Keywest Lights & Electric is a SPAN Authorized Installer with 20 SPAN installs completed. We install SPAN Panels in Sarasota homes: mid-century and Sarasota School houses near downtown and the Rosemary District that need a smarter replacement for an aging breaker box, Fruitville and Bee Ridge pool homes adding EVs or generators, bayfront and Lido Key houses dealing with salt air, and condo units where the owner wants circuit-level control. Sarasota is about 38 straight-line miles from our Seminole shop across the Sunshine Skyway, so SPAN work here is a scheduled, planned panel replacement, booked well ahead rather than as a drop-in. Licensed (EC#13014717).
Call (727) 476-7079 or request a SPAN consultation. Office 7 AM–5 PM, weekend service, 24/7 emergency calls.
What SPAN does for a Sarasota home
A SPAN Panel replaces your existing electrical panel with one you can see and control from your phone. Every circuit is measured and switchable in the SPAN Home app, so you can see what’s using power right now, turn circuits off from anywhere, and get free over-the-air software updates. It uses standard 1-inch breakers and is NEMA 3R rated for indoor or outdoor installation.
In Sarasota we see three kinds of SPAN projects:
- Homes adding one or two EVs, a pool heater or a second AC. On a 200-amp service, SPAN PowerUp™ can manage EV charging so the house stays within its service rating, which can sometimes avoid a utility service upgrade.^
- Homes whose original panel is full, flagged or corroded. If you need a bigger or safer panel anyway, SPAN is the smarter panel upgrade in Sarasota: you’re replacing the panel either way, and you get monitoring and control in the bargain.
- Homes with solar or planning a battery. SPAN lets you choose which circuits get backup power during an outage, change those priorities as the outage goes on, and see how much backup time is left. SPAN says it extends battery life by 40% during an outage.*
Sarasota homes and their panels
The City of Sarasota has about 57,000 residents, and the median home was built in 1976 (Census ACS 2020–2024). The SPAN conversation splits by neighborhood:
- Mid-century and Sarasota School homes near downtown, the Rosemary District, Gillespie Park and Laurel Park, where Federal Pacific, Zinsco or fuse-era equipment often needs a full replacement and where aluminum wiring or grounding updates may ride along on their own line of the quote
- 1970s–90s subdivisions toward Fruitville, Bee Ridge and Southgate, where a 200-amp service is common but the builder panel is out of spaces after a pool heater, spa and kitchen remodel
- Barrier-island and bayfront houses on Lido Key and around St. Armands Circle, where outdoor panels rust and flood-zone rules can affect equipment height and location
- High-rise and mid-rise condo units downtown and near the bay, where the unit panel is the owner’s but the meter bank or riser rooms belong to the association
- Unincorporated “Sarasota” mailing addresses that look like city jobs on paper but permit through Sarasota County
Outages, generators and Sarasota
Gulf storms and summer lightning push a lot of Sarasota homeowners toward generators and batteries. SPAN helps with each, within limits you should know up front:
- With a compatible battery: SPAN shows estimated backup time, lets you change what stays on as the outage goes, and can shed lower-priority loads automatically so the battery isn’t overloaded.
- With a standby generator: the generator connects upstream of SPAN through a listed transfer switch. Generator output never lands in the SPAN Panel, and portable-generator interlocks can’t be installed in it. SPAN doesn’t communicate with the generator, so generator power shows as grid power in the app.
- Generator only, no battery: there’s no automatic load shedding. You turn non-essential circuits off by hand in the app, which is still far easier than flipping breakers in a dark garage.
See generator installation and hookups for the generator side.
SPAN with solar and battery backup
SPAN works with a home’s existing solar and battery system when the battery is on SPAN’s compatibility list. Tesla Powerwall 3 and FranklinWH aPower work with every SPAN Panel model. Powerwall 2, SolarEdge, and Enphase IQ Battery 5P and 10T work with the SPAN Panel MAIN 32. SPAN’s Backup Overload Protection (NEC 2023 Article 702.4) helps prevent brownouts and the service calls that come with battery resets. We confirm your inverter, battery and gateway before we quote.
Don’t have solar or a battery yet? We can add solar, battery backup and energy monitoring through our licensed partner installers as one coordinated project. Our partners install the solar and battery equipment; Keywest Lights & Electric manages the project and handles the electrical work, including the SPAN Panel and interconnection wiring. Solar, battery backup & energy monitoring →
Permits, utilities and HOAs in Sarasota
- Inside city limits: City of Sarasota Building & Permitting online portal.
- Unincorporated Sarasota County addresses with a Sarasota mailing address: Sarasota County Accela Citizen Access portal.
We confirm the jurisdiction from your address, file the electrical permit with the load calculation and riser details, and meet the inspector.
Utility: Florida Power & Light (FPL) serves the City of Sarasota and Sarasota County. When the meter has to be pulled, we coordinate the disconnect and reconnect. If a load calculation shows the service is short even with SPAN PowerUp, a Sarasota service upgrade goes on its own line of the quote.
