SPAN - My Overview on the Smart Electrical Panel

I had this installed a few weeks ago and wanted to share my impressions of it. It looks amazing and the app control is super slick.
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[@zlovetx]

Thank you for taking the time to share this! Excited to contact them. Im exploring solar and like the point you made about truly knowing your consumption before investing in building out a solar system. Plus the current panel is fugly!

[@gatsbylight4766]

Dude says if he had this app previously, it would've helped to understand how much power he uses which would help to know how much solar system he would need. I'm thinking couldn't I just open up my last 2 or 3 (or 12) electric bills and it would tell me exactly how much juice I've been using.

[@kurlis]

I install internet for a telecom company in ontario canada, doing installations in new homes i see a lot of builders going with the leviton load center, they also have smart breakers, so far i haven't seen those breakers yet, cool technology thought

[@muenchris]

Leviton only allows you to trip a sensor remotely but not reset. So not very useful for smart energy management

[@Bward216]

Sooo I'm torn on this 1. When a circuit trips, you can easily see the breaker that tripped as it should have moved to inbetween on and off. At least on modern breakers. 2. If a breaker is tripping, flicking it back on isnt always the best course of action as it tripped for a reason and that should be addressed. I dont see the real benefit of turning a breaker off remotely. This isnt truly turning the breaker off so I wouldnt do work on that circuit unless it was physically shut off manually. Now the data of where the energy is going is neat. That to me is the product that's why you would get this panel. The cover is a want to be tesla powerwall which does nothing for me. I agree that they shouldn't be in the garage as well.

[@muenchris]

When a breaker trips in the Span panel due to a power situation, you still have reset the breaker manually. This is exactly the same as in traditional panels. But additionally you can trip and reset a "behind the traditional" breaker. This can be used to power optimize your home if you have a solar system with batteries. Turning off breakers of areas that do not need to run during home-on-battery operation. Once the grid comes back you can bring back the breakers. This is similar to what a transfer-switch is doing. Right now span does not support generators directly, but with a Solar System that has a backup interface the generator would be working similar to the battery setup. Also, if you install the Span panel in your vacation home you can turn breakers off when you leave and back on before you arrive. More cool use-cases are coming over time when the NEC finally allows V2G/V2H and other energy alternatives.

[@RaoulHira]

The breaker doesn't actually trip. The bus bar is discounted. When power returns the circuit should turn on again.

[@MrGoodeats]

Yeah bc the engineer came from Tesla powerwall and made this lol. Anyways I don’t think the remote shutoff benefit is about doing work or safety. I think it’s about convenience of consuming power during outages. Outages being a huge issue as our grid is literally failing and the weather is only becoming more extreme.

[@cautilli]

take a look at GE Leviton Load Center Smart, more options and more functions. from 20 to 66 # of spaces for smart breakers.

[@muenchris]

Span uses normal (cheaper) breakers. With Leviton you have to buy new (smart) breakers. Also you can only trip them - not reset them. Not a very smart design

[@cautilli]

@@muenchris we are og here we go from span > ge leviton load center > savant power

[@ercksn131]

Tandem breakers can be problem if the bus bar is not rated for it. They can create hot spots on the bus bar.

[@Maverik259]

FML this needs to be in my life. I currently have the sense system for my power and solar monitoring. But my circuit panel is a disaster and makes no sense how it’s all wired up.

[@Enthusiast_Plus]

Combined sense with Span and you’ll be golden

[@deweberis2709]

This is handy to identify where individual aircons are leaking cold air. The ones with biggest consumption needs to have the room checked for better heat isolation.

[@DavidDurallthethird]

What video are you watching?

[@NoTroubleMikeG]

Just use a multimeter with an amprobe. There, just saved you $4500

[@fw1421]

The outer portion of the panel door is glass. I know because they broke mine installing it. A new one was ordered and it was installed a week later.

