Plug-in solar explained

What plug-in solar is

A kit is one or two solar panels on a stand, with a small microinverter and a cable. The microinverter turns the panels' power into mains electricity and sends it into your home's wiring through the socket. Your home uses that power first, before it buys any from the grid.

The rules that let homes in Great Britain use plug-in kits were set in 2026, with their own product specification and a free online registration (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero; Ofgem).

*Our estimate for a kit with 1,260W of panels in a busy four-person home that uses 70% of what the kit makes, at the Ofgem price cap unit rate of 26.32p per kWh (1 October to 31 December 2026). That's around £1,760 over 10 years and around £3,430 over 20, at today's unit rate. Electricity sent to the grid isn't counted. Your figure depends on your home, the spot and when you use power. Try your own numbers in the payback calculator.

How it compares with rooftop

Kit prices: retail prices checked 15 October 2026. Rooftop cost: Energy Saving Trust estimate, reported by Which? on 30 October 2026.

The rules

These come from the government's product specification, Ofgem's decision and the kit makers' own instructions. Keep to all of them.

• A kit feeds up to 800W (799VA) into your home.
• Register your kit free at myplugin.solar before you first use it.
• One kit per household.
• Never use a plug-in kit with a home battery.
• Kits can be used in England, Scotland and Wales. Not in Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands.
• The garden kits we describe aren't for balconies.
• A ground kit goes on the ground only. A hybrid kit can go on a wall, a flat roof or a raised spot only after a professional assessment.
• If a kit has more than 960W of panels (for example 1,030W or 1,260W), have a professional check your electrics.
• Plug it into a weatherproof outdoor socket within reach of the kit's own cable (4m on the kits we've looked at). No extension leads.
• Your fuse box needs modern RCD protection. An electrician can fit or check the socket and the RCD if you need them.
• Ground stands are held down with ballast. For the kits we've looked at, that's 18kg blocks: 2 for gusts over 40mph, 5 over 60mph and 10 over 80mph.
• Tell your home insurer.
• Renting, or in a leasehold home? Get written permission first.

In England, permitted development now allows plug-in solar, but not on a wooden wall, balcony or enclosure, or anywhere clad in timber (Planning Portal, from 27 August 2026).

Your local network operator is told through your registration. In the North East that's Northern Powergrid, in Greater Manchester Electricity North West, and in Birmingham and the West Midlands National Grid Electricity Distribution.

Buying a kit

We don't sell plug-in kits on this site. If you're buying one, check that:

• it's listed as compliant on the Energy Networks Association's type test register;
• it says it meets the government's plug-in solar product specification;
• it feeds no more than 800W into your home;
• it comes with a cable long enough to reach your outdoor socket without an extension lead;
• the seller explains how to register it at myplugin.solar.

Be wary of any advert that says no electrician is ever needed. The Advertising Standards Authority ruled against that claim in April 2026. Many homes won't need one, but some will need an outdoor socket or RCD fitted first.

Sources and dates

We checked every figure on this page on 4 November 2026. If a source changes, we update the page and the date at the top.

1. Plug-in Solar Device Interim Product Specification v2.0, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. July 2026
2. Plug-in solar: government response, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. 16 July 2026
3. Decision on DCRP/MP/26/02 (plug-in microgeneration: one per household, self-notification), Ofgem. 11 August 2026
4. Plug-in solar panel checklist, Energy Saving Trust. 8 October 2026Our plug-in figures use about 700kWh a year from an 800W kit (south-facing, 30 degrees, no shade).
5. Plug-in solar consumer guide, Electrical Safety First. August 2026
6. Ruling on EcoFlow Innovation UK ("no electrician required"), Advertising Standards Authority. 22 April 2026
7. Solar equipment on a house, a block of flats or a building (England), Planning Portal. Rules in force from 27 August 2026
8. Retail prices of plug-in kits registered for use in Great Britain, UK Home Solar research. Checked 15 October 2026Kits with 800W or more of panels were priced from £849 to £989 on the maker's own shop.
9. Energy price cap, electricity unit rate 26.32p per kWh, Ofgem. Covers 1 October to 31 December 2026. The next cap is announced on 25 November 2026.
10. Solar panel costs, Which?. Page dated 30 October 2026Reports the