Can you add a battery to plug-in solar in the UK?

Plug-in solar is a small solar kit that plugs into an ordinary wall socket and powers the appliances running in your home. A battery is the obvious next thought: store the midday sun for the evening. This guide answers "can plug in solar have a battery?" from the official UK documents, as we found them on 20 October 2026.

The short version

• No. Under the current UK rules you cannot add a battery to a plug-in solar kit, and plug-in battery products may not be sold, supplied or used.
• The exclusion is written into the law itself (in force since 27 August 2026), into the government's product specification and into Ofgem's decision of 11 August 2026.
• The official reason: battery products raise extra technical and regulatory questions that the government has not yet assessed.
• A plug-in kit does not need a battery to work. It saves money when your home uses the power as it is made.
• If you want stored solar power, the legal route is a fixed solar and battery system fitted by a qualified installer, ideally MCS certified. A separate off-grid system for a shed, cabin or campervan is another option.
• The government has started a safety study on plug-in batteries, so this may change. We will update this guide when it does.
• In Northern Ireland, the new plug-in rules do not apply yet, with or without a battery.

Can plug-in solar have a battery? What the rules say today

Three official documents set the rules. All three leave batteries out.

The law. A statutory instrument, SI 2026/848, came into force on 27 August 2026. It defines a plug-in solar device (it says "plug-in microgenerator") as something that makes electricity from sunlight, sends no more than 800 watts of alternating current (AC, the kind that comes out of your wall) into your home, connects through a standard plug and socket, and works alongside the grid. The last part of the definition says the device must not be designed to take electricity from your home's wiring "for the purpose of storing energy for later supply", apart from small control functions the specification allows. In plain words: the law only covers kits that use or pass on the power straight away.

The product specification. The government's Plug-in Solar Device Interim Product Specification, version 2.0 (July 2026), is the technical rulebook every legal kit must meet. It says it does not apply to "plug-in battery systems" or to "plug-in solar PV devices integrated with battery systems". It also makes every kit's instructions carry a prominent warning that the kit is "not intended to be connected to, operated with, or used in conjunction with a battery energy storage system".

Ofgem's decision. Ofgem, the energy regulator, approved changes to the grid connection rules for small generators (called G98) on 11 August 2026. The new G98 wording already mentions "plug-in electricity storage", but Ofgem explains this was added only in anticipation of possible future changes by the government. It states that plug-in electricity storage devices "will therefore remain prohibited from being sold, supplied, or used in the UK".

So the answer to "can you use plug in solar with a battery?" is no, as of 20 October 2026: not a separate plug-in battery, not a kit with one built in, and not one you wire up yourself. London Fire Brigade's safety advice agrees: "don't connect your plug-in solar panels to batteries to store energy for later use".

Why batteries are excluded, in the official words

We only give the reasons the official documents give. The government's response to its consultation (16 July 2026) says:

• The consultation and the new rules "relate only to plug-in solar devices without batteries".
• The framework "is not intended to permit battery storage systems, portable generators, or wider categories of plug-connected generation equipment".
• Battery products "raise additional technical and regulatory considerations which have not been assessed as part of this work". The safety study behind the new rules looked at solar kits, not batteries.
• The government "will continue to develop evidence relating to battery-integrated products".

Many consultation answers asked for batteries to be included; the government noted them but kept batteries out for now. We add no other reasons, because the official documents give none.

Does plug-in solar need a battery?

No. A plug-in kit works without a battery. Its microinverter (a small box that turns the panels' direct current into the alternating current your home uses) feeds power into the socket. Whatever your fridge, router or washing machine is using at that moment comes from the panels first. Anything left over flows out to the grid. Our solar glossary explains these terms.

The government's impact assessment gives two examples for an 800 W kit in a home with average UK sunshine and use, with someone at home in the day:

• Panels tilted at 30 degrees facing south: up to 690 kWh a year produced, of which about 62% (428 kWh) is used in the home.
• Panels upright on a wall or balcony facing east or west: up to 378 kWh a year, of which about 72% (272 kWh) is used in the home.

A kilowatt-hour (kWh), the unit your bill charges for, is 1,000 watts for one hour.

By our calculation from those figures, about 262 kWh a year (690 minus 428) leave the south-facing kit unused, and about 106 kWh (378 minus 272) leave the wall-mounted one. That spare power is what a battery would try to catch. For now it simply goes to the grid, and a self-installed plug-in kit does not qualify for export payments under the Smart Export Guarantee (more on that below).

One more thing a battery would not change: a plug-in kit switches itself off in a power cut. The specification requires it to disconnect when the mains supply is lost.

Legal ways to store solar power instead

If storing power matters to you, these are the routes that fit the current rules.

A fixed solar and battery system from an MCS installer

This is a normal home solar installation with a battery wired permanently into your home's electrics by a qualified electrician. The plug-in rules do not cover it.

