Noble Carbon has developed smart circuit breakers that can make it possible to install EV chargers, heat pumps and induction stoves without replacing a home’s electrical panel. The breakers adjust electricity use in real time, allowing new high-power appliances to operate even when a panel would otherwise be considered at capacity.
Avoiding a panel replacement could remove a major cost from home electrification projects. One 2026 study found that electrical upgrades, including panel work, can more than double the cost of installing an EV charger.
Smart Breakers Adjust Power When Demand Peaks
Residential electrical panels are generally sized to handle a home’s maximum possible electricity use, even though that level of demand may occur only a few hours each year. Noble Carbon’s system instead manages large electrical loads so the home stays within the panel’s available capacity.
For example, if an EV is charging while the air conditioner, water heater and oven are running, the breakers can reduce power to selected devices. Spencer Fields, Noble Carbon’s head of marketing, told TechCrunch that controlling only the three to six largest electrical loads can be enough to avoid a panel upgrade.
The company’s first smart breaker, Noble Carbon Neon, is designed to fit into existing slots in residential electrical panels. Noble Carbon says each breaker takes less than five minutes to install, compared with the more extensive work required to replace a panel.
Employees have been testing the breakers in their own homes for more than a year. The product is now undergoing evaluation for UL certification, a widely used electrical safety standard.
Eversource Tests the Breakers in Massachusetts
Co-founder and CEO Jared Lebos developed the idea after experiencing rolling blackouts while growing up in South Africa. He later worked with co-founder and CTO Andrew Crane on using dynamic load balancing at the circuit-breaker level.
Noble Carbon is now working with utility company Eversource to install its breakers in as many as 200 multifamily units in Massachusetts. The Pittsfield-based startup is also one of 200 companies selected for TechCrunch’s 2026 Startup Battlefield competition, with 20 finalists scheduled to pitch on the main stage at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco in October.
Featured image credits: Magnific.com
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