Plug-In Solar Is Now Legal In The UK
A small solar kit. A standard wall socket. Lower electricity bills.
Plug-in solar is the simplest, most affordable way to start generating your own electricity at home — and after years of being available across the rest of Europe, the UK has also opened up. New regulations published in 2026 paved the way, and an interim product specification was published in July 2026 to define what a UK-compliant kit must meet. We're now waiting for the first kits to be certified against it.
We're getting ready to be among the first UK stockists. This page explains what plug-in solar is, where the regulations currently stand, what to think about before you buy, and what you'll need to do once kits are on sale.
What is plug-in solar?
Once the system is producing electricity, it feeds into your home's wiring. Anything you happen to be using at that moment — the fridge, the router, the kettle, the dishwasher partway through a cycle — uses that solar electricity first. The grid invisibly tops up whatever's left over. The UK has set the legal maximum output at 800 watts AC per device — and, for now, that means per household. Current network connection rules (G98) permit one plug-in solar device per household, even if you have spare circuits. That's roughly enough to cover the always-on background electricity use of a typical home.
What plug-in solar is good at
It brings solar within reach for people who've always been locked out of it — renters, flat-dwellers, anyone without roof access, and anyone who wants to start small without committing to a five-figure rooftop install.
Because it's portable and uses a standard plug, a kit can travel with you between homes. And because the install is straightforward, you don't need scaffolding, planning permission for a non-listed property, or an MCS-certified installer.
On a sunny day, an 800 W system in southern England will often cover a typical home's base load — the fridge, freezer, internet kit and standby devices that quietly draw power around the clock — entirely between mid-morning and late afternoon.
What plug-in solar isn't
It isn't a backup system. The inverter automatically shuts off during a power cut, so plug-in solar won't keep your lights on if the grid goes down. Running essentials during an outage needs a separate battery system with off-grid capability.
It isn't a replacement for full rooftop solar. A 4 kW rooftop array generates five or six times the energy of an 800 W plug-in kit. If you own a south-facing roof and can afford the £6,000+ install, full solar pays back faster per pound spent.
It isn't a way to get paid for exporting electricity. The Smart Export Guarantee currently requires MCS certification, which DIY plug-in installs can't get. This is expected to change — but for now the savings come from electricity you use yourself.
What's in a plug-in solar kit?
While we're still finalizing our kits, a typical plug-in solar kit is four simple parts working together:
Solar panel(s) — usually one or two, each around 400 W, that turn sunlight into DC electricity.
Micro-inverter — a small box clipped to the panel that converts that DC electricity into the 230V AC your sockets use.
Cable and plug — runs from the inverter to a standard UK plug, feeding the electricity straight into a wall socket.
Mounting brackets — hold the panel in place, whether that's a balcony rail, wall, fence, or ground frame.
Catch the sun, convert it, plug it in, hold it steady — that's the whole system.
Where the UK regulations stand
The regulatory picture in 2026 is moving fast. There are two things happening at once — the wiring regulations (which govern how things are connected) and the product standard (which certifies specific kits). Here's where each one currently sits, and what it means in practice if you're thinking of buying.
The regulatory progress
In March 2026 the government announced it would legalise plug-in solar in the UK, formally recognising the technology that has been mainstream across Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands for years.
The first piece of the puzzle landed on 15 April 2026, when the IET published Amendment 4 to BS 7671 — the UK's wiring regulations. This updated Chapter 712 to recognise small plug-connected photovoltaic sources. The transition period for adopting Amendment 4 runs until 2 October 2026.
The second piece landed on 16 July 2026, when DESNZ published the Interim Product Specification (IPS) — the minimum technical and safety bar a kit must meet: anti-islanding behaviour, earth bonding, BS 1363 plug compliance, and safety testing, capped at 800 W AC. It's called "interim" because a fuller, enduring standard from BSI is expected to follow later, once real-world deployment data comes in — there's no date for that yet.
On 27 August 2026, SI 2026 No. 848 took effect and the first UK-compliant kits are able to go on sale — complete with panel, micro-inverter and mounting.
A simplified pathway for plug-in installs to claim Smart Export Guarantee payments is expected later, possibly from spring 2027.
What it means for you
The plug-and-play route is now straightforward: a certified kit's plug, inverter and safety features have already been tested against the interim product specification, so you can connect it to a standard socket yourself.
