All four of Span’s newest smart panel models have been certified for performance and safety under UL 3141 certification, the first smart panels to receive the certification.
UL 3141 is the highest safety standard for power control systems (PCS), a category of devices that manage electrical loads to keep power within defined limits. Underwriters Laboratories recently published the 3141 PCS standard in response to the growing number of energy generation, storage and conversion devices and the increasing complexity of instruments used to coordinate, limit and optimize their use. The 3141 standard builds on and incorporates prior UL standards for energy management devices, and will be a requirement for PCS applications in the 2026 National Electrical Code.
“A clean energy future must also be a safe energy future for families and companies,” said Arch Rao, CEO of Span. “Safety has always been a top priority for us, and the extensive time and resources we’ve spent on achieving this certification were a worthwhile investment in ensuring our customers’ safety and giving them additional peace of mind. Span continues to set the industry standard for safety and reliability with our products, and in doing so remove barriers to our mission to enable electrification for all.”
The certification of Span smart panels to UL 3141 represents independent verification that its PCS systems effectively protect consumer safety and device integrity while also performing sophisticated energy and power control functions that allow increased home electrification using existing utility infrastructure. Span Panel, with the company’s patent-pending PowerUp software, helps consumers and electric utilities avoid service upgrades that might otherwise be required to meet homes’ growing demand for electricity and can cost $10,000 or more. These dual benefits help make the electric grid more flexible and reliable while also helping to rein in retail electricity prices at a time when prices are rising rapidly across the United States.
News item from Span
I was told by an electrician that to do a heavy up to 2026 code on an old screw in fuse panel from early 1960’s the house would need to be re-wired. The reason he said is that the new required breakers integrate GFCI and arc fault protection, and they require romex cable. The wiring is copper, all either armored metal wrapped (BX), or in metal conduit tubing. Since SPAN panel meets code, is it “smart” enough to tell it what kind of wires are in the circuits so we don’t have to rewrite the entire house?