Smart Panel
An electrical panel with metering and software on every circuit (Span, Leviton, Schneider Pulse): see what each circuit uses live, control loads remotely, and orchestrate solar, battery and EV charging.
The pitch is visibility and control: per-circuit energy monitoring that actually answers "what is using all this power," app control of individual circuits, and intelligent prioritization during outages, where the panel itself sheds and restores loads to stretch a battery. For battery and solar homes, a smart panel can replace the tangle of critical-load subpanels and relays with software choices.
The counterargument is price: a smart panel costs several times a conventional one, and add-on monitors (Emporia, Sense) deliver most of the visibility for a few hundred dollars. The honest fit today: homes doing a battery, solar or full-electrification project where the panel was being replaced anyway, and where load flexibility has real value.
Talking to a contractor about this?
Run the project past a licensed electrical pro first. Calls are answered around the clock and routed to a pro serving your area.
- EVSE (EV Charger) : Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment: the wall box everyone calls a charger.
- Level 1 / Level 2 / Level 3 Charging : The three EV charging tiers: Level 1 is a standard 120V outlet (3 – 5 miles of range per hour), Level 2 is 240V at home (20 – 40 mi/hr), Level 3 is DC fast charging on the road, not a residential install.
- Hardwired vs Plug-In EVSE : The two ways to connect a home EV charger: hardwired directly into the circuit, or plugged into a NEMA 14-50 outlet.
- Low-Voltage Wiring : The 12 – 24-volt systems running alongside house wiring: doorbells, thermostats, landscape lighting, network cable, security sensors.