[@niklasxl]

as a european its so odd to see that americans houses basically all have the same 3 models of electrical cabinet and obviously you dont use DIN rails normaly :D here in you can get anything from a box for a single DIN device to cabinets as large as a wardrobe and in all kinds of configurations and materials. im guessing its some extreme strict standard?

[@q1joe]

It’s because of how we run the mains bar for the breakers vs wiring each breaker.

[@niklasxl]

@@q1joe yeah was guessing it had something to do with the contact points in the back. With DIN mounted things you dont actually have to run a wire for each you can use copper connecting bars (dont know the correct name) that either go to every slot or connect every N slot in a repeating pattern so that you can easily connect 1,2 or 3 phase (and a neutral) devices really easily in a really configurable way for what you need

[@brianleahy569]

@@niklasxl bus bar is the word your looking for.

[@niklasxl]

@@brianleahy569 yes it is :D thanks

[@Maverik259]

Ya but our outlets look much better. Hahaha

[@johnnychiinggas]

Mmmmmm i don’t know, i guess for a more modern house with an integrated renewable energy system plus backup generator it may be actually worth it, otherwise just an expensive app IMO. I really don’t see a reason why i would care to check the app to turn breakers on and off or to check energy consumption 🤷🏻‍♂️🤷🏻‍♂️

[@MrGoodeats]

That’s exactly what it is meant for 😊

[@charlesavalos7928]

This all sounds great, but I got a quote from a SPAN provided installer for over $17K to replace my existing, overcrowded circuit breaker panel. In comparison, I got a quote of $2K to install a new, conventional load center. This is insane! Who can afford to pay close to $20K for their home service panel? I would never recoup the cost even with time of use power consumption. I would rather spend $20K on additional LFP batteries. That way you don’t need to play around with programming backup circuits.

[@MrGoodeats]

SunRun offers this span panel upgrade at no extra cost for anyone going solar via a PPA with battery in Texas and ca

[@MrGoodeats]

They aren’t trying to sell to consumers they’re trying to sell to solar companies and be the standard electric panel upgrade for solar installations.

[@uria702]

Why did you reuse the old breakers and not put in gfci breakers? That’s what I’m planning to do. If you’re spending $3750 on an electrical panel, why not go all out on the circuit protection?

[@polymexdf69]

What happens when they no longer support this units how much would the pc boards cost great idea but not for 10 years tech support one thing I learn in life BETTER is not always. better

[@alberthartl8885]

I have been a general contractor for over 30 years. This is a solution looking for a problem.

[@MrGoodeats]

This is designed to be paired with new battery and solar installation to provide more value and circumvent traditional alternatives. This makes your home battery go from being cool to amazing.

[@drivingpsyche]

Is the system cloud-based? Or the data and circuit control is also available offline when at the location?

[@muenchris]

It has cloud and local access so yes, offline available

[@Palosrob]

Matt, did you have to convince yourself that Span will be around in 10 to 12 years before you pulled the trigger on using them? Or did you have a feeling in your gut that they're solid and will be around as long as you're doing what you're doing?

[@ObsessedGarage]

My mind doesn't consider things like that. I tend to find something interesting, justify it because I get to make a video, and take a dive head first. Not a sound strategy for most. Ha...

[@akilfahd]

@@ObsessedGarage thanks that approach is appreciated

[@MrGoodeats]

They will be around. If a company like this goes out of business they are almost always bought by a larger player in the industry.

[@alan2playerr210]

Most newer panels don’t last 10-12 years

[@tylerwatt12]

As much as I love redesigning current technology we use in our daily lives, I fail to see the point of this. On the surface it's a breaker panel that has relays tied to each circuit. But why? You shouldn't need to turn a breaker off from your phone. Even if you were working on an outlet or something I would use the manual physical breaker just to be safe. Energy monitoring is great, but that can be done with a device like an Emporia Vue for far less money than installing a whole new panel. It's nice to see this panel uses standard size breakers and has lighting. Other than that, I don't get it. I recently got a 200A service upgrade and new panel put in for under 2k. I had them install an emporia, and I took a couple hours out of my day to figure out what breaker goes to what in a Google Doc. If a circuit breaker trips, I'm able to see it on my home assistant dashboard. I'm able to see voltage of each phase, wattage, and individual circuit watts. If I need to run my generator to power my home, I can purchase a generator interlock kit because my panel is a popular model , and they make interlock kits for it. What if Span stops supporting their products, they go bankrupt or don't care about their customer? I'd rather change out a smart device tucked away inside my panel vs a whole entire panel.

