What are Backup Priorities?
Backup Priorities are a feature that allow homeowners to determine when a circuit will receive power from a compatible backup system when SPAN is off-grid.
Circuits can be divided up into three priority levels:
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Must Have
- Circuits will remain powered until the battery is depleted.
- Any circuits marked as Always On will be marked as “Must Have” but you can adjust this here: How to set your Always On Circuits.
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Nice to Have
- Circuits will remain powered until the battery is at 50% state of charge (this percentage level cannot be adjusted).
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Non-Essential
- Circuits will automatically be turned off when SPAN goes to off-grid mode and will remain off until grid power is restored.
- Any circuits marked as Oversized Loads by your installer during commissioning of your compatible backup system will automatically be marked as non-essential, learn more here: Why can’t I move a circuit to a different Backup Priority level?
When a compatible battery system is added to your SPAN configuration, your circuits will automatically be assigned a priority level, per this article: Default Circuit Priorities.
However, we always recommend reviewing them soon after to ensure all circuit priority levels align with your needs.
How to assign your Backup Priorities
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Click “Settings” followed by “Backup” to navigate to your Backup Priorities page.
From there, you can scroll to the right to see the three different priority categories and which circuits are currently assigned.
- There are arrows on either side of each circuit. Clicking to the left will increase the priority level while clicking the right will deprioritize it.
Keep in mind that circuits marked as Always On or Oversized loads cannot be adjusted.
How long will my Backup Priorities be powered?
At the top of the Backup Priorities page, you’ll see your estimated backup time based on your current circuit prioritization. You can choose to see the estimated time available based on either the current charge level or if it was fully charged:
Why can’t I move a circuit to a different Backup Priority level?
When installers add your battery details to your SPAN configuration, they have the option to mark which circuits should never be backed up in an outage. This forces these circuits to be permanently placed in the “Non-Essential” category of the Backup Priorities page and this cannot be adjusted.
These circuits are referred to as Oversized Loads and are marked as such for a variety of reason, including but not limited to:
- NEC Code Requirements per load calculations
- Settings required by your Installer’s company policy
- Settings recommended by the company producing the backup system
- The load would deplete the battery too quickly in an outage
- Load exceeds batteries power limits
No matter the reason, SPAN Support is not able to adjust circuits marked as Oversized Loads. If you would like to understand why your circuit(s) were marked as Oversized Loads or, if you believe they were marked in error, please speak with your installer who will be able to best advise you.
If it is determined that changes are needed, a SPAN-Authorized installer will need to return to your home to make the adjustments in person.