Upon seeing many of your comments regarding our inverted installation of the SPAN panel we reached out to SPAN and you're totally right! Since the making of this video, they have released a new model which is allowed to be installed inverted, but the model that we installed in this video was not listed for inverted installation. Thank you all for contributing to our pursuit of excellence.
I have a Span panel in my solar update. The Span,Tesla Power Wall and 9 new panels. Completely happy with the update. I can watch the current draw for every outlet in the house.
I tried to get a Span panel but for retrofits, Span's business model is customer UNfriendly. Filling out their online form lead them to give me ONE installer in my area -- who quoted me $9,750 flat rate install with NO extras, dad to already have 200A service, anything else quoted separately. Considering the panel itself is $3,500 on their web site, that means $6,250 for a basic panel swap. That's insane. So, hi ho, hi ho, to Leviton I go.
I don't mind the "smart stuff". In fact, I like the "smart stuff". But I do want it to be local-first. I want it to be fully functional without any connection to any external service.
That's the only way I'll spend any money on smart tech anymore. I've seen too many companies disappear (or prematurely EOL products), and too many others go out of control with surprise subscription services years after purchase.
Joel, not only are you and your team experts in your field, you bring immense value to your customers and are fair to them in your estimates and pricing. I handle my business the same way and respect those like you who make the extra effort to be world class in what they do for their clients. Thanks for educating us!
Interesting that you installed the span panel upside down. I have done the same thing for a new build and come trim time when we were all set and done and putting the panel cover on the numbers and span label were upside down. I called span to see if they have a cover that will fix this and they said they’re panels can’t be installed upside down it voids there warranty.. I thought you would know this.
We reached out to SPAN and you're totally right! Since the making of this video, they have released a new model which is allowed to be installed inverted, but the model that we installed in this video was not listed for inverted installation. We're working on correcting the issue behind the scenes
That SPD install was complete ghetto. Siemens makes a trim kit for it. I get making money but "Permits as a profit center" I take issue with. Permits are for safety not profit. That incentivizes unsafe DIY. That said the profit % everyone is adding to smart technology is why as an engineer I just do it myself most electricians don't understand data unless they've played in controls somewhat so it just makes my life harder. Leviton is finally in the game with their 2nd gen smart breakers. Has controlled load shedding now.
the sponsored segment moves at a much slower pace than the rest of the video - doesn't fit with the usual energy and pace of your videos. As for "pure sine wave", I'll believe that when I see the oscilloscope trace... The mass market price point can't pay for a sine wave generator. The best you can hope for is an approximation within certain spec limits, say 90% or so.... I guess FTC truth-in-advertising rules aren't 100% strict... it would also be nice if the battery charger's strategy and specs were published instead of "buy this charger and hope we designed it well..."
"Customer satisfaction is more closely coupled to properly set expectations than it is to the success of the project." -me You can have a successful project and still have an unhappy customer if their expectations weren't met. On the other hand you can have a project that's an utter failure and still have a happy customer... if their expectations were properly set.
I think having unrealistic expectations comes with being an unknowledgeable customer too though. When I've gotten work done on my home I try to be as flexible as possible because expectations are not always the same as wants. This allows the contractor some room to breathe, and get the job done without concern. I'm always an annoyance because I stick close to the worker(s) so I can ask questions, offer them coffee, and generally just be interested in them as human beings. If I sense they're annoyed, or I'm being a pest I will apologize, and leave them to it. I always try to remember that though the work costs money, courtesy, friendliness, and manners are free. If I can at least get the worker(s) to smile, and laugh I've done my job, lol.
@demontekdigital1704 my point is that it's the service provider's responsibility to SET expectations. If a customer has unrealistic expectations it's because they have NOT been SET by the provider. To somewhat quote Yoda: "THAT is why (the service provider) fail."
So as you said the span is your favorite smart panel. Would you consider the leviton to be a close second in the running? Moderately better than "standard" panels or how so otherwise?
I still don’t know why people think they need everything to be smart and connected to the internet. Sometimes I wish we could just go back to the time before we had all this “smart stuff “
I love the detail of the video as well as the process, but I have to say I'm always amazed about how these videos always talk about maximizing every sale and extracting every last dollar from the customer. I understand that the customer should be told about options but it sometimes seems contractors on TH-cam act like they they are in front of the doctor with their dementia riddled relative sitting next to them speaking about the dementia patients condition as if the person isn't even in the room. Maybe I'm a rarity, but some customers do watch youtube when doing research. Lastly, I must agree with others comment that indeed, the surge protection device install does look pretty ghetto with it peeking out from inside the drywall. Let's me honest, anyone who pays thousands extra for a sleek Span IO is also going to be pretty anal about that detail.
