Ex-Tesla Energy Engineer Wants to Change Your Electrical Panel

(Bloomberg) -- A former Tesla Inc. engineer who helped develop the electric-car maker’s home battery product is now trying to reinvent the humble electrical panel.

San Francisco-based Span.IO Inc., led by Arch Rao, the former product chief at Tesla Energy, is selling a “smart” panel that the company says will make it easier for homeowners to install solar panels, batteries and electric-car charging by acting like a plug-and-play of sorts, according to a statement.

The panel displaces the need for many disparate pieces of equipment with a single, integrated device. The company is partnering with solar installers to offer the panel as part of a package, saying it reduces the overall time and costs of installing a system.

“Electrical panels haven’t seen significant innovations in over three decades despite being the ideal center for controlling home energy and bringing intelligent connectivity into homes,” Rao said.

The announcement comes as an increasing number of solar installers are pitching panel-plus-battery installations, allowing homeowners to store power when the sun is out and use the electricity when it sets. Span.IO says it’s working with some installers in California and Hawaii.

To contact the reporters on this story: Mark Chediak in San Francisco at mchediak@bloomberg.net;Dana Hull in San Francisco at dhull12@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Lynn Doan at ldoan6@bloomberg.net, Jasmine Ng

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