HOAs and condo boards: a garage or indoor panel replacement rarely needs architectural approval. Exterior equipment changes and condo riser work often do. We provide specs and a photo of the planned location if asked.
Distance and how we schedule Sarasota SPAN work
Our shop is at 6248 Seminole Blvd, Seminole, FL 33772. Sarasota is about 38 miles away in a straight line and farther by road across the Skyway, well outside our ~15-mile emergency and small-job response area, so it’s Tier 3: planned, high-ticket work only. We schedule the consultation, site visit and install day; we do not promise a response time across the Skyway, and we don’t take small service calls this far out. Office 7 AM–5 PM, weekend service available; emergency calls are answered 24/7, and we’ll be honest about whether we’re the right call from Seminole.
How a SPAN install works
- Consultation call. Tell us about your home, panel, solar, battery, generator, EV plans and any HOA or board rules.
- Site visit and load calculation. We look at the panel, meter, grounding, and any solar, battery or generator equipment.
- Itemized quote after the site visit. Every part of the job is on its own line. We don’t quote SPAN prices over the phone.
- City of Sarasota or Sarasota County permit and FPL coordination when needed.
- Install and commissioning. Most SPAN installs take about a day. We commission the panel, connect it to your existing system, and add whole-house surge protection.
- Inspection and app walkthrough. We meet the inspector and show you how backup priorities work in the SPAN Home app.
Warranty and financing
- 3-year workmanship warranty on our electrical work, extended to 5 years for Member Care Plan members. That’s separate from SPAN’s own 10-year limited panel warranty, which requires installation by SPAN or a SPAN Authorized Installer.
- Financing available through Acorn Finance, subject to credit approval. Check your options without affecting your credit score. Ask us and we’ll include the financing link with your itemized quote.
- Hours: office 7 AM–5 PM, weekend service, and 24/7 emergency calls.
Why Sarasota calls Keywest Lights & Electric
- Licensed electrical contractor, EC#13014717, in business since 2010
- Based at 6248 Seminole Blvd, Seminole, FL 33772, about 38 miles across the Skyway: honest about the drive, so we book SPAN as planned work
- SPAN Authorized Installer, 20 SPAN installs
- City or County permits and FPL coordination handled for you
- Woman-owned, family-run business and Home Depot preferred contractor
- Solar and battery systems are installed by our licensed partner installers; we handle the electrical work and manage the project
Sarasota SPAN FAQ
Are you a SPAN Authorized Installer? Yes. Keywest Lights & Electric is a SPAN Authorized Installer, with 20 SPAN installs completed. We’re licensed (EC#13014717) and have done electrical work in the Tampa Bay area since 2010.
How much does a SPAN Panel cost in Sarasota? It depends on the SPAN model, your current panel and service, any code corrections, City vs. County permitting, and add-ons. We give an itemized quote after a site visit so you see every line before you decide.
Is this the same page as Longboat Key & Lakewood Ranch or Bradenton? No. We also publish SPAN in Longboat Key & Lakewood Ranch and SPAN in Bradenton. This page is specifically for Sarasota city and nearby Sarasota mailing addresses. All three are FPL territory; pick the page that matches where you live.
Can SPAN help me add an EV charger without a service upgrade? Sometimes. SPAN PowerUp can manage EV charging to keep your home within its service rating. It requires qualification and enrollment, and we’ll tell you after the load calculation whether it fits your home.^ See also EV chargers in Sarasota.
Does SPAN work with my generator? Yes, through a listed transfer switch upstream of the panel. Without a compatible battery, circuit control on generator power is manual in the app.
Who issues the permit? The City of Sarasota inside city limits, and Sarasota County for unincorporated addresses. We confirm which and pull the permit.
Do you also install SPAN in Bradenton? Yes. See SPAN in Bradenton, plus Longboat Key & Lakewood Ranch and Apollo Beach for neighboring planned installs. This page is for Sarasota addresses.
Ready for a smarter panel in Sarasota? Call (727) 476-7079 or request a SPAN consultation.
* Per SPAN: results from an internal study of SPAN Panel managing backup load priorities in over 1,200 simulated outage situations. Battery backup time will vary based on home energy consumption, backup priorities, and storage systems. ^ Requires qualification and enrollment in SPAN PowerUp to avoid a utility service upgrade. Cost and time savings are site-specific and vary. SPAN®, SPAN Panel, SPAN Drive, SPAN PowerUp™ and the SPAN logo are trademarks of Span.IO, Inc. Keywest Lights & Electric is an independent SPAN Authorized Installer.
Related: SPAN Smart Panel Installation · SPAN in Longboat Key & Lakewood Ranch · SPAN in Bradenton · Solar, Battery Backup & Energy Monitoring · Panel upgrades in Sarasota · Service upgrades in Sarasota · EV chargers in Sarasota · Electrician in Sarasota, FL · SPAN in Apollo Beach