panel the usual columns of plastic breaker switches fill the space, and each circuit can still be turned on or off manually. It is a large (49 by 17 inches) metal box that is considerably bigger than any home electrical panel I’ve encountered, but much more attractive, complete with a snazzy glass door and lights that automatically switch on when the door is opened. The Span Smart Electrical Panel replaces your existing circuit breaker completely (including any critical load panels). As such, Rao offered to install a Span panel in my home so I could see for myself exactly what I was missing, and to address those nagging problems I mentioned earlier. But there’s a ton of information in the power flowing back and forth through those wires, and it’s Span’s idea to give consumers the ability to capture-and control-all of it. If a circuit is overloaded, it’s the breaker’s job to shut it down. They are “dumb” tech because they are really designed purely for safety. His company produces one product: a smart electrical panel that brings intelligence to the power generation and consumption of your entire home.Įlectrical panels haven’t changed fundamentally since the 1960s, when circuit breakers began replacing fuses. Photograph: SpanĪrch Rao is a former head of engineering at Tesla Energy, and he’s now the CEO of a company called Span, which he founded in 2018. Span's app-controlled panel replaces whatever electrical panel is currently installed in your home.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |