Span Panel

[tortuga]

I was looking into one of these Span panels for a customer:

SPAN® Panel | Lower your energy bill

SPAN Panel is a re-invention of the 100 yr old home electrical panel adding a layer of intelligence and control to your home.

www.span.io

Its a much different architecture than the Leviton.
It goes square D main --> 225A rated motherboard --> relays --> branch breakers (SQD Homeline, Siemens GE or Eaton) .

There are relays behind the panel that turn on and off the stabs to the branch breakers.
So a printed circuit board is located before the branch breaker fed off the 225A bus.
My question is what is the ratings of these relays? Amps? SCR?
And what type are they latching, coil NC, coil NO?
and how are they powered?
A 32 space panel would need 32 relays, it they are the NO coil type that could be a considerable vampire load.
What happens if the motherboard electronics fails in one of these?
Anyone familiar with these panels? I love to see a photo of how this motherboard works.

 

[jim dungar]

Sounds like the old GE relay panels, where the relays were after the breaker.

 

[Elect117]

I met someone from SPAN. I worry about the applications of PCS / EMS in the code. When ever people talk about panels with PCS/EMS I usually bring them up. They are the only ones I really know of that are listed and have rebates in California. It is hard to say if the optional testing on reactive power / power factor will lead to more overcurrent events that look phantom to the CTs measuring on each breaker.

Anywho.

If you want a contact, I can DM you. Their main selling point is going to be the new rules for PCS. He wanted to get ahead of some of the concerns from inspectors, engineers, installers, etc.

From my understanding, the breakers have CTs in them and you can operate a disconnecting mechanism. I don't think it is a variable resistor like a old dimmer.

If you are wondering what happens when the computer stops working, you would have to investigate UL 3141. I believe the standard is to isolate the loads to remain under the panel's main breaker / rating.

 

[hillbilly1]

As with all of the remote control panels, you would be kinda limited on what you could efficiently control. The big stuff, ok, but room lights would eat up a lot of breaker space, and if you only have 32 spaces, which a lot would be eaten up by two poles. And since it is before the ocp, what is preventing a 50,60 or even a 100 amp breaker being installed (literature said standard type breakers). Is every relay rated for that?