Introducing myself: @dcj

[dcj]

Hello!
I wanted to introduce myself now that I’ve joined the SpanPanel organization and begun participating here.

Background

I’m Don Jackson (@dcj), a longtime Silicon Valley software developer (LinkedIn profile).

I’m mostly retired, but became personally motivated to advocate for residential electrification and undertook a full electrification of my own home (Home Electrification Project Overview).

That work led me to SPAN panels and to thinking deeply about local integrations.

Early Local API Work (2020)

In ~August 2020, I proposed a joint effort with SPAN to work toward a local API. My contribution at the time was volunteer and pro-bono. The original (now v1) REST API for the MAIN 32 panel emerged from that effort.

In parallel:

• I wrote a private daemon that polled the legacy API, bridged to MQTT, and exposed panel/circuit entities to Home Assistant. That work was never published.
• The SpanPanel/span community developed the integration that many hundreds of users adopted and which has been a stable, production-quality solution in real-world use for many years.

Current Work

In late 2024, I re-engaged with SPAN regarding the legacy API and became a contract developer working with SPAN. My compensated work is focused primarily on integrations between SPAN panels and other Home Energy Infrastructure (HEI) devices (BESS, PV-systems, EVSE, HVAC, water heaters, etc.).

About a year ago, SPAN initiated a new local API effort with goals to provide a unified integration API across panel models and to facilitate integrations with other HEI devices. The first public deliverable is SPAN API. I am the primary developer of SPAN API in my role as a contractor to SPAN.

Separately, on my own time and independently of SPAN, I began developing a Home Assistant integration using SPAN API (span-hass integration) to validate the API design and solve my own migration needs; SPAN was not involved in that integration effort.

Roles

When participating here, I may operate in different capacities:

• Individual volunteer (my primary role within this org/repository), just like everyone else here. In this capacity I am not representing SPAN and am not compensated for participating in this org.
• Contractor working on SPAN API. In that context, I may be able to clarify API behavior or serve informally as a liaison between this community and SPAN. Presently (as of 2026-02-25), I am not authorized to speak for or represent SPAN in this forum.

[cayossarian]

Great to have you onboard!

I’m your neighbor. I live east of the east Bay as I say in the Tri-Valley.

I also have a deep software development and architecture background, SAP, middleware ESB, integration middleware, etc, etc. Started my career in C:C++, Java, Python as required.

Super glad to see SPAN officially integrate with the HA ecosystem which provides reach they could never get otherwise on many fronts.

Maybe I’ll run into in the valley LOL.

Cheers,

Bill Flood