Smart Electrical Panels Compared: SPAN, Lumin, Schneider and Leviton

Reviewed by John Ihle, MN Master Electrician (AM005101) · NABCEP-credentialed · iSolar, Saint Paul Park, MN · Last reviewed October 2026

What a smart electrical panel actually does

A smart electrical panel does three jobs a standard breaker box cannot. It measures energy on individual circuits, it switches circuits on and off from an app, and it automates those switches based on rules: shed the dryer when the battery runs low, throttle the EV charger when the whole house nears its service limit.

The breakers still do the safety work. The smart layer sits on top, either built into a replacement panel or added beside the panel you already have. That difference, replace versus add on, drives most of the cost and most of the decision.

Four smart panel approaches compared

These four products take different routes to the same goal. Specs below come from each manufacturer's published material.

Two notes before you shop. Leviton's older LDATA hub is discontinued, and 1st Gen Leviton smart breakers could trip remotely but not turn back on. And SPAN's MAIN 32 must be commissioned by a SPAN Authorized Installer. We cover SPAN in depth in our SPAN smart panel review, so this post stays on the comparison.

Battery backup: where a smart panel earns its keep

The strongest case for a smart breaker panel in Minnesota is a long winter outage on a home battery. A battery has a fixed amount of energy and a fixed amount of power. Without load control, you pick a few protected circuits at install time and live with that choice. With a smart panel, you can back up the whole house and let software decide what runs.

A typical winter priority list we set up looks like this:

1. Always on: furnace blower and controls, sump pump, refrigerator, internet, a few lights.
2. On when the battery is above a set level: freezer, kitchen outlets, well pump.
3. Off during outages: EV charger, electric dryer, electric water heater, garage heater.

SPAN says pairing its panel with storage can give up to 40% longer backup duration. Treat that as the manufacturer's claim. Real runtime depends on your loads and the weather. Our battery backup page covers sizing the battery itself.

EV charging without a service upgrade

The second strong case is adding a big load to a service that is already full. Many older Twin Cities homes we work in still have 100-amp service. Adding a 48-amp EV charger, a heat pump, or both can push the load calculation past what the service can carry.

A smart panel can watch total current and throttle the charger before the main breaker is at risk. SPAN calls this PowerUp: on grid, it throttles large loads to stay under a setpoint tied to your service rating. The electrical code recognizes energy management systems like this when an electrician calculates load, which can mean skipping a service upgrade. Your inspector still has to accept the design, so it is worth confirming before you buy.

Here is how the math tends to play out. A service upgrade from 100 to 200 amps means a new meter socket, new service conductors, often a new panel, and coordination with Xcel to disconnect and reconnect. A load-managed EV circuit leaves all of that in place and simply caps how hard the charger pulls when the furnace, range and dryer are already running. In winter that usually means the car charges a little slower in the evening and catches up overnight, when everything else in the house is quiet. For most commuters, that trade costs nothing they would notice.

A smart panel is not the only way to do this. Several EV chargers have built-in load management, and a dedicated load controller costs less than a new panel. Compare options in our guide to EV charger installation costs in Minnesota, and run our panel capacity check first.

When a $200 to $300 monitor is enough

If your goal is to see where your power goes, find the 2 a.m. load that never shuts off, or check your solar production against use, you do not need control. You need a monitor.

• Emporia Vue 3 with 16 circuit sensors lists at $199.99 on Emporia's store.
• Sense lists at $299, or $349 for the solar or Flex versions, and uses whole-home sensing to identify devices.

Both install inside your existing panel on clamps, so an electrician should mount them. Neither can switch a circuit off. Read our Emporia Vue energy monitor review for what circuit-level data can and cannot tell you.

Installer notes for Minnesota homes

• Permits apply. Replacing a panel or adding a load controller is permitted electrical work in Minnesota, inspected like any panel job.
• Breaker compatibility matters. SPAN accepts Square D HOM, Eaton BR and Siemens QP branch breakers, and its AFCI/GFCI support is limited to pigtail-neutral breakers. Schneider's relays require QO Plug-on Neutral. Check what is in your panel before you buy.
• Basements and Wi-Fi. Most metro panels sit in basements behind concrete. Plan the network connection, wired where possible.
• Cold rating. SPAN's enclosure is NEMA 3R and rated down to -22°F, which matters for outdoor or garage locations.
• Software risk. These are connected devices. Ask what still works if the company changes its app or cloud service.

Start with a load picture, then pick the hardware

The right answer depends on your service size, your panel brand and what you plan to add over the next few years. iSolar's electrical team can measure your existing load, tell you whether a monitor, a load controller or a full smart panel fits, and handle the permit. Start with our electrical services.

Sources

• SPAN — Panel MAIN 32 specifications
• Lumin — Smart Panel technical specifications (PDF)
• CE Pro — Schneider Electric releases a more affordable smart panel solution (Square D Control Relays)
• Leviton — Can Leviton Load Center breakers be remotely turned on and off?
• Leviton — LWHEM-2 Whole Home Energy Monitor
• Emporia — Vue 3 Home Energy Monitor