If you'd rather remove any ambiguity — in an older property, for instance, or if you just want a qualified second opinion — a CPS-registered electrician can still hardwire the kit into a dedicated spur instead. Both routes are compliant now; it's a matter of preference, not compliance.
Two things will always be required after you install:
- Notify your DNO within 28 days. Free online form (commonly called G98), no approval needed — it's just so your network operator has a record. Your DNO is the company that owns the cables running to your home, which is different from your electricity supplier.
- Tell your home insurer. Most will note the system on your policy at no extra cost. Failing to declare a generator can give an insurer grounds to refuse a future claim.
UK regulation timeline
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Mar 2026Government announces legalisationDESNZ confirms plug-in solar will be permitted in the UK under a sub-800 W framework.
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Apr 2026BS 7671 Amendment 4 publishedThe IET Wiring Regulations are updated to recognise small plug-connected PV sources.
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Jul 2026DESNZ Interim Product Specification publishedThe minimum safety and technical spec (v2.0) for a complete plug-in solar kit is finalised.
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Aug 2026Plug-in solar goes on saleSI 2026 No. 848 takes effect on 27 August, and UK-compliant kits are now legal.
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TodayYou are herePlug-in solar is now fully legal to buy and self-install. We're finalising our own range and will update this page the moment it's live at Maplin.
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Oct 2026BS 7671 Amendment 4 transition endsAll new UK electrical work must comply with Amendment 4 from this point.
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TBCEnduring BSI standard expectedA fuller, permanent standard is expected once real-world deployment data is available.
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2027Simplified SEG pathway expectedA simplified route for plug-in solar to claim export payments is anticipated.
Who is plug-in solar for?
Renters & flat-dwellers
Plug-in solar is portable, requires no permanent fixings, and can be taken with you when you move. Under the Renters' Rights Act 2025, landlords cannot unreasonably refuse a request for a portable energy-efficiency improvement.
Homeowners testing the water
If you're not ready to commit to a £6,000+ rooftop install, an 800 W plug-in kit is a low-stakes way to see what solar actually delivers in your house before scaling up.
Anyone with a south-facing wall
Balcony rail, garden fence, shed roof, conservatory wall — any unshaded south or south-west facing surface that gets sun between roughly 9 am and 4 pm in summer will work.
Smart-tariff households
Kits with a built-in battery let you pair solar with a time-of-use tariff like Octopus Flux or Agile — storing midday excess for the evening peak, or charging overnight to run the house during the day.
Plug-in solar payback calculator
See how much a UK plug-in solar kit could save you. Adjust the sliders to match your postcode, system size, budget, and how much of the power you'd use during the day.
What to look for in a kit
Once UK-compliant kits are widely available, here's what separates a good buy from a risky one.
UK compliance, not EU compliance
The most important thing. Kits aimed at the German or Spanish market have been on sale on Amazon and eBay for years, and some are tempting on price — but they often don't meet UK standards. Common issues include inverters that aren't certified to EN 50549 (so the critical anti-islanding behaviour can't be verified), missing earth bonding on panel frames, and plug types other than BS 1363. Look for an explicit statement of UK compliance with BS 7671 Amendment 4 and the interim product specification, and confirmation the kit is registered on the ENA Type Test Register.
800 W AC output
The legal limit in the UK is 800 watts of AC output per device — and, for now, per household. The product spec itself allows one device per final circuit, but the stricter G98 network rule currently in force caps it at one device per household until G98 is updated to match. You'll see panels with higher nominal DC ratings — that's fine, because the inverter clips the output to 800 W AC. Two 400 W panels with an 800 W inverter is the typical configuration.
Anti-islanding (EN 50549)
This is the safety feature that automatically shuts the inverter off within around 200 milliseconds of detecting a grid outage. It protects engineers working on the network during a fault and is non-negotiable. Compliant kits will list EN 50549 certification.
Mounting options
Different kits come with different mounting hardware. Make sure the brackets included match where you actually plan to install — balcony rail clamps are very different from ground frame or wall-mount hardware. Some kits sell mounts separately.
Battery (optional)
A small battery (typically 1 to 2 kWh) lets you store midday excess for the evening peak. This is the single biggest upgrade for improving payback, especially if no-one is home during the day. Some kits come bundled with a battery; others sell it as an add-on. If you're on a time-of-use tariff like Octopus Flux, a battery can even pay for itself without any solar panels at all, by time-shifting cheap overnight electricity to expensive peak hours.
