{"product_id":"apsystems-ez1-lv-plug-in-solar-kit-microinverter-apmeter-zero-export","title":"APsystems EZ1-LV Plug-In Solar Kit — Microinverter + APmeter Zero Export","description":"\u003cp\u003ePlug-in solar, supplied the way it actually has to be installed in California. This kit pairs the \u003cstrong\u003eEZ1-LV microinverter\u003c\/strong\u003e with the \u003cstrong\u003eAPmeter zero-export smart meter\u003c\/strong\u003e, because in this market the two are not separate purchases — a compliant installation requires both. We sell them together so nobody ends up with hardware they cannot legally switch on.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eWhat's in the kit\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eEZ1-LV microinverter\u003c\/strong\u003e — 120V North American unit, up to 900W, two PV modules on two independent MPPT channels, 5-metre AC cable to a standard outlet\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eAPmeter (APM1-W-2)\u003c\/strong\u003e — DIN-rail smart meter with split-core CT rated to 100A, Wi-Fi with external antenna\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cdiv style=\"border-left:4px solid #4CA54C;background:#EDF7ED;padding:14px 18px;margin:22px 0\"\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"margin:0\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRunning more than two panels? You only need one meter.\u003c\/strong\u003e A single APmeter measures at your service panel and manages every EZ1 on the property, so expanding means adding inverters — not buying another kit. Add an \u003ca href=\"\/products\/apsystems-ez1-lv-add-on-microinverter-expansion-unit-apmeter-required\"\u003eEZ1-LV Add-On Microinverter\u003c\/a\u003e for each additional pair of panels.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eWhat the smart meter actually does\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe APmeter's current transformer clamps around the main conductor at your service panel and reads which way power is flowing, and how much, in real time. It reports that continuously to the EZ1, and the inverter adjusts its output to match.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDraw 900W in the house and the EZ1 is allowed to produce up to 900W. When the fridge compressor stops and household load drops to 200W, the inverter throttles back within seconds. Net flow at your service entrance never goes negative. The system is always feeding your house and never the grid.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eWhy you would not want to backfeed anyway\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe power company doesn't give you free electricity. Why would you give them free electricity?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is the part most people miss. A plug-in system has no interconnection agreement with the utility — that is precisely what makes it plug-in rather than a permitted rooftop project. And without an interconnection agreement, there is no arrangement under which anyone pays you for what you send out. No credit on the bill. No meter running backwards in your favour. Nothing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePower pushed onto the grid from a system with no agreement behind it is simply absorbed. You bought the panels. You bought the inverter. You generated the electricity. And it is gone, for free, to a company that has never once handed you a free kilowatt-hour.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNow take that same kilowatt-hour and consume it in your own house. It displaces electricity you would otherwise buy at full retail rate — and California retail rates are among the highest in the country. Every watt the APmeter keeps on your side of the meter is worth exactly what you would have paid for it. Every watt that escapes is worth zero.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSo the APmeter is not a compliance tax bolted onto the system. It is the component that makes sure the energy you paid to generate gets spent where it actually has value: on your own load, offsetting your own bill.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eWhat this means in practice\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn a bright weekday with nobody home and almost nothing running, the EZ1 will deliberately hold back rather than produce at full tilt. That is the system working correctly, not a fault. It is also generation you had no way to monetise — without an export agreement, that surplus was never going to earn you anything.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe practical takeaway is that plug-in solar pays best in households with a steady daytime baseline: a fridge and freezer, a home office, a pool pump, a heat pump, someone home during the day. The more load you have while the sun is up, the more of your production has somewhere useful to go.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eIndependent tracking on both inputs\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTwo modules, two separate maximum power point trackers. No two panels in a real installation see identical light — one catches a balcony rail's shadow, one sits nearer a wall, one collects more dust along its lower edge. Independent MPPT lets each module contribute whatever it can rather than dragging both down to the weaker one.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eCommissioning\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEverything configures through the AP EasyPower app: pair the inverter over Bluetooth, join it to the house Wi-Fi, pair the meter, set the export limit. Per-panel production data starts flowing immediately. Where wireless coverage is poor at the array, the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/apsystems-lte-usb-dongle\"\u003eLTE USB Dongle\u003c\/a\u003e offers a cellular path instead.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eInstallation note — read before ordering\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe inverter side genuinely is plug-and-play. The meter side is not. The CT installs around the main conductor inside your service panel, which means working in a live load centre. In California that is licensed electrician work. Budget for an electrician on the meter, not on the whole job.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eSuited to\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eCalifornia balconies, patios, gardens and small ground mounts on 120V circuits\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eRenters and condo residents who need a system that moves house with them\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eHouseholds trimming a bill without committing to a rooftop project\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eWorkshops, sheds and cabins already served by a standard receptacle\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eYou may also need\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/products\/apsystems-ez1-lv-add-on-microinverter-expansion-unit-apmeter-required\"\u003eEZ1-LV Add-On Microinverter\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e — one per additional pair of panels. No second meter required.\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/products\/dc-extension-cable-mc4-2m\"\u003eDC Extension Cable (MC4)\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e — when the modules sit further from the inverter than the factory leads reach. Available in\n    \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dc-extension-cable-mc4-1m\"\u003e1m\u003c\/a\u003e,\n    \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dc-extension-cable-mc4-2m\"\u003e2m\u003c\/a\u003e,\n    \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dc-extension-cable-mc4-3m\"\u003e3m\u003c\/a\u003e and\n    \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dc-extension-cable-mc4-4m\"\u003e4m\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/products\/apsystems-ez1-dual-parallel-bus-cable-2m\"\u003eEZ1 Dual Parallel Bus Cable\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e — to chain multiple EZ1 units onto a single circuit. Available in\n    \u003ca href=\"\/products\/apsystems-ez1-dual-parallel-bus-cable-2m\"\u003e2m\u003c\/a\u003e and\n    \u003ca href=\"\/products\/apsystems-ez1-dual-parallel-bus-cable-4m\"\u003e4m\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/collections\/cables-accessories\"\u003eBrowse all cables \u0026amp; accessories →\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"APsystems","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43465648177200,"sku":"APS-EZ1-LV-KIT","price":499.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0698\/3391\/6464\/files\/product-apsystems-ez1-lv.png?v=1786080618","url":"https:\/\/www.inchargesolar.com\/products\/apsystems-ez1-lv-plug-in-solar-kit-microinverter-apmeter-zero-export","provider":"InCharge Solar","version":"1.0","type":"link"}