[@DontHaveTime523]

200 amp upgrade for under 2k lol not in the Phila area , the big outfits are getting around 8k I’m a 2 man show and I won’t do it for under 4.5 k

[@magaelectrician657]

@@DontHaveTime523 desperate electricians most likely

[@ancientsnox5093]

I completely agree. Also smart panel aside, the design is not aesthetically pleasing to me 😂. For that amount of money I’d expect it to be constructed better and looking substantial.

[@ashleigh3021]

“I can purchase 15 different pieces of equipment with limited interoperability vs 1 with circuit level control, monitoring and interoperability of everything” if you can’t see the problem with that then you can’t be helped.

[@rubenharris9241]

Matt, do they use proprietary breakers?

[@ObsessedGarage]

They don't. It's is compatible with all the major brands.

[@rubenharris9241]

@@ObsessedGarage awesome. I plan to go this route too. I dont need the aesthetics just the functionality.

[@theMekanik]

It seems like you have a bottomless bank akkount, it would be better to konvert your house to DC Power or start from Skratch & Build a DC powered house. 🤘🏻😎🤘🏻

[@danielrollins4315]

12,000 just to update the load center 🙄

[@ClawsonMatt]

What's a better place for the electrical panel then? Maybe a conditioned attic space if available or a basement?

[@drivingpsyche]

if your power goes down, then your conditioned attic becomes a hot box. The basement is better.

[@SturmAndDrang]

A basement mechanical room.

[@ObsessedGarage]

In Florida, I think it is best suited for a dedicated mechanical room or storage closet.

[@joeking3966]

Just a quick question, you said you would relocate the panel out of the garage if you have a choice, why is that? Thank you!

[@ObsessedGarage]

I find that wall space in a garage is prime real estate. I’d rather have the panel somewhere I don’t value as much.

[@billabongodysee]

So if not in the garage, where is the best place to put the panel?

[@ObsessedGarage]

Either outside or in a specific utility closet

[@michgorscarlett3646]

Is your new house that you’re building going to be a fully decked out smart home?

[@krisk1547]

I am not electrician but over 2k for direct swap seems excessive. 2 wires for each breaker and main power coming in. Whats so time consuming in it that it would take whole day? I am honestly interested in answer since I am considering it even that I do not have solar yet but I am planing to get it in the future and app control over breakers is great. There is probably something I don't know about so please educate me

[@ObsessedGarage]

It takes some amount of time to tear down the existing unit. Then to rewire, install the new panel and inspect that it's all up to spec takes more time. Paying for quality work is not cheap. Any old handyman can rip the panel out and throw a new one together. This is the control panel for electricity to the entire house, and it's something you want installed properly.

[@TheElectrocar]

I do like the idea of Span however its not tried and true like old school panel boxes and breakers. Also the idea of having to do a software update on my panel box really worries me, especially for long term use. Cool tech either way though!!

[@ashleigh3021]

It functions exactly the same way as any panel does. If span went under it would still work as a normal panel does lol. Do you want 1 smart meter for everything in your home, or do you want full control and smart metering at

[@TENTHIRTYONE]

Do the LED lights in the panel box come on if the power is out? Is the panel compatible with a transfer switch for a generator?

[@ObsessedGarage]

I don't think they will come on if power is out. I do think they are compatible with Generac and other systems.

[@eusouocara23]

Why not a panel in the garage?

[@ObsessedGarage]

I find wall space in a garage to be extremely valuable, so I don't want to waste it on a panel when there are other places to do it.

[@nicholaslandolina]

Like it

[@nickvaughan2501]

dude, your address shows on the app...

