For decades, the electrical panel has quietly served as the heart of the home’s electrical system. Usually tucked away in a garage, utility room, or on an exterior wall, it distributes electricity to nearly everything we use each day. Until recently, however, the electrical panel itself wasn’t particularly smart.
Homeowners can control thermostats from their phones, check security cameras from across the country, turn lights on with their voice, and even receive an alert when someone rings the doorbell. Yet when it comes to understanding and controlling the electricity powering all of those devices, the traditional electrical panel offers very little information.
That is beginning to change.
More Control Over the Home’s Electrical System
Monitoring is only part of what makes a smart electrical panel different. SPAN also provides homeowners with the ability to manage many individual circuits through its app.
That additional control can be useful in everyday situations, but it becomes particularly valuable when the home includes battery backup or other energy-management technology.
Imagine being away from home and wanting to confirm that a particular electrical load has been turned off. Or consider a utility outage where conserving battery power suddenly becomes important. Instead of treating every circuit equally, smart electrical technology gives homeowners the ability to make more informed decisions about where available energy should go.
This is where the idea of a “smart home” begins expanding beyond thermostats, cameras, door locks, lighting controls, and appliances. The infrastructure supplying those devices is becoming smart as well.
Understanding Where Your Electricity Goes
Energy monitoring may also change the way homeowners think about conservation.
Knowing that an electric bill increased is one thing. Understanding why it increased is something entirely different.
A homeowner may discover that pool equipment is consuming significantly more electricity than expected. Another may see just how large a percentage of the home’s consumption is coming from HVAC equipment. Someone charging an electric vehicle every night may finally have a clearer picture of how much electricity transportation is adding to the home’s overall usage.
That information doesn’t automatically reduce an electric bill, but it provides something homeowners historically haven’t had at the electrical panel: visibility.
And better visibility can lead to better decisions.
When you’re ready to rethink the way your home uses power, Anchor Electric of Florida is the electrician to call.
Read more in next month’s issue of Coastal Neighbors Magazine.
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