Guide
Plug-in solar in the UK: the rules from 27 August 2026
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Quick picks
Since 27 August 2026 you can plug a small solar kit into an ordinary socket in England, Wales and Scotland, as long as the kit meets the government's product specification. Before that date it wasn't allowed. Northern Ireland has different grid rules and isn't covered yet.
What the law says
The change came in through SI 2026 No. 848, made on 16 July 2026. It defines a "plug-in microgenerator" as a solar device with an output of no more than 800 W that connects through a standard plug and socket, and says it must not be installed or used unless it meets the Plug-in Solar Device Interim Product Specification (version 2.0, July 2026).
The main points of the specification
- 800 W limit. The inverter can feed no more than 800 W into your home. The panels can add up to 2,000 W in total, but above 960 W the government suggests a professional check of your installation first.
- One kit per home for now. The grid connection rules () allow one device per household until they are changed; after that it will be one per socket circuit.
- Moulded 3-pin plug with a fuse of 5 A or less. No extension leads, multi-way adaptors, travel adaptors or plug-in RCD adaptors, and never more than one socket.
- Socket circuits only. Not a lighting circuit, and not a spur feeding a cooker or boiler.
- Modern protection. Your consumer unit should have working protection. Older fuse boxes need checking by an electrician. Test the RCBO with its button while the kit is producing.
- Where it can't go. Not on timber cladding, ACM, MCM or HPL cladding, timber balconies, a wall shared with a neighbour, or a building under fire-safety remediation. No cable ties, rope, bungees, straps or tape for mounting.
- Registered kits only. The maker must list the kit as Compliant on the ENA Type Test Register before selling it. Applying isn't enough.
- Tell the network operator. You notify your Distribution Network Operator when you connect it (and if you remove it). The kit label has a QR code for this.
- No batteries. A plug-in kit must not be connected to or used with a home battery. Battery systems are outside these rules.
Permission and planning
Renters need their landlord's permission, and leaseholders usually need the freeholder's or managing agent's. Listed buildings need Listed Building Consent, and conservation areas can have their own limits. It's also worth telling your home insurer.
How we use these rules on this site
We only recommend kits whose register listing we could confirm, and every kit page shows what we found and where. Our savings calculator uses the government's own figures for how much an 800 W kit makes.
Not electrical advice. We compare products; we are not electricians. Before you connect a solar kit to your home, ask a qualified electrician to check the socket, the circuit and your consumer unit, and follow the maker's instructions.
Sources, read 22 October 2026: legislation.gov.uk (SI 2026/848); DESNZ Interim Product Specification v2.0; DESNZ government response, July 2026; GOV.UK news release, 26 August 2026.
Questions buyers ask before buying
Will it ever pay for itself?
On the government's figures an 800 W kit tilted south saves about £113 a year in a home where someone is in during the day. The cheapest register-listed kit we list is £449 (sold out at the seller today), so that is roughly 4 years, and panels usually last far longer. Your home will differ: check yours in six questions.
Is it really legal and safe to plug into a socket?
Yes in England, Wales and Scotland since 27 August 2026, for kits listed on the . We only recommend kits whose listing we could confirm, and each kit page shows it. The rules ask for a modern consumer unit and no extension leads; if your fuse box is old, get an electrician to check it first. Is plug-in solar safe?
My house doesn't face south.
East or west still works. The government's figure for an upright east or west wall is about £72 a year with the same kit. North-facing is the one case where it is rarely worth it, and our calculator says so. Every direction compared.
I rent, or I live in a flat.
Plug-in solar was designed with flats in mind: no roof, no installer. You need your landlord's or freeholder's permission, and when you move you unplug it and take it with you, telling the network operator both times.
Sounds complicated.
Fix the panels with the maker's brackets, plug the kit into an outdoor socket, and tell your network operator using the QR code on the label. No meter change and no installer for the kit itself.
Can't I add a battery to use it in the evening?
Not under the plug-in rules: batteries are outside them and need fitting by a registered electrician. A plug-in kit pays back fastest on power you use in the day. Are solar batteries safe and legal?
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