[@notta3d]

Yea Matt you might want to edit that out.

[@timkinley1779]

Address is available on property purchase. It's public knowledge.

[@joet2699]

If there’s one thing Matt has proven over the years… he gives zero fucks about people knowing where he lives lol

[@freddycalderon9092]

Very cool but pricey as well.

[@markstanchin1692]

Not a bad price

[@MrGoodeats]

Cost ya nothing if you go solar via a PPA with SunRun

[@jameskeatley189]

Did the electrician just use whatever breakers he had in his rig? How many different manufacturers did they use? Why not put all new breakers from one manufacturer? Such a clean panel until you see the mix and match breakers.. 🤦

[@ObsessedGarage]

Yeah, I'll probably do that. They reuse all of the breakers from your old box.

[@user-dv5qx5kv2o]

Paying 2,000$ for a 30 min job is nuts electricians are over payed for a easy job that can be safe with proper low cost equipment

[@ObsessedGarage]

It took a few days to do install.

[@twngatzz]

This dude has a lot of money...Dayum....

[@bobbyw9046]

Personally I feel you solved an issue that never was! To spend that kind of $$ on a plastic panel is foolish IMHO. If the standard panel really offends you, hang a framed piece of artwork over it or just paint it! WHO CARES how many amps or watts your panel is drawing!? Since when do people need to monitor their electric panel on their iPhone? If there is an excessive load, the breaker will pop. All most people care about is how much their bill is at the end of the month. There are so many other items that would be a whole lot more useful I don't see wasting this kind of money on something that up until now was never really needed. OK - this is just my opinion and I'm sure others will disagree - but really Matt, this one is a stretch even for you - LOL!!

[@ObsessedGarage]

I don't really disagree. I wanted to find out if buying a smart panel makes sense in the future. It cost more than double to retrofit, but I do think it would be worth a few thousand bucks more to put in a new construction project, especially if you were doing solar.

[@Maverik259]

Can’t imagine what you think of adding Carbon Ceramic brakes to a Tesla….hahahaha

[@davidgates5699]

The main purpose for the SPAN panel is power distribution with Solar/Wind, the grid and batteries. In a power outage and you switch to battery backup, the SPAN panel will automatically kill the designated non crucial circuits to conserve battery life, and switch them back on when the grid returns. So if you are don’t plan for Solar, generator, battery or wind, then not highly recommended. But I like mine a lot, comes in handy when you need to quickly kill a circuit to do some electrical work.

[@Dhardc]

@@davidgates5699 - so, if I have Tesla solar panels, solar walls and a General generator, this SPAN panel would be of some use for me. Does that sound accurate?

[@marciodoo]

​@@ObsessedGarage🎯

[@RayNLA]

Matt you may want to blurr your address on your phone brother

[@D8099.]

Does this application work without the internet? Like so many IOT applications do not? People buy 60,70,100 year old homes every minute. Imagine having to pay to rewire a house all over again because the company went out of business 50 years ago. That has actually already happened with some electrical panels much less technically dependent than a box like this and fully rewiring those boxes were a minimum 10k$. Also if the answer is yes it works without the internet, my next question is does it accept normal D breakers, again 50 years from now if the company is gone they wont be manufacturing any breakers either. Peloton is a wonderful example, it’s going out of business. People who bought 10,000$ gym machines are all big dead paperweights. The moment a tech company closes its doors updates cease and the product dies. Also what about cyber security? Will that be included or up to me? That will require an expensive firewall, I suggest Ubiquity. Could a North Korean hacker hold my house hostage in the middle of a Vegas heatwave or Chicago Winter? Until all these factors are addressed on the company’s website and they’re not, I’d be EXTREMELY hesitant to jump on board a product I don’t have FULL control over on every level. It would make more sense to offer smart breakers that work on dumb boxes because a breaker is much easier to swap out.

