[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":245},["ShallowReactive",2],{"page-\u002Fkits\u002Fecoflow-stream":3,"author-mike":207},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"bare":7,"body":8,"dateModified":165,"datePublished":165,"description":166,"extension":167,"howToSteps":168,"kits":169,"layout":190,"meta":191,"navigation":192,"path":193,"schemaType":194,"seo":195,"sources":196,"stem":200,"targetKeywords":201,"titleTag":205,"translationOf":168,"__hash__":206},"content\u002Fkits\u002Fecoflow-stream.md","EcoFlow STREAM","mike",false,{"type":9,"value":10},"minimark",[11,18,24,29,32,36,39,43,46,101,113,116,120,123,126,130,146,150,153,156,162],[12,13,14],"answer-box",{},[15,16,17],"p",{},"The most consumer-friendly product in the category and the only mainstream one with a proper battery path. The STREAM Microinverter runs $299 to $599 depending on the offer; the STREAM Ultra, with a 1.92 kWh lithium-iron battery, runs $1,459 to $2,399. EcoFlow launched into Utah first and is expanding as states pass laws. Certification is to UL 1741 rather than UL 3700 as of 1 September 2026, and California availability has trailed Utah — confirm both before you order.",[19,20],"illustration",{"brief":21,"caption":22,"ratio":23},"The STREAM Ultra battery unit next to something ordinary for scale — it is a bigger object than people expect.","Product photography, credited to the manufacturer where it is theirs. We say which.","wide",[25,26,28],"h2",{"id":27},"who-its-for","Who it's for",[15,30,31],{},"Someone with a bill over $250 a month who's home in the evenings, on a time-of-use plan, and willing to accept a five-year payback in exchange for a bigger annual number. Also anyone who wants an app that shows what the thing is doing, which — as an argument for a purchase — is more persuasive than it sounds.",[25,33,35],{"id":34},"who-it-isnt-for","Who it isn't for",[15,37,38],{},"Anyone trying to spend under $700. Anyone whose main goal is the fastest payback: the battery roughly halves it.",[25,40,42],{"id":41},"what-the-battery-is-actually-for","What the battery is actually for",[15,44,45],{},"Your panel produces at midday. SCE charges most from 4pm to 9pm. Without storage you give away the midday surplus and then buy expensive evening power. The battery closes that gap.",[47,48,49,64],"table",{},[50,51,52],"thead",{},[53,54,55,58,61],"tr",{},[56,57],"th",{},[56,59,60],{},"Panels only",[56,62,63],{},"Panels plus 1.92 kWh",[65,66,67,79,90],"tbody",{},[53,68,69,73,76],{},[70,71,72],"td",{},"Share of production used",[70,74,75],{},"~60%",[70,77,78],{},"~90%",[53,80,81,84,87],{},[70,82,83],{},"Estimated annual saving, 1,200W in Irvine",[70,85,86],{},"~$376",[70,88,89],{},"~$564",[53,91,92,95,98],{},[70,93,94],{},"Payback",[70,96,97],{},"2–4 years",[70,99,100],{},"4–6 years",[15,102,103],{},[104,105,106,107,112],"em",{},"Estimated. ",[108,109,111],"a",{"href":110},"\u002Fmethodology","Full working",".",[15,114,115],{},"Worth noting that in Germany, the mature market for this, the proportion of balcony systems sold with storage doubled from 20 percent in 2023 to 40 percent in 2025 at EcoFlow specifically. Buyers there increasingly conclude the battery is worth it.",[25,117,119],{"id":118},"certification","Certification",[15,121,122],{},"As of 1 September 2026, the STREAM range is listed to UL 1741. That's a genuine grid-interactive inverter standard and it is not the same as UL 3700. EcoFlow has strong commercial reasons to certify to UL 3700 for the California market, and we'd expect movement here, but we won't say it's happened until it has.",[15,124,125],{},"If certainty about January 2027 matters more to you than the battery, buy an APsystems-based kit instead.",[25,127,129],{"id":128},"drawbacks","Drawbacks",[131,132,133,137,140,143],"ul",{},[134,135,136],"li",{},"Certification status, above.",[134,138,139],{},"The Ultra is a big financial commitment for a category whose whole appeal is that it's small and cheap.",[134,141,142],{},"California availability has trailed Utah. Check the ship-to before you