EcoFlow balcony power plants & STREAM compared

With its STREAM series, EcoFlow offers batteries and inverters designed specifically for balcony power plants. Compare kits and standalone units here – with live prices from several shops.

The STREAM family

EcoFlow became known mainly for portable power stations and has built up its own line for plug-in solar devices with STREAM. It includes all-in-one batteries with integrated MPPT inputs and inverter (such as STREAM Ultra and Ultra X), pure add-on batteries (AC variants) and a micro-inverter. Depending on the model, the batteries can be combined, so you can start with one unit and expand later.

In the offers, you'll find both standalone units and retailers' complete kits with panels and mounts. The titles often quote very high wattages – usually the panel input or off-grid output, not the permitted feed-in to the home circuit.

Buying criteria

With EcoFlow kits, pay particular attention to:

Capacity per unit and maximum expansion.
Number of solar inputs and maximum panel output – up to 2,000 Wp is permitted for plug-in solar devices.
Sockets on the unit: some models offer an output for direct loads or backup power.
Smart meter integration for demand-based feed-in.
What the kit includes: panels, mount, cables and plugs.

Legal framework

Even if the devices are technically capable of more, operation as a balcony power plant in Germany is limited to a maximum of 800 watts fed into the home circuit. You register the system in the Market Master Data Register, with the battery as a separate unit. For the plug, follow the manufacturer's approval and the product standard; for systems above 960 Wp of panel output, a dedicated energy plug-in connector is specified.

Standalone unit or complete kit?

If you already have panels and a sturdy mount, a standalone STREAM battery that you connect your existing panels to is often enough. Check your panels' voltage and current against the input specifications. If you're starting from scratch, retailers' complete kits are more convenient, because the panels, cables and battery are matched to one another. Then compare the kit price with the sum of the individual components – depending on the offer, one or the other works out cheaper. Also check which generation is in the kit, as older and newer models differ in capacity and features.