Plug-in solar panels in the UK - the rules since 27 August 2026

Plug-in solar is a small solar kit that you plug into an ordinary 13 A socket, so the power it makes goes straight to the appliances running in your home. Since 27 August 2026 it has been legal to sell and use these kits in Great Britain, as long as the kit meets a new government specification. This guide explains those rules in plain words, as we found them on 20 October 2026.

The short version

• Plug-in solar became legal in England, Scotland and Wales on 27 August 2026. Northern Ireland is not covered by the same rules yet.
• A kit may send at most 800 W into your home (the official specification words it as 800 VA). The panels in the kit can add up to 2,000 W.
• Only buy a kit that is listed as compliant on the Energy Networks Association (ENA) Type Test Register and carries a declaration that it meets the government's Interim Product Specification.
• One kit per household for now. The government wants to allow one per circuit later, but the grid rules (called G98) still say one per household.
• Plug it straight into a wall socket. Extension leads, multi-way adaptors, RCD adaptors and travel adaptors are not allowed.
• You must tell your local network operator (DNO) when you install the kit and when you remove it. It is free.
• Plug-in kits are not covered by the Smart Export Guarantee unless the installation is MCS certified or equivalent, and plug-in batteries are still not allowed.

What plug-in solar is, in plain words

A plug-in kit has a solar panel (or a few), a microinverter, a mounting frame and a lead with a standard UK plug. Panels make direct current (DC), the kind a battery gives. Your home runs on alternating current (AC), the kind that comes out of the wall. The microinverter is a small box that translates DC into AC so the panels can feed your home. Our solar glossary explains these and other terms.

Watts (W) are how fast power flows, like how fast water leaves a tap. Kilowatt-hours (kWh) are how much energy you used, like the water in the bucket. Your bill charges per kWh, so a kit saves money only when your home uses its power while the sun shines.

A plug-in kit does not keep your lights on in a power cut: the specification requires it to disconnect when it loses the mains supply.

Why the rules changed, and where they apply

Before August 2026, two sets of rules stopped these kits being sold or used lawfully: the Plugs and Sockets etc. (Safety) Regulations 1994 and the Electricity Safety, Quality and Continuity Regulations 2002. After a consultation, the government amended both with a statutory instrument (SI 2026/848) that came into force on 27 August 2026.

The new law defines a plug-in solar device (it calls it a "plug-in microgenerator") as something that makes electricity from sunlight, has a maximum rated AC output of no more than 800 watts, plugs into a standard socket, works alongside the grid, and is not designed to store energy for later. It also requires the kit to comply with the Plug-in Solar Device Interim Product Specification, version 2, published by the government on 16 July 2026. "Interim" means it is a stop-gap until a full British Standard exists.

Northern Ireland: the change to the electricity safety rules extends to England, Wales and Scotland only, and the specification says its use in Northern Ireland is "subject to further consideration". The government's own press release says the kits are legal "across Great Britain". If you live in Northern Ireland, wait for local rules.

The 800 W limit

The law caps a kit at 800 W of AC output. The specification words the same cap as 800 VA (volt-amperes, a closely related measure used for inverters) and adds a current limit of 3.5 amps. Both numbers are about what the microinverter pushes into your socket.

The panels themselves can be bigger: the specification allows up to 2,000 W of panels in one kit. Bigger panels do not raise the 800 W cap. If the panels in a kit add up to more than 960 W, the maker must advise you to consider having your electrical installation professionally assessed before you install.

What does 800 W mean in a year? The government's impact assessment gives two examples for an 800 W kit at a home of average UK sunshine, average electricity use (3,323 kWh a year) and someone at home all day:

• Panels tilted at 30 degrees and facing south: up to 690 kWh a year produced, of which about 62% (428 kWh) is used in the home, saving about £110 a year.
• Panels upright on a wall or balcony facing east or west: up to 378 kWh a year produced, about 72% (272 kWh) used in the home, saving about £70 a year.