Monitoring
Most modern kits include Wi-Fi monitoring via a smartphone app, showing live output, daily totals and historical generation. Useful for understanding when your panels are producing and how much of it you're self-consuming.
Risks to know before you install
Plug-in solar is low-risk when installed properly — but "properly" matters more than with most consumer electronics, because you're connecting a generator to your home's wiring. A few things worth understanding before you buy:
Backfeed on old ring circuits.
UK ring circuits are designed for electricity flowing one way, from the consumer unit outward. Feeding AC in from a socket partway along the ring can push more current through the upstream cable and protective devices than they were sized for. This is exactly what the 800 W cap and anti-islanding requirement exist to manage — but only for a compliant kit on a circuit that can take it.
A plug isn't a proper isolation point.
Pulling a kit out of the wall switches it off, but it isn't a labelled, fixed isolation point that an electrician — or a first responder — can find and rely on later. That's part of why the fully compliant route is a dedicated circuit with a proper isolator, not a socket shared with the toaster.
Old wiring doesn't get safer just because the kit is compliant.
A UK-compliant kit plugged into a 1960s rewireable fuse board with no RCD protection is still a 1960s fuse board. If your consumer unit predates RCD/RCBO protection, get an electrician to check it before installing anything — this matters as much as the kit itself.
Installation mistakes are the real-world risk.
Most solar-related incidents in Europe trace back to installation, not the equipment: cables routed through window seals or fire doors, brackets fixed into render without checking for a solid fixing, outdoor connectors left exposed to rain. None of it is exotic — it's the same care you'd take with any outdoor electrical fixing — but it's easy to skip when a kit feels as simple as "plug it in."
No installation, no paperwork.
A self-installed kit doesn't generate an Electrical Installation Certificate or Minor Works Certificate. That's what a future electrician, a buyer's surveyor, or your insurer will look for if anything is ever in question — a DIY install leaves nothing to show.
None of this means avoid plug-in solar — it means treat it like the electrical installation it is. The safest route today, and the one we recommend, is a CPS-registered electrician on a dedicated circuit.
Installing your kit
A typical install takes one to two hours. The compliant route today is to have a CPS-registered electrician hardwire the kit; we'll update this page once UK-certified plug-and-play kits are available.
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1
Check your consumer unit
Modern fuse boards with RCD or RCBO protection are fine. If you have an old re-wireable fuse board, get an electrician to look at it before installing anything.
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2
Pick a sunny spot
South or south-west facing, unshaded between roughly 9 am and 4 pm in summer. Tilt the panels 20 to 40 degrees from vertical for the best year-round yield.
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3
Mount the panels securely
Use the brackets supplied with your kit. Make sure panels are tilted, properly secured, and can't fall in high winds.
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4
Connect the inverter
The micro-inverter clips to the panel or mounting frame. Plug the panel DC cables into the inverter, then have it connected to a dedicated circuit by a CPS-registered electrician.
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5
Notify your DNO (G98)
Within 28 days of installing, submit a free online G98 notification to your local Distribution Network Operator. No approval is required — it's just a record.
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6
Tell your insurer
Most home insurers will add a note to your policy at no extra cost. Don't skip this — an undeclared generator can give an insurer grounds to decline a future claim.
FAQ
The picture is moving. The wiring regulations (BS 7671) were updated in April 2026, and the interim product specification was published in July 2026, setting out what a UK-compliant kit must meet. What's still missing is a kit actually registered on the ENA Type Test Register — until one is, plug-and-play is legal in principle but not usable in practice.
The fully-compliant route today is to have a CPS-registered electrician hardwire your kit into your consumer unit. Once a registered kit arrives, true plug-and-go installation will be straightforward.
Not if you tell your insurer. Notify them in writing once your kit is installed — most will simply add a note to your policy at no extra cost. An undeclared electrical installation can give an insurer grounds to refuse a future claim, so this step matters.
Not yet, for plug-in solar. The Smart Export Guarantee currently requires MCS certification of the install, and DIY plug-in installs can't be MCS-certified. Industry expects a simplified route to be introduced from around 2027. Until then, the savings come entirely from electricity you use yourself — which is fine, because self-consumed electricity is worth more than exported electricity anyway.
For panels on a balcony rail, fence, garden frame, or non-rooftop wall in a standard residential area, no — they fall under permitted development as portable equipment. For listed buildings, conservation areas, or roof-mounted panels, check with your local authority first.
