After Helene’s storm surge and Milton’s winds in fall 2024, many Pinellas homeowners learned what their backup power could and couldn’t do. Homes with solar and a battery stayed brighter than the rest of the street, but plenty of owners found their battery covered only a short list of circuits picked on install day, or ran low overnight because the AC, pool pump and water heater were all pulling from it.
That’s the problem a SPAN smart panel is built to solve. Keywest Lights & Electric is a SPAN Authorized Installer based in Seminole, and we’ve completed 20 SPAN installs for homeowners around Tampa Bay. This guide covers the decision we spend the most time on with clients: which circuits stay on when the grid goes down.
Why a standard battery setup falls short after a storm
Most battery installs use a backup subpanel: a fixed set of circuits, usually the refrigerator, some lights and a few outlets, while everything else goes dark. That’s fine for a short blackout, but not after a hurricane, when power can be out for days and your needs keep changing.
On day one you want the fridge, fans and internet. By day three, with heat and humidity building inside, you may want one bedroom cooled at night. If water came into the garage, you want those circuits off. With a fixed subpanel, each change means rewiring, and getting an electrician the week after a storm is hard.
Whole-home backup without load management has the opposite problem: big loads drain the battery fast, and an overload can trip it so it needs a reset.
How SPAN changes backup power for homes with solar and battery
SPAN reinvented the 100-year-old electrical panel with smarter controls for smarter savings. Instead of a fixed backup list, you monitor and control every circuit from the SPAN Home app, with real-time on/off control from anywhere. For hurricane season, that means:
- You choose the backup circuits. Select which rooms and appliances get backup power in an outage, and change those priorities on the fly.
- You can see how long the battery will last. The app shows a time remaining estimate based on your home’s historical use, so you can decide whether to add a load or shed one.
- Your battery goes further. SPAN extends your battery life by 40% during an outage.*
- Fewer overload trips. SPAN’s Backup Overload Protection is NEC 2023 Article 702.4 compliant and helps prevent brownouts and service calls for battery resets.
SPAN works with your existing solar and battery when the equipment is on SPAN’s compatibility list (see the FAQ below). Don’t have them 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, and we handle the electrical work, including the SPAN Panel and the interconnection wiring. Learn more on our solar, battery backup and energy monitoring page.
A hurricane-season circuit plan for Pinellas homes
Every home and battery is different, but this three-tier plan is where we start with most Pinellas clients. We set it up with you at the install and label every circuit in the app.
Tier 1: On for the whole outage
- Refrigerator and freezer
- Internet modem and router, plus phone and laptop charging
- Medical equipment such as CPAP machines or oxygen concentrators
- A few lights and the ceiling fans in the rooms you’ll use
- Garage door opener, security cameras and any sewage ejector or lift pump
Tier 2: On when the battery and sun allow
- One air conditioning zone or mini-split for sleeping
- Kitchen countertop outlets and the microwave
- Washing machine, so you can deal with wet towels and clothes
- Well pump, if your home has one for household water
Tier 3: Off until the grid is back
- Pool pump, pool heater and spa
- Electric water heater (or run it midday, when solar production is high)
- Clothes dryer and electric range
- EV charger, irrigation, boat lift, guest wing and detached workshop
These tiers are a starting point. On a sunny afternoon your solar may cover a Tier 3 load for a few hours; on a rainy day after landfall, you may trim back to Tier 1. Because changes happen in the app, you can adjust as conditions change.
Using SPAN before, during and after a storm
Before the storm. When Tampa Bay is in the forecast cone, fully charge your battery (many batteries have a storm-preparation setting in their own app) and review your backup priorities in the SPAN Home app.
During the outage. Start lean with Tier 1, check the time remaining estimate, and add Tier 2 loads when the sun comes out and the battery is recharging. At night, keep the AC to one zone if you can.
After the storm. If floodwater reached your panel, battery, inverter, outlets or appliances, leave those circuits off and have a licensed electrician inspect them before they’re used again. Switching a circuit off in the app is not a substitute for an inspection. We offer 24/7 emergency service for exactly these situations.
What to expect from a SPAN smart panel installer in Tampa Bay
A good SPAN install starts with a site visit. We check your existing panel and service, confirm your battery, inverter and gateway work with SPAN, recommend a SPAN Panel model, and talk through placement. SPAN Panels are NEMA 3R rated for indoor or outdoor installation, which matters in flood-prone areas of Pinellas where the panel location is part of storm planning. Then you get an itemized quote.
Every SPAN job comes with our 3-year workmanship warranty (5 years for Member Care Plan members). SPAN’s 10-year limited panel warranty requires installation by SPAN or a SPAN Authorized Installer. Financing available through Acorn Finance, subject to credit approval.
Keywest Lights & Electric has served Tampa Bay since 2010. We’re a woman-owned, licensed and insured electrical contractor (EC13014717). We install SPAN Panels throughout Pinellas County, from Seminole and Largo to the beaches. See our local pages for St. Pete Beach and Treasure Island and Belleair, or visit our main SPAN smart panel installation page for models, compatibility and the full process.
SPAN and hurricane backup: frequently asked questions
Will a SPAN Panel work with the solar and battery I already have?
Often, yes. Per SPAN’s current product guide, Tesla Powerwall 3 and FranklinWH aPower work with every SPAN Panel model, and Tesla Powerwall 2, SolarEdge and Enphase IQ Battery 5P and 10T work with the SPAN Panel MAIN 32 (Enphase requires SPAN’s Remote Meter Kit). We confirm your inverter, battery and gateway during the site visit, before we quote.
Can SPAN keep my central air conditioning on during a hurricane outage?
It depends on your battery capacity, your solar production and the size of the AC system. SPAN lets you add the AC to your backup circuits, watch the battery’s estimated time remaining in the SPAN Home app, and turn the AC off again if the battery is draining faster than you’d like.
Do I have to replace my main electrical panel to get SPAN?
Not always. SPAN’s MAIN models (16, 32 and 40) have a 200A main breaker and replace your main panel, while the MLO 24 and MLO 48 have main lugs and can be installed as a smart subpanel. We recommend the right setup after seeing your home.
How much does a SPAN smart panel installation cost?
Every home is different, so we provide an itemized quote after a site visit instead of quoting prices online. Financing available through Acorn Finance, subject to credit approval.
Get your backup power under control before the next storm
Talk with a SPAN Authorized Installer about your solar, battery and backup circuits. Our office is open 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., with weekend and 24/7 emergency service.
* 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. SPAN®, SPAN Panel and the SPAN Home app are trademarks of Span.IO, Inc. Keywest Lights & Electric is an independent SPAN Authorized Installer.