Alexa Upgrade for Span Smart Fuse Box

Span's $20m round adds Alexa integration to its smart home electrical panel.

10:15 30 January 2021

Span, the smart fusebox replacement founded by an ex-Tesla engineer, is now integrated with Amazon's voice recognition interface, Alexa. The move follows a new $20million funding from Amazon's Alexa Fund and insurance company Munich Re Venture's HSB Fund. 

 

The integration between the two innovative technologies will allow Span's users to monitor which appliances are using power, turn on or off appliances in their home and determine which electrical source is generating the most power for a home through simple voice commands. In addition, Alexa could turn off the power for any devices or switch that a homeowner has programmed into the system. 

 

Span chief executive Arch Rao said that the Alexa integration will open up new opportunities for homeowners to integrate their devices and appliances because of the connection to the home's wiring. 

 

Rao also announced plans to hire more employees and increase headcount from 35 to 70 by the end of the year. The company's growth is part of a broad movement that addresses the need for sustainable options. Currently, it is targeting electrical appliances like water heaters and stovetops but the integration could also be useful in electric vehicle charging stations, for example, in the future. 

 

"It's cutting that pipe that’s bringing natural gas to the home and bringing all electric everything… as consumers are continuing to cut the cord on fossils, your existing home system is not efficient. That’s one ecosystem of products where we are starting to see partnership opportunities," Rao said. "When it comes to applications like monitoring the health of your appliances… and services to the home. Having the data that we provide will be unprecedented."