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Zero export is a control loop, not a wall. Understand what it actually does before promising a DISCOM-clean meter — and always witness it before sign-off.
For trained/authorized installers only. Export settings live behind partner-gated menus and carry compliance consequences.

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What zero export is

Zero export: the CT feedback loop capping feed-in at the grid connection — figure KNB-SVG-15

The CT (or meter) at the grid connection reports export; the inverter throttles PV output — and steers surplus into the battery — to hold export at the set limit. Zero export means the limit is set to zero, not that electrons sign a contract:
  • The loop reacts after the measurement — brief export blips on sudden load drops are physics, and the battery absorbing surplus is what makes “near-zero” genuinely near zero.
  • The loop only sees what the CT sees — every zero-export failure investigation starts at Direction & Location.

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The two setting stacks — never mixed

Parameter names differ completely between platforms; work only from the platform’s own page.

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Kent M1

Solar Sell (leave OFF for zero-export intent) · Max sell power (caps feed-in; meter/CT required) · Sell offset (compensates metering error so anti-backflow never over-sells). A breach raises E105 on the LCD. Full table: Kent M1 Settings Reference.
Pending Kent validation — witness test mandatory. [KNB-VAL-07] The exact zero-feed behaviour of Kent M1 “Max sell power = 0” is under bench confirmation. Until published here, every export-limited Kent M1 site gets the zero-export witness test before sign-off.

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Kent G3

Allow Export (OFF where feed-in is not wanted) · if feed-in is not allowed, set Max export power to 0 · Export calibration (−500 to +500 W; a small negative value backs off residual export — the manual-anchored way to enforce true zero). Full table: Kent G3 Settings Reference.

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What zero export cannot promise

  • Control over third-party grid-tie inverters. An AC-coupled on-grid unit with no comm link keeps generating regardless — the Kent hybrid can meter it, not throttle it. Survey retrofits for existing GT plants and quote honestly.
  • Zero blips. Sustained export is a fault; momentary spikes on load steps are the loop working. The difference shows in the export trace shape — see Troubleshooting: Zero Export Failing (Kent M1 · Kent G3).

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The witness test is part of the configuration

No export-limited site is signed off on settings alone: with PV high and site load minimised, the utility meter must show no sustained export above the limit. Procedure and pass criteria: Energy-Flow Test. 📷

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Common mistakes

  • Configured, never witnessed — the classic DISCOM-penalty story.
  • Settings hunted from another brand’s video — the menus here are platform-exact.
  • Zero-export “failure” that was a reversed CT all along.
  • Promising a retrofit site 0 W with a third-party GT inverter on the grid side.

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When to escalate