Joel, your team, and yourself might just be on the track for fixing what's wrong with the trades. Too many times, as customers, we're greeted by tradesmen who take no real pride in what they do, and simply just want to do the job as quick as possible, and get paid. The disconnect comes from the fact that for a tradesman it's just another job, but for the customer it's an experience. Tradesmen often neglect the fact that they're working in someone's home. It may just be another job to them, but for us it's where we live, love, raise our children, enjoy good times, and lament bad times. It's where we hopefully grow old, and in some cases, pass on. It's not just a structure, it's family.
Great Informative video. I saw inside the cover of SPAM breaker box, the flush cover, the "SPAM" label is upside down on the bottom of the breaker box. Can this be flip 180 to the correct orientation way? Other than that it looks professional install with the outer cover plate of the breaker box.
Probably not. That's too normal and they wouldn't have made much money doing it that way. I would think they would suggest something more expensive to help them reach that million dollar truck thing 😂 We actually lost power the other night and I was caught with my pants down. I have a generator but was unable to use it on my furnace. Doing it exactly like you suggest. Going to change the wiring for the furnace so it can plug into the generator. Once power is restored it can easily get plugged back into the outlet wired to the panel.
On a $4K panel I'd expect that the numbering was legible in both orientations, considering a $200 panel from any other manufacture has had that worked out for 30 years or so.
wouldn't it be easier to just take down all the drywall 9" above 9" below before running the wires into the panel, and then later do a formal drywall repair?
Upon seeing many of your comments regarding our inverted installation of the SPAN panel we reached out to SPAN and you're totally right! Since the making of this video, they have released a new model which is allowed to be installed inverted, but the model that we installed in this video was not listed for inverted installation. Thank you all for contributing to our pursuit of excellence.
I have a Span panel in my solar update. The Span,Tesla Power Wall and 9 new panels. Completely happy with the update. I can watch the current draw for every outlet in the house.
I tried to get a Span panel but for retrofits, Span's business model is customer UNfriendly. Filling out their online form lead them to give me ONE installer in my area -- who quoted me $9,750 flat rate install with NO extras, dad to already have 200A service, anything else quoted separately. Considering the panel itself is $3,500 on their web site, that means $6,250 for a basic panel swap. That's insane. So, hi ho, hi ho, to Leviton I go.
Yea everyone wants the next newest thing and that's exactly how those folks fill their pockets, smdh
I don't mind the "smart stuff". In fact, I like the "smart stuff". But I do want it to be local-first. I want it to be fully functional without any connection to any external service.
That's the only way I'll spend any money on smart tech anymore. I've seen too many companies disappear (or prematurely EOL products), and too many others go out of control with surprise subscription services years after purchase.
Joel, not only are you and your team experts in your field, you bring immense value to your customers and are fair to them in your estimates and pricing. I handle my business the same way and respect those like you who make the extra effort to be world class in what they do for their clients. Thanks for educating us!
Keep up the good work man. Your comment section is insanely rude for such a nice video. What a bunch of jerks.
Interesting that you installed the span panel upside down. I have done the same thing for a new build and come trim time when we were all set and done and putting the panel cover on the numbers and span label were upside down. I called span to see if they have a cover that will fix this and they said they’re panels can’t be installed upside down it voids there warranty.. I thought you would know this.
Why no reply to how it passed mounted upside down if the manufacturer says it can’t be done?.
I am an anal homeowner. If you had installed my panel upside down I would be pissed.@stevesolt4036
We reached out to SPAN and you're totally right! Since the making of this video, they have released a new model which is allowed to be installed inverted, but the model that we installed in this video was not listed for inverted installation. We're working on correcting the issue behind the scenes
That SPD install was complete ghetto. Siemens makes a trim kit for it. I get making money but "Permits as a profit center" I take issue with. Permits are for safety not profit. That incentivizes unsafe DIY. That said the profit % everyone is adding to smart technology is why as an engineer I just do it myself most electricians don't understand data unless they've played in controls somewhat so it just makes my life harder. Leviton is finally in the game with their 2nd gen smart breakers. Has controlled load shedding now.
This is the second Span panel upgrade I have seen. I am excited to see these everywhere.
8:40 Ladder standoffs are a thing. The gutters will thank you.
the sponsored segment moves at a much slower pace than the rest of the video - doesn't fit with the usual energy and pace of your videos. As for "pure sine wave", I'll believe that when I see the oscilloscope trace... The mass market price point can't pay for a sine wave generator. The best you can hope for is an approximation within certain spec limits, say 90% or so.... I guess FTC truth-in-advertising rules aren't 100% strict... it would also be nice if the battery charger's strategy and specs were published instead of "buy this charger and hope we designed it well..."
