Span Drives

"I already have the SPAN Panel, can I just get the charger that actually works with it?" That's the exact question we hear from Kent homeowners at least a few times a week, and the answer is yes. The SPAN Drive runs on a 240V circuit, delivers up to 48 amps (11.8 kW), and adds roughly 30, 40 miles of range per hour to most electric vehicles. So what separates it from every other Level 2 charger on the market? Two words: Dynamic Load Management.

The SPAN Drive communicates with your SPAN Panel in real time. When your heat pump, dryer, or oven spikes demand, charging automatically throttles down. When those loads drop, it ramps right back up. No tripped breakers. No wasted capacity. One thing Kent homeowners should know upfront: the SPAN Drive is not a standalone charger. It requires a SPAN Panel to operate.

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The SPAN Drive installs as a single, compact wall-mount unit. No separate controller box. No clunky adapter. No extra hardware cluttering your garage wall. It's a hardwired 240V/48A connection on a dedicated circuit, the standard our team follows for every EV charger installation we perform in Kent.

Why does hardwired matter? It eliminates the plug as a potential failure point, meets current NEC code requirements for permanently installed equipment, and delivers a more reliable connection over years of daily use.

The enclosure carries a NEMA 4 rating, and if you're mounting outdoors, that rating matters. Plenty of homeowners along the Meridian South corridor do exactly that, placing chargers on exterior walls near their driveways. Kent gets hammered with rain from November through February, windblown rain, sleet, standing water spray. A NEMA 4 enclosure handles all of it without compromising internal components. January downpour or dry August evening, your charger performs the same.

Day-to-day operation runs through the SPAN app. You set charge schedules, monitor real-time energy consumption, and adjust settings from one interface. No separate hub, no secondary app. Homeowners with rooftop solar, increasingly common across the Auburn-Kent corridor, can also use the SPAN Drive's solar charging mode, which pulls from your solar excess before drawing grid power. It won't eliminate your electric bill, but it does let you direct more of your own generated energy into your vehicle instead of exporting it back to PSE at a lower rate.

Here's the real distinction from a generic Level 2 charger: a standard unit draws a fixed load the moment you plug in, completely blind to what else your home is running. The SPAN Drive talks to your SPAN Panel and adjusts its draw dynamically. A dumb appliance versus a connected system component that responds to your household's actual energy demand in real time. Big difference.

Every SPAN Drive installation follows the same six-step process. No ambiguity, you know exactly what to expect before we ever pick up a tool. (Washington State electrical licensing)

Step 1: Reach out. Call us at (206) 487-7278 or fill out our online form. We'll ask a few quick questions: whether your SPAN Panel is already installed or still in the planning stage, what EV you drive, and whether you want the charger mounted inside your garage or on an exterior wall.

Step 2: Site visit. One of our electricians comes to your home to confirm SPAN Panel compatibility, check available circuit capacity, and map the best conduit routing from panel to charger location. If you're in Meridian South or along the Kent-Auburn border, we're already familiar with the common garage configurations and panel placements in those homes.

Step 3: Permit pull. This is where a lot of homeowners get surprised. Washington State requires a permit for any hardwired Level 2 charger installation. It's not optional, and skipping it can create real problems with your homeowner's insurance or a future home sale. We handle the full permit application with the City of Kent or City of Auburn, depending on your jurisdiction. You don't chase paperwork. We do.

Step 4: Installation day. We mount the SPAN Drive, run a dedicated 240V circuit from your SPAN Panel, and make all electrical connections. Every conduit entry point and mounting surface gets properly sealed and weatherproofed. Kent averages over 37 inches of rain a year, moisture intrusion isn't something we take lightly.

Step 5: Commissioning and walkthrough. Once the hardware is live, we walk you through the SPAN app on your phone: how to set charge schedules, monitor real-time energy data across your home, and activate solar charging mode if you have panels on your roof. Straightforward and hands-on.

Step 6: Inspection coordination. That permit from Step 3 triggers a required electrical inspection. We schedule it with the local jurisdiction and make sure everything passes cleanly. You don't need to be the middleman between the city and your electrician. That's our job.

From first phone call to final inspection, most SPAN Drive installations wrap up within one to two weeks, depending on permit turnaround times. Give us a call at (206) 487-7278 or request your site visit online and we'll get yours on the schedule.