California’s Pacific American Group avoids costly upgrades with Smappee’s advanced smart charging solution  

Pacific American Group (PAG) is a family-owned company with over 40 years of experience in real estate and development in the Bay Area. When Bruce Parkinson joined PAG over a year ago, he set out to enhance sustainability across their properties:  

“We saw a great opportunity to modernize our buildings in several ways. I decided to create a proof of concept with a commercial, industrial, and residential property. The commercial space we chose was our HQ building in Sausalito. I needed the right partner to help make the project a reality, and soon connected with Elliott Jessup at Symmetric Energy.” 

Founded in 2018, Symmetric Energy is a leading expert in solar energy, battery storage, and EV charger installations in California. The company specializes in custom, sustainable solar, and energy storage solutions for residential and commercial projects. Elliott shares, “We focus on complex, tailored projects. When we began installing EV chargers, we were introduced to Smappee and quickly recognized the importance of their advanced dynamic load balancing technology. Shortly after, we faced a project that required their unique solution – the offices of PAG.” 

Sustainability Goals 

PAG operates out of a beautiful building in downtown Sausalito, which they share with another tenant. The building’s electrical panel, which was powering the offices, air conditioning, and one EV charger, was virtually at capacity. Bruce asked Symmetric Energy to design a system that could support the charging of three EV chargers simultaneously. This would have required a major electrical upgrade, costing tens of thousands of dollars and taking up to two years, involving significant construction. That is where Smappee made the difference. 

“Our sustainability goals were ambitious. We had already pushed our electrical system to its limits. Adding more EV chargers would have been impossible without a major upgrade. Elliott recommended load balancing panels, which were prohibitively expensive. That is when he introduced us to a company with a curious name, Smappee. Initially I thought, ‘That’s not a real thing’, but Elliott convinced me they were at the forefront of innovation and perfect for our needs.” 

Smart vs. Dumb Chargers 

Smappee’s dynamic load balancing optimizes the use of available power at any given moment. Instead of charging vehicles at full power throughout, the system dynamically adjusts the charge to prevent breaker trips.  

Elliott explained, “We first considered installing two basic ‘dumb’ chargers, but limiting their power to avoid overloading the system would have hurt the charging experience for drivers. We needed a solution that could optimize the solar energy to offset both the building’s electrical usage and EV charging. Smappee’s smart chargers allowed us to install three high-speed AC chargers without compromising performance, while dynamically balancing energy from the solar canopy. Plus, the sleek design of the Smappee chargers fit perfectly with the building’s aesthetic and the unique architectural solar panels on the front canopy.” 

Another important factor was integrating with the existing on-site power generator. Elliott elaborated, “In the event of a grid outage, we needed to ensure the chargers could continue operating under the generator’s reduced capacity Smappee’s advanced power balancing, specifically their Cascade Overload Protection, made this possible., This feature gave us yet another reason to choose their product over conventional chargers.” 

A lot more to discover

The chargers were installed in April 2024 by Symmetric Energy, with the direct support of the US Smappee team.  

Bruce commented, “It quickly became apparent to me they were indeed smart, as they were interconnected in so many ways. Smappee’s support was exceptional. Despite the complexities of this project, the Smappee system is incredibly easy to use. Once everything was set up, it was very straightforward. We registered the RFID cards and started charging our vehicles. Since our parking lot is shared with a neighboring business, access control is particularly important.” 

Smappee chargers offer complete access control, allowing PAG to only give access to their employees. They are also considering opening the chargers for public use as they install more at other properties. Bruce is also eager to explore the system’s data representation capabilities. The dashboard is currently displayed in the office lobby, providing insights that will help them optimize energy use across their properties. 

“Smappee truly complements the aesthetics of the facility”, Bruce concluded. “The quality is top-notch, and the design enhances security and ease of use by eliminating unnecessary buttons, making it a user-friendly system for both employees and management. We went from not knowing Smappee to being grateful that Symmetric Energy introduced us to this solution. It works better than we could have imagined.” 

Customer Pacific American Group
Country United States of America
Industry Real Estate 

Profile

Pacific American Group (PAG) is a real estate investment company based in the greater San Francisco Bay Area. Their portfolio includes industrial warehouses, distribution centers, commercial, and residential properties. Their largest clients are essential businesses in the food manufacturing, supply chain management, and logistics sectors. 

The challenge

Adding EV chargers to an already strained electrical panel was a significant challenge for PAG. The offices, air conditioning, and single EV charger were already pushing the system to its limits. A major upgrade was one solution, but it would been very costly and time-consuming. 

The solution

Smappee’s EV chargers, equipped with dynamic load balancing, optimize energy flows within the building, considering solar energy, battery storage, smart appliances, electric vehicles, and smart energy management platforms. 

The results

PAG opted to install three EV chargers instead, without the need for an expensive infrastructure upgrade. They avoided costly construction and can rely on Smappee to balance the (solar) energy in the system. As a result, more employees have started opting for electric vehicles, knowing that they can reliably charge at work.