Span vs Leviton smart panels

[the3x]

I’ve got a customer asking for a smart panel (they were talking about Span or Leviton) because they said it’s going to slash their electric bill. they’re planning a big setup, using solar, battery backup, and two EV chargers.
to be honest, I don't see the value for the price tag. aside from just telling people to stop using so much juice, how does a panel actually save money?
is this just expensive tech for tech’s sake, or is there a real benefit I’m missing?

 

[Alan]

Span or Leviton smart panels do not magically cut the bill by themselves. The savings usually come from what they enable, like scheduled EV charging on TOU rates, keeping demand under control, and shifting loads when solar or the battery is available. For a home with solar, storage, and two EV chargers, the real value is visibility plus load control, not efficiency. I would frame it to the customer as control and resilience with possible savings if they actually use the features.

 

[h0td0g]

from what I see, mostly, they’re just tracking power on every circuit so they can obsess over the data later. If they actually follow through, they might save a few bucks a month, but it’s going to be a massive headache
honestly, they’ll probably never even make back what they spent on the gear in the first place

 

[TankReyn]

I see the value of Span or Leviton more in control and backup planning than pure savings. When you mix solar, a home battery, and two EV chargers, a smart panel can help prioritize loads during outages and make load shedding less manual. Money savings is more indirect, like avoiding demand spikes or timing EV charging.