Yes, but at reduced output. Around 70 to 90% of annual generation typically happens between April and September. On a bright winter day you might still see 100 to 300 W; on a heavily overcast December day, output can drop to 20 to 50 W. The annual figures in the calculator already account for this seasonality.
In most cases, yes. Plug-in solar is portable and doesn't require permanent alterations to the building, which puts it outside the scope of most tenancy clauses on alterations. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 also gives tenants stronger rights to request energy-efficiency improvements. We'd recommend writing to your landlord before installing, with a clear note that the kit is portable and reversible.
Read more at our blog post: The UK Guide to Plug-In Solar for Flats and Rented Homes
A typical 800 W kit in southern England generates roughly 500 to 700 kWh a year. At current unit rates of around 24 p per kWh, savings range from about £70 a year for a household that's out during the day, up to about £175 a year for a household that uses most of the power as it's generated. Use the calculator above to model your own situation.
Yes — and several kits include one as standard or as an add-on. A small 1 to 2 kWh battery captures midday generation you'd otherwise have exported for free, and lets you use it during the evening peak. Pairing a battery with a time-of-use tariff like Octopus Flux can also pay off without any solar panels at all, by charging cheaply overnight and discharging during expensive peak hours.
No. The inverter is required by safety standards to detect a grid outage and automatically shut off (this is called anti-islanding), which protects engineers working on the network. To run essentials during a power cut you need a separate battery system with off-grid mode - plug-in solar kits aren't designed for that.
We advise to avoid these. Kits aimed at the German or Spanish market, for example, may not meet UK standards — common issues are uncertified inverters (so anti-islanding behaviour is unverified), missing earth bonding on panel frames, and plug types other than BS 1363. Look for an explicit statement of UK compliance with BS 7671 Amendment 4 and the interim product specification, and confirmation the kit is registered on the ENA Type Test Register.
Glossary
Plug-in solar — a small photovoltaic system that connects to a home's electrical system via a standard plug rather than a hard-wired spur. Also called balcony solar, DIY solar, or by its German name Balkonkraftwerk.
Micro-inverter — a small inverter, typically clipped to the back of a panel or its frame, that converts DC electricity from the panel into 230 V AC mains. UK-aimed micro-inverters are clipped to 800 W AC output.
Anti-islanding — a safety feature, required by EN 50549, that automatically shuts the inverter off within around 200 milliseconds of detecting a grid outage. Protects engineers working on the network.
BS 7671 — the IET Wiring Regulations, the standard that all UK electrical installation work must follow. Amendment 4 (effective 15 April 2026) updates the regulations to recognise small plug-connected PV.
BS 1363 — the UK product standard for three-pin plugs and sockets.
EN 50549 — the European standard that defines the safety requirements for inverters connected to the grid, including anti-islanding.
G98 — the Distribution Network Operator notification process for generators under 16 A per phase. Plug-in solar systems must be notified to the local DNO within 28 days of installing. No approval is required — it's just a record.
DNO (Distribution Network Operator) — the company that owns and runs the cables that bring electricity to your home. Different from your electricity supplier. There are six regional DNOs in Great Britain plus NIE Networks in Northern Ireland.
MCS (Microgeneration Certification Scheme) — the consumer-facing certification scheme for renewable energy installers. Currently the gateway to the Smart Export Guarantee. DIY plug-in installs aren't MCS-certifiable.
SEG (Smart Export Guarantee) — the framework under which households can be paid for electricity they export to the grid. Currently requires MCS certification. A simplified pathway for plug-in solar is expected around 2027.
Self-consumption — the share of your solar generation used inside the home rather than exported. Higher self-consumption equals faster payback, because self-consumed electricity is worth more than exported electricity.
kWh (kilowatt-hour) — the unit your electricity bill is measured in. A typical UK home uses around 2,700 kWh a year. An 800 W plug-in kit in southern England generates roughly 500 to 700 kWh a year.
Time-of-use tariff — an electricity tariff with different rates at different times of day. Examples include Octopus Flux and Agile. Pairs well with a battery, even without solar panels.
What's next?
Be among the first to know when UK-compliant plug-in solar kits arrive at Maplin.
We're getting ready to be among the first UK stockists, with kits chosen for full BS 7671 and interim product specification compliance. Join our mailing list and we'll let you know the moment they're available.