Upside down SPAN!! Do it right cowboy.
"Customer satisfaction is more closely coupled to properly set expectations than it is to the success of the project." -me
You can have a successful project and still have an unhappy customer if their expectations weren't met. On the other hand you can have a project that's an utter failure and still have a happy customer... if their expectations were properly set.
I think having unrealistic expectations comes with being an unknowledgeable customer too though. When I've gotten work done on my home I try to be as flexible as possible because expectations are not always the same as wants. This allows the contractor some room to breathe, and get the job done without concern. I'm always an annoyance because I stick close to the worker(s) so I can ask questions, offer them coffee, and generally just be interested in them as human beings. If I sense they're annoyed, or I'm being a pest I will apologize, and leave them to it.
I always try to remember that though the work costs money, courtesy, friendliness, and manners are free. If I can at least get the worker(s) to smile, and laugh I've done my job, lol.
@demontekdigital1704 my point is that it's the service provider's responsibility to SET expectations. If a customer has unrealistic expectations it's because they have NOT been SET by the provider. To somewhat quote Yoda: "THAT is why (the service provider) fail."
Do you do outside electrical conduit for outside power?
Joel Thanks always for all the helpful information. Really like to see install information on the Tesla powerwall 3
So as you said the span is your favorite smart panel. Would you consider the leviton to be a close second in the running? Moderately better than "standard" panels or how so otherwise?
I still don’t know why people think they need everything to be smart and connected to the internet. Sometimes I wish we could just go back to the time before we had all this “smart stuff “
I love the detail of the video as well as the process, but I have to say I'm always amazed about how these videos always talk about maximizing every sale and extracting every last dollar from the customer. I understand that the customer should be told about options but it sometimes seems contractors on TH-cam act like they they are in front of the doctor with their dementia riddled relative sitting next to them speaking about the dementia patients condition as if the person isn't even in the room. Maybe I'm a rarity, but some customers do watch youtube when doing research. Lastly, I must agree with others comment that indeed, the surge protection device install does look pretty ghetto with it peeking out from inside the drywall. Let's me honest, anyone who pays thousands extra for a sleek Span IO is also going to be pretty anal about that detail.
Joel, your team, and yourself might just be on the track for fixing what's wrong with the trades. Too many times, as customers, we're greeted by tradesmen who take no real pride in what they do, and simply just want to do the job as quick as possible, and get paid. The disconnect comes from the fact that for a tradesman it's just another job, but for the customer it's an experience. Tradesmen often neglect the fact that they're working in someone's home.
It may just be another job to them, but for us it's where we live, love, raise our children, enjoy good times, and lament bad times. It's where we hopefully grow old, and in some cases, pass on. It's not just a structure, it's family.
at 24:15 when looking for that screw that might be there maybe use a neodymium magnet.
Great Informative video. I saw inside the cover of SPAM breaker box, the flush cover, the "SPAM" label is upside down on the bottom of the breaker box. Can this be flip 180 to the correct orientation way? Other than that it looks professional install with the outer cover plate of the breaker box.
Would you have offered an outlet to the furnace switch? So in an emergency they could use the power bank you showed to power their furnace ?
Probably not. That's too normal and they wouldn't have made much money doing it that way. I would think they would suggest something more expensive to help them reach that million dollar truck thing 😂
We actually lost power the other night and I was caught with my pants down. I have a generator but was unable to use it on my furnace. Doing it exactly like you suggest. Going to change the wiring for the furnace so it can plug into the generator. Once power is restored it can easily get plugged back into the outlet wired to the panel.
@@shawnphillips1220 yeah there are some videos on TH-cam for guidance
Great video.
How many guys on job that size?
I want one of these SPAN panels in my house but I live in California. Any good companies in southern California that installs SPAN panels?
I noticed the numbering was upside down.does Span make an inside cover for when you flip the panel?
Nope and it voids the warranty.
On a $4K panel I'd expect that the numbering was legible in both orientations, considering a $200 panel from any other manufacture has had that worked out for 30 years or so.
Feel sad for the fella who has to add a future circuit to that panel
I wonder how these little chargers will fair when all vehicle go to the new 48v architecture?
got a link for that 1450 box?
I was able to zoom in on the part number. It looks like a Topaz 72181-DTA. The Raco 260 was the closest thing I could find on Amazon.
wouldn't it be easier to just take down all the drywall 9" above 9" below before running the wires into the panel, and then later do a formal drywall repair?
Absolutely not
You have to get the experience of working on a radio distribution Tower it's like nothing you ever
Magic ereasor?
Span is overpriced junk.
Amen
Let’s get a van tour!
What is this "bro" nonsense ? Sounds unprofessional.
Excellent crew & excellent job Joel ... Thx
nice teeth