• MCS (the Microgeneration Certification Scheme) certifies installers and products. It has a Battery Installation Standard, MIS 3012 (version 1.0, issued 1 January 2025), for designing and fitting home battery systems.
• Export payments. The Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) pays for power you send to the grid. GOV.UK says you need an installation and installer certified under MCS (or an equivalent scheme) and a meter that records exports every half hour, usually a smart meter. It adds that a storage device such as a home battery can be used with the SEG if it can both take in and send out electricity; your SEG supplier can advise.
• Building rules. Some electrical work in homes is notifiable, meaning building control must be told and the work certified. Which work counts depends on where you live: check the current Approved Document P (England) or ask your installer. A registered electrician handles this.
• Wiring standard. BS 7671, the wiring rulebook UK electricians follow, gained a new chapter on stationary batteries in Amendment 4:2026, published in April 2026 (IET).

A separate off-grid system for a shed, cabin or campervan

The plug-in rules cover kits that work alongside the grid. A stand-alone system that never connects to your home's wiring or the grid (panels, a charge controller and a battery for a shed, cabin or campervan) is a different thing, though normal electrical safety and BS 7671 still apply. Our guides cover the sizing: solar for a shed or garden office and campervan solar. If the battery will sit somewhere cold, read LiFePO4 batteries in cold weather first: many lithium batteries must not be charged below 0 °C.

What about portable power stations?

A portable power station is a battery box with sockets on the front. The government response says the plug-in framework is not intended to permit "battery storage systems, portable generators, or wider categories of plug-connected generation equipment". So never plug a power station's output into a wall socket to feed your home, and never connect one to a plug-in kit.

Using one on its own, charged by its own panel and powering devices plugged straight into it, is not what the plug-in rules cover. We found no official UK guidance on that use, so we only say: follow the maker's instructions.

Can I have a plug-in kit and a home battery in the same house?

The official documents do not answer this directly. Ofgem's decision says a plug-in kit may connect alongside other permanently wired small generators, as long as all of them together stay within the existing G98 limit of 16 amps per phase. But every kit must carry the warning that it is not to be "used in conjunction with a battery energy storage system". If you already have a fixed home battery, or plan one, ask your installer and your network operator before adding a plug-in kit.

Northern Ireland

The change to the electricity safety rules (regulation 3 of SI 2026/848) extends to England, Wales and Scotland only. The specification notes that G98 applies to Great Britain only, that Northern Ireland has its own version (G98/NI), and that use of the specification there "is subject to further consideration". The government's press release of 26 August 2026 says plug-in solar is legal "across Great Britain". So in Northern Ireland the new plug-in route does not apply yet, with or without a battery. Wait for local rules.

What is changing: the plug-in battery safety study

The door is not closed. On 5 October 2026 the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero published a tender for a "Plug-in batteries safety study". Bids closed on 21 October 2026, and the study has not reported yet. Its first phase is to assess the safety of plug-in batteries with up to 800 W of AC output in UK homes, including laboratory tests of batteries linked to plug-in solar, to inform technical standards.

A study is not a rule change. Because the battery exclusion is written into the law's definition, our reading is that allowing batteries would need new regulations and an updated specification, and Ofgem has said its G98 wording anticipates possible further changes. We watch the GOV.UK plug-in solar page, Ofgem's decisions and the tender notice, and we will update this guide when anything changes.

What to check before you buy a "plug in solar kit with battery"

You may see kits with batteries advertised to UK buyers. Before you buy:

1. You live in England, Scotland or Wales.
2. The exact kit is shown as compliant on the Energy Networks Association (ENA) Type Test Register and states compliance with the Interim Product Specification. Our UK plug-in rules guide explains how.
3. It has no battery, built in or as an add-on, and its instructions carry the battery warning.
4. If you want storage, ask an MCS certified installer about a fixed system instead.

What can go wrong

• Buying a kit with a battery. It falls outside the law's definition, and Ofgem says plug-in storage may not be used.
• Adding a battery or power station yourself. It goes against the kit's warning and the specification.
• Feeding a power station into a wall socket. The framework does not permit plug-connected battery or generator equipment.
• Insurance. London Fire Brigade notes that unauthorised installations can affect insurance. Tell your home insurer about any solar kit you fit.

Questions people ask

Can plug in solar have a battery in the UK? Not under the current rules. The law, the specification and Ofgem's decision all exclude storage.

Is plug in solar legal in the UK? Yes, in England, Scotland and Wales since 27 August 2026, for kits up to 800 W that meet the specification and are on the ENA register, one per household. Not yet in Northern Ireland.

Will plug-in batteries be allowed later? Possibly. The government has started a safety study, but no decision has been made. We will update this page.

Do I need an electrician? Not to plug in a compliant kit on a sound, RCD-protected socket (see our rules guide). Yes, for any fixed battery, any new circuit, or anything linked to your home's wiring.

Your next step

Try the plug-in option in our quiz. For Great Britain it shows plug-in kits without a battery, in line with the rules above (in Northern Ireland it does not offer plug-in kits yet), and estimates output and savings from many years of weather records for your area. If you need stored power for a shed, cabin or campervan, the quiz sizes an off-grid system with a battery instead. How we size systems is on our methodology page. The rules were checked on 20 October 2026 and may change; this is not legal advice.

Our results and guides are estimates and do not replace advice from a qualified electrician.