With the recent disaster in Texas and other states suffering from frequent power outages, there is a need for an electrical panel that allows consumers to manage their home energy and circuits from anywhere and is built to function with solar, batteries, and EV charging. Companies such as Lumin, Leviton, and Schneider Electric offer smart electrical panels, however, as shown in the Patent Radian® below, they don’t have any published patent activity directly related to smart electrical panels.
On the other hand, Span has 3 patent applications towards electrical load management systems. Its most recent publication on March, 18, 2021 is directed towards electrical panels for managing electrical loads. Span has developed a smart electrical panel that allows consumers to see and control their home energy consumption from their mobile phone. The company is run by a previous head of products for Tesla energy, so it is no surprise that the Span panel works with the Tesla Powerwall. The Span panel allows for consumers to backup their entire home and dynamically change what part of their home is powered whether they’re on or off the grid. Additionally, Span has received $20 million in funding from Munich Re Ventures and the Amazon Alexa Fund. Span has announced that the panels will incorporate Alexa voice integration. This partnership with Amazon provides a strong market positioning as many consumers already use Alexa or similar technologies in their home.
Overall, there appears to be small patent and market activity for smart electrical panels, so Span is positioning itself for the future by locking in its patent position now. Having an advantageous patent position will enable Span to have bargaining power for licensing agreements, mergers and acquisitions, and over market competitors.
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