Beyond the Breaker Box: Understanding SPAN's Intelligent Power Management

Beyond the Breaker Box: Understanding SPAN's Intelligent Power Management

Fifth Wall portfolio company SPAN is focused on electrification solutions for the built environment. SPAN’s core offering is a smart panel technology designed to optimize the electrical infrastructure of residential and commercial buildings.

The increasing adoption of electric appliances, including solar systems, batteries, and electric vehicle chargers, is expected to significantly increase electricity demand in homes. This growth in demand can strain existing electrical grids, particularly in homes with standard 100-amp service.

SPAN’s smart panel technology addresses this challenge by providing intelligent power management. The system can accommodate a higher theoretical load than the existing service capacity by monitoring and controlling the usage of individual circuits in real-time. This allows for the safe and efficient electrification of buildings without requiring costly upgrades to the main electrical service in many cases.

Arch Rao, the founder of SPAN, notes that a significant portion of homes with 100-amp service typically have unused capacity, which SPAN's technology can leverage through load management. By sequencing and throttling power to different appliances, the panel ensures that the total demand stays within the service capacity.

This technology has potential benefits for various stakeholders:

• Homeowners: Enables adoption of electric technologies without extensive infrastructure changes.
• Homebuilders and Multifamily Developers: Offers a solution for increased power demands in new and infill developments, potentially reducing infrastructure costs.
• Utilities: Can improve grid utilization and potentially defer the need for substation upgrades.

The real estate industry is increasingly focused on technology that solves fundamental operational challenges. SPAN's technology addresses the growing need for efficient electrification as part of the broader trend towards decarbonization. Real estate firms are interested in solutions that offer a clear return on investment by addressing key pain points such as infrastructure costs and the need to accommodate increasing energy demands.

SPAN’s focus on core electrical infrastructure aligns with the demand from real estate operators for "meat and potatoes" solutions that address fundamental building systems. Their technology offers a practical approach to enabling the electrification transition within the existing built environment.