Sections in this category

What is PowerUp™?

  • Updated

What is it?

PowerUp is a smart energy management system developed by SPAN to keep incoming power below a home’s service rating. This enables homeowners to install electric appliances that their home may not normally support by managing power to SPAN circuits.

It may be especially helpful for homeowners who are: 

  • Adding cooling or backup electric heat
  • Having home additions or renovations
  • Adding an EV charger
  • Have an electrical service constraint and upgrade barriers
    • long utility delays 
    • buried electrical service
    • gas meter within 3 feet of the main electrical panel
  • Looking to avoid service upgrades

How does PowerUp work?

By default, PowerUp will manage EV chargers, tank resistive water heaters*, and certain HVAC equipment.

*PowerUp is not able to manage the addition of instantaneous (on-demand) hot water heaters. These loads are too large and, by definition, should not be paused because the result is no hot water.

Homeowners will use the Home App to add, remove, or reprioritize appliances. 


Circuits for lighting are not recommended for PowerUp priorities. Circuits outside of SPAN, with essential equipment such as internet equipment, surge protectors, alarms, and circuits with AC condensers/compressors cannot be prioritized.


If you have SPAN Drive installed with your SPAN Panel, it will always be the first circuit to be controlled by PowerUp. With SPAN Drive, PowerUp can continuously vary charge rates to maximize charge speed when enough power is available.

 14a6266b-61a6-44d9-910b-36f6d7605b14

 

Note: PowerUp circuits priorities are for SPAN’s continuous energy management, only while on-grid. For information about preferred circuits powered by your battery when off-grid, see Backup Priorities.

Homeowners will receive a Home App push notification to alert them to a PowerUp event and see a banner in their Home App. Follow this banner to view details about the PowerUp event & manage circuit priorities.

If you experience a PowerUp event and want to understand how your circuits were impacted, you can download data from the event day and review the changes in circuit activity at the time of the event. Learn more about downloading data here: Downloading Energy Usage Data.

 

How long might an appliance stay off at any one time? 

The average home may experience two PowerUp events per year, lasting approximately 4 minutes each.


What happens to PowerUp if my panel loses Internet connection?

PowerUp will continue to manage circuits using the most current PowerUp settings even when home internet or cellular service is temporarily lost. PowerUp settings in the Home App can be changed when the Panel is reconnected to the internet.

 

How do I get PowerUp? 

PowerUp functionality is available for all SPAN Panels but must be activated by your SPAN-Authorized installer. 

If you previously had a SPAN Panel installed, you will need your SPAN-Authorized installer to confirm that your home is electrically eligible for PowerUp, do load calculations, and (per NEC requirements) come on-site to activate PowerUp. 

Please note: PowerUp may not be available in your location due to local code requirements.

 

What if I'm an Installer looking to add PowerUp to a Homeowner's panel? 

First, you'll need to complete our PowerUp training, as detailed in this article: Getting SPAN-Authorized. Once trained, you'll use our Project Planner Tool to evaluate a SPAN Panel for PowerUp eligibility and then perform an on-site visit to enable PowerUp. 

SPAN Installers can learn more here: Tech Portal.