Electrification is no longer a distant goal—it’s a critical and inevitable shift that demands strategic planning and smarter tools. While we clearly need investments to strengthen our grid, we should first focus on increasing the utilization of the infrastructure we already have. The future of a cost-effective energy transition lies in optimizing our existing systems, and distributed grid-edge intelligence is key to this transformation.

At SPAN, we believe the intersection between the grid and the home is the most critical space for innovation. Our smart panels act as the gateway between the larger electrical grid and individual homes, smoothing peak demand, managing real-time power consumption, and ensuring homes remain powered when it matters most. These capabilities are essential for day-to-day operations, and for addressing the increasingly common challenges of extreme weather events and grid instability.

Enhancing grid reliability and resilience

Take heat waves, for instance. During these high-demand periods, SPAN Panels can intelligently manage demand across multiple homes, reducing strain on the grid and preventing overloads. This helps maintain a steady power supply even when the system is under pressure. When blackouts do occur, our smart panels step in to manage battery storage, providing seamless backup power that keeps homes running when the grid goes down.

The potential for improving grid management is vast. With the right tools, we can better use the grid’s existing infrastructure, both for today’s needs and in the future. The grid is built to accommodate peak loads; the key to avoiding excessive additional infrastructure investment is to manage how large loads stack up concurrently.

Instead of focusing solely on building new infrastructure, we should prioritize tools that enhance what we already have. Smart electrical panels like SPAN help customers manage their energy consumption and lower the probability of concurrent load events, making the grid more resilient and efficient without the need for costly overhauls. This approach ensures a more consumer-friendly solution that doesn’t compromise comfort or convenience.

Homes driving the future of grid efficiency

What sets SPAN apart is our unique position at the interface between the home and the grid, which allows us to provide best-in-class home energy management while also capturing residual load flexibility as a reliable grid-edge resource. SPAN provides a seamless and uncompromising experience for homeowners while also giving grid operators confidence in the loads on distribution infrastructure.

Our SPAN PowerUp™ feature automates energy management at the circuit level, intelligently adjusting power distribution to maximize efficiency and minimize strain on the grid. This grid-edge intelligence removes complexity from the process, with SPAN imperceptible to the consumer behind the scenes while homeowners enjoy comfort and control.

With recent enhancements to the SPAN Home^® App, homeowners have even greater visibility into their energy usage, translating real-time consumption into cost insights and enabling more informed energy decisions. What truly sets SPAN apart is our power control system (PCS), which brings full energy management autonomy to homeowners. Unlike traditional energy management systems that control a single device, SPAN Panel provides system-level visibility and long-term persistence. This allows homeowners to manage their entire energy landscape with total awareness, ensuring optimal power distribution across every appliance in the home.

Improving upon the status quo

Historically, the “status quo” approach to grid planning has been to build more infrastructure and pass the costs on to customers in the form of higher rates. This strategy has led to a situation where the grid is massively underutilized most of the year, customer energy bills are increasing perpetually, and in many cases, the grid remains strained during peak load times.

With grid-edge solutions like SPAN’s electrical panels, we can move beyond this incumbent approach. By balancing loads, optimizing energy usage, and integrating seamlessly into the operational conditions of the distribution network, SPAN transforms homes into active participants in grid stability—all without requiring lifestyle changes or sacrificing convenience.

SPAN takes a unique approach by focusing on power control rather than just traditional energy management. While energy management helps reduce overall consumption, power control addresses the real-time demand on the grid. By monitoring and managing concurrent load events—when multiple high-demand appliances like EV chargers and heat pumps are running at the same time—SPAN prevents spikes that would otherwise require costly grid expansions to remedy. Instead of oversizing the grid to handle these peaks, SPAN Panels smooth out demand, ensuring that appliances continue to operate without disruption. For instance, SPAN might throttle your EV charging speed temporarily during a high-demand period. You’ll still get the same results, just with less strain on the grid.

The SPAN approach avoids expensive infrastructure upgrades, balancing the physics of power (P) with the economics of energy (E) to create a more efficient, scalable energy system. This grid-edge intelligence is how we make electrification accessible and beneficial for all.

Policy support for grid evolution

Smart energy management isn’t just about enhancing individual homes; it has far-reaching implications for the grid as a whole. By providing more granular visibility and control over home energy usage, smart panels like SPAN allow customers and utilities to monitor consumption in real time and manage the distribution system more efficiently and at a lower cost. This creates a win-win situation—homeowners save energy while grid operators gain capabilities to steer and shape energy usage in novel ways through a network of decentralized energy assets.

While current policies, such as the Inflation Reduction Act, are a strong starting point, we need further policy support to drive the widespread adoption of smart energy management tools. Federal and state governments need to recognize the unique value of smart panels—not just to homes, but to the entire grid.

For this to happen, policymakers need to take two critical actions. First, they must make smart panels affordable for all, not just for those who can already afford home upgrades. The Inflation Reduction Act includes $4.5 billion in rebates for electrification equipment, but each state individually decides what qualifies for funding, which has resulted in a patchwork rollout. States need to ensure that smart panels are included in these programs so that more families can benefit from these incentives.

Second, utility business models need to evolve in order to support the adoption of smart panels. Today, utilities increase profits by building new infrastructure, but they need to also be incentivized to invest in smarter, more efficient use of existing assets. By enabling utilities to profit from increased utilization of existing infrastructure, we can accelerate the adoption of smart panels and make the grid more efficient, resilient, and reliable.

SPAN smart panels are already making a tangible impact on energy management today. While we are just beginning to tap into the potential grid benefits and infrastructure right-sizing, our technology is actively optimizing energy usage at the household level and helping to reduce strain on the grid. This approach benefits homeowners right now and lays the groundwork for a more resilient energy system in the future.

The path to a more efficient grid is clear. It's not just about building more; it's about using what we have more intelligently. By maximizing the potential of today’s grid and deploying smarter tools, we can create an energy future that is sustainable, resilient, and affordable—one home at a time.