[@janszy9735]

In the future you can't even flush the toilet without a stupid application This is just Toy Good electric Panel You never supposed to be looking on himYou set up one time and it's done

[@jesseingle8020]

can he drag on and on get to the point

[@theMekanik]

So basically it is a Servise Panel Painted White With a Dekal & an Emporia Servise Panel Individual Sirkuit Monitor that also Monitors Solar and Grid for 165$, Emporia Smart Plugs 4 for 35$, some LED lights that kome on when you open the panel 30$...... Not sure why you have 30 Sircuits I kant believe you. Every Fan in my House on Full Blast with Every Light On Inkluding all the Flood Lights 780 Watts that's well below 15 amp / 120 v.........My entire House Runs on 15 Breakers. 🤣🤣🤣🤣 I kan run a Welder & Charge an EV LvL 2

[@MarcWenning]

Might want to blur out your home address in the app.

[@Zach_Miller]

It's not a secret

[@MrGoodeats]

You can find someone’s address so easily if you want it. Anyways what’s the risk of your address being out there? Are there people scanning the internet looking for addresses so they know where to raid them? How many people actually live near him let alone have such a grudge to do something about it. Anyone can find out your address through literally knocking the door or publicly available information. It’s about as sensitive as your phone number.

[@theMekanik]

Kould we please see the guts. Thanx.

[@Matthew3753]

How do I get one installed? What is their number

[@purplehayes5718]

I have owned 5 houses since 1968 and have never had a problem with the normal breaker or fuse box. Now they want almost $4,000.00 for a box that really is the same thing. A fuse box is one of those things you set and forget and reset a breaker once every 5 years. So, you spend $4,000.00 for nothing. Just another gimmick. And you get a junky plastic breakable cover at no extra expense.

[@MrGoodeats]

This product isn’t designed to be sold directly to consumer nor is it designed for everyone. This product is intended to be paired with new solar and battery installations and accompany that. Which when you consider that the solar company is on the hook financially and maintenance wise if you get a PPA this thing is amazing. Even if you get a loan and the cost is built into the monthly solar payment this is a stellar deal.

[@larryroyovitz7829]

Neat, but it'd be a cold day in hell when I spend $6000 on a panel, smart or otherwise.

[@frunobulax5]

The video would have been a lot more interesting, and way shorter, if you had cut all the time you spent raving about how "pretty" it is and how you mostly got it for its appearance instead of practical reasons.

[@moto-rambler]

Buddy, you've been bamboozled. This Span panel does not adhere to Matter protocols so good luck with it when Span moves on to new (and protocol confirming) products in the near future while abandoning this 'pilot' product. I hope it was cheap.

[@ObsessedGarage]

It will be fine. Early adoption is not for babies.

[@moto-rambler]

@ObsessedGarage it's a breaker panel, what early adoption?

[@mazhariqbal5106]

IMO waste of money

[@mazhariqbal5106]

@@RobertMoreland giving my opinion bud freedom of 🎤

[@theranbir]

Electrical Panel on a Budget 😂

[@q1joe]

@@mazhariqbal5106 I’m sure your trolling but that isn’t what freedom of speech is…

[@NeverEnoughPyro40]

@@q1joe Actually that is exactly what freedom of speech is, It gives a person the right to say whatever he wants whenever he wants! Except for the following, Obscenity Fighting words Defamation (including libel and slander) Child pornography Perjury Blackmail Incitement to imminent lawless action True threats Solicitations to commit crimes

[@q1joe]

@@NeverEnoughPyro40 freedom of speech is something between the people and government, nothing more. KZbin could ban that comment right now because it’s a private platform and they would infringe nothing

[@karlInSanDiego]

$12k to make your breaker boxes look pretty? Weird way to back into the actual utility for a Span box. Maybe one day you'll lead with, "Span is an important tool to help manage power when you don't have the capacity to keep adding circuits."

[@ObsessedGarage]

Yes, this garage will be a masterpiece, so that real estate not being an eyesore is really import. So $6,000 for the garage was a must. In comparison to the total of what the garage will cost, it's not much. The other $6,000 for the secondary box was not necessary, but I did it since I was doing the one.