get attached.",[134,144,145],{},"It's an ecosystem. The battery, the inverter, and the app want to be EcoFlow's.",[25,147,149],{"id":148},"verdict","Verdict",[15,151,152],{},"The best product in the category and the one with the most open certification question. If you're buying for the battery and you're comfortable waiting until the UL 3700 position is clear, this is the one to watch.",[154,155],"affiliate-disclosure",{},[157,158],"newsletter-capture",{"body":159,"button":160,"heading":161},"One email when this kit is actually available here, and one if its certification status changes.","Watch this kit","Tell me when this one ships to California",[163,164],"sources-block",{},"2026-09-01","EcoFlow's plug-in range: $299–$599 for the microinverter, $1,459–$2,399 for the Ultra with a 1.92 kWh battery. Utah first, California expanding.","md",null,[170,181],{"name":171,"brand":172,"size":173,"price":174,"priceFrom":175,"battery":176,"cert":177,"shipsToCa":178,"suits":179,"order":180},"EcoFlow STREAM Microinverter","EcoFlow","up to 1,200W","$299 early-bird \u002F $599",299,"No","ul1741","Utah first, CA expanding","People who want an app and a battery path",50,{"name":182,"brand":172,"size":183,"price":184,"priceFrom":185,"battery":186,"cert":177,"shipsToCa":187,"suits":188,"order":189},"EcoFlow STREAM Ultra","1,200W + storage","$1,459–$2,399",1459,"1.92 kWh LFP","Check before ordering","Evening peak avoidance",60,"article",{},true,"\u002Fkits\u002Fecoflow-stream","Product",{"title":5,"description":166},[197],{"title":198,"url":199,"accessed":165},"Solar Builder, 'EcoFlow launches STREAM Series to bring balcony solar to the US'","https:\u002F\u002Fsolarbuildermag.com\u002Fproducts\u002Fecoflow-launches-stream-series-to-bring-balcony-solar-u-s\u002F","kits\u002Fecoflow-stream",[202,203,204,182],"EcoFlow STREAM review","EcoFlow STREAM California","balcony solar with battery","EcoFlow STREAM Review | Balcony Solar with Battery","l5He2nAEQkMF27_ZLl5yzq7WF8GEeeBEQ1gWdEE6iKA",{"id":208,"title":209,"body":210,"description":236,"email":235,"extension":167,"location":237,"meta":238,"name":217,"navigation":192,"path":239,"photo":240,"role":241,"sameAs":168,"seo":242,"stem":243,"__hash__":244},"authors\u002Fauthors\u002Fmike.md","Mike",{"type":9,"value":211},[212,219,222,226,229],[15,213,214,218],{},[215,216,217],"strong",{},"Mike Yu"," started SmallSolarCo after working out that a plug-in panel was the only kind of solar available to him — he rents in Irvine with a west-facing balcony and no roof of his own. He is not an electrician, a solar installer, or a lawyer, and the site says so wherever it matters. He has a background building web products, and built the savings model here himself, using NREL irradiance data and Southern California Edison's published rates.",[15,220,221],{},"Since September 2026 he has been running a plug-in kit on that balcony and logging what it actually produces. Every measured figure on this site comes from that kit. Everything else is labelled as an estimate.",[25,223,225],{"id":224},"editorial-independence","Editorial independence",[15,227,228],{},"We don't accept review units on terms that involve anyone approving the review first. If a manufacturer sends us a kit, we say so on the review, and we keep the right to publish a bad one.",[15,230,231,232,112],{},"Reach him at ",[108,233,235],{"href":234},"mailto:hello@smallsolarco.com","hello@smallsolarco.com","Mike Yu started SmallSolarCo after working out that a plug-in panel was the only kind of solar available to him — he rents in Irvine with a west-facing balcony and no roof of his own. He is not an electrician, a solar installer, or a lawyer, and the site says so wherever it matters. He has a background building web products, and built the savings model here himself, using NREL irradiance data and Southern California Edison's published rates.","Irvine, California",{},"\u002Fauthors\u002Fmike","\u002Fimages\u002Fauthors\u002Fmike.jpg","Founder",{"description":236},"authors\u002Fmike","kb0uodhMlGk_YV3nMOIXdr6bpZgtB5zNoRxdGxsXMQ8",1788387858822]