Those savings use the Ofgem price cap for July to September 2026 and leave out any payment for exported power. Your figure depends on location, direction, shade and daytime use. To estimate payback, divide the kit's price by your yearly saving. For example, a kit that costs four times its yearly saving pays back in about four years (our arithmetic, showing the method only; we do not quote kit prices).

The ENA Type Test Register: what to look for

The ENA, the body for the companies that run Britain's local power networks, keeps the Type Test Register: a list of equipment tested against the grid connection rules. The specification says a maker must register the kit (on the ENA "Connect Direct" platform) and have it confirmed as compliant before selling it. Submitting a kit is not enough; in the government's words, "only devices assessed and identified as compliant on the Type Test Register are considered to have demonstrated compliance".

When you shop, check that:

1. The exact kit model appears on the ENA register and is shown as compliant, not just submitted.
2. The packaging or manual carries a statement that the product complies with the Interim Product Specification.
3. It is sold as a complete kit (panels, microinverter, leads and mounting together). The specification only covers complete kits, and the maker of the kit is responsible for the whole product.
4. The plug is a standard UK plug marked to BS 1363, the British Standard for 13 A plugs.

One kit per household, for now

The official documents word this rule differently:

• The government response (16 July 2026) decided the specification should allow "one plug-in solar device per individual power circuit", but only once the grid rules are amended; until then, "the current requirement in G98 limiting installations to one device per household will continue to apply".
• The specification says one device per household final circuit, with a note that G98 currently restricts this to one device per household.
• Ofgem's decision of 11 August 2026 approved new G98 wording that limits plug-in generators to "one per Customer Installation (effectively one per household)".

So, as of 20 October 2026: one plug-in kit per household. A "circuit" is the group of sockets protected by one switch (a circuit breaker) in your consumer unit, the fuse box. If the grid rules change to one per circuit, we will update this guide.

Plugging in: standard socket, no adaptors

The specification is written for kits connected to an existing socket "without requiring installation of a separate electrical circuit", and the government's safety study found no concerns that would stop 800 W kits being used on properly protected ring circuits (the loop wiring most UK sockets use).

There are firm conditions, all from the specification:

• No extension leads, multi-way adaptors, RCD adaptors or travel adaptors.
• Do not use a damaged or worn socket.
• Your consumer unit should have modern protection. An RCD (residual current device) is a safety switch that cuts the power in a split second if current leaks to earth, for example through a person. An RCBO combines that with a circuit breaker for one circuit. If your home still has old rewirable fuses without RCD protection, the specification says an electrician should check and, if needed, upgrade the installation first.
• The kit comes with a label to stick on your consumer unit, so anyone working on it later knows a generator is connected.

If you want the kit on a balcony or in the garden and need an outdoor socket, that is new wiring. London Fire Brigade advises an outdoor socket rated at least IP65 (protected against dust and water jets), fitted by a competent person.

Telling your network operator (DNO)

Your DNO (distribution network operator) is the company that runs the local cables to your street, not the supplier who sends your bill. The specification says the product must state that notifying the DNO "about connection and disconnection is mandatory", with instructions on how to do it. Ofgem's decision confirms that customers must notify the DNO when they install or remove a plug-in kit, through simplified forms, and that the ENA is building a simpler online route on its Connect Direct platform.

The official plug-in documents we read give no deadline. For small generators under G98, DNOs ask for notice within 28 days of switching on, and London Fire Brigade's plug-in advice also says 28 days. Use that unless your DNO says otherwise. You do not need to wait for approval.

Renters, leaseholders and flats

The specification makes you responsible for getting any permission you need from "the property owner, landlord, freeholder, managing agent or relevant authority" before you install, including agreeing who pays for what. You are also responsible for planning permission and listed building consent where they apply, so check with your council if you live in a listed building, a conservation area or a flat.

Some buildings are off limits: the specification says kits must not be installed on buildings undergoing external wall or building safety remediation. Mounting must be reversible and must not harm the building's structure, fire performance or weatherproofing. London Fire Brigade adds that panels must not block escape routes, shared balconies, walkways or windows.

If you rent, ask your landlord in writing before you buy.

Export payments: will you be paid for spare power?

When your kit makes more than your home is using, the extra flows out to the grid. What the official sources say about payment:

• The Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) requires the installation and installer to be certified under MCS (the Microgeneration Certification Scheme) or an equivalent scheme, plus a meter that can record half-hourly exports, typically a smart meter.
• The government's impact assessment says this "is likely not to apply in the first instance for many plug-in solar installers", and that "without an MCS-accredited installation of domestic solar consumers are not entitled to the Smart Export Guarantee in Great Britain".
• The same document notes that some households may already have an export tariff, or may seek one, "depending on developments in the retail energy market".

So a self-installed plug-in kit does not qualify for the SEG as things stand. Whether a supplier pays for plug-in exports under its own tariff is up to each supplier; we found no official rule either way. Count only the savings from power you use yourself.

Batteries with plug-in kits

Not allowed for now. The new law and the specification cover plug-in solar without batteries only. The specification requires 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 says plug-in storage devices "will therefore remain prohibited from being sold, supplied, or used in the UK". The government says it will keep gathering evidence on battery products, so this may change. Our guide can you add a battery to a plug-in solar kit? explains the rules and what you can do instead.

What our quiz does

When you choose plug-in solar in our quiz, we:

• only suggest kits we have found on the ENA register, with an AC output of 800 W or less;
• size one kit per household, in line with the current G98 rule;
• show kits without a battery, and say that batteries cannot be combined with plug-in kits under the current rules;
• assume no payment for exported power, unless you tell us you have an export tariff;
• work out the yearly output from many years of weather records for your postcode area, and the savings from your tariff (or the current Ofgem price cap if you leave it blank).

Our quiz does not offer plug-in solar for Northern Ireland (BT postcodes and Northern Ireland towns) and says that the new rules do not apply there yet. The other options (off-grid, backup and vehicles) work as normal. How we size systems is on our methodology page.

What to check before you buy

1. You live in England, Scotland or Wales.
2. The exact kit model is shown as compliant on the ENA Type Test Register.
3. The product states it complies with the Interim Product Specification.
4. Its AC output is 800 W or less, and you do not already have another plug-in kit.
5. Your consumer unit has RCD or RCBO protection, and the socket you will use is in good condition.
6. You know which circuit the socket is on (switch breakers off one at a time and see which sockets go dead).
7. You have permission from your landlord, freeholder or managing agent if you need it, and you have checked planning rules for your property.
8. You are ready to notify your DNO within 28 days, and to tell your home insurer.

What can go wrong

• Buying a non-compliant kit. Kits sold online may not meet the specification. If it is not on the ENA register as compliant, do not buy it.
• Extension leads and adaptors. Banned by the specification and a fire risk, according to London Fire Brigade.
• Old wiring. Rewirable fuses, no RCD, or sockets that feel warm: get an electrician first.
• Unsafe mounting. Use only the maker's mounting and follow its wind limits, especially on a balcony.

Questions people ask

Do I need an electrician? Not to plug in a compliant kit on a sound, RCD-protected socket. You do if you need a new outdoor socket, have old fuses without RCD protection, are unsure about your circuits, or have panels over 960 W in total (the specification recommends a professional assessment).

Can I put it on my balcony? Yes, if the kit is approved for that mounting, your building is not under cladding or safety remediation, you have any permission you need, and it does not block an escape route.

Is it worth it? The government's examples give about £70 to £110 a year for an 800 W kit, depending mostly on which way the panels face and how much power you use during the day.

Your next step

Try the plug-in option in our quiz: enter your postcode and the way your balcony, wall or garden faces, and we estimate the output and savings from real local weather records. For power away from the mains, see solar for a shed or garden office. The rules above were checked on 20 October 2026 and may change, especially the one-kit limit and batteries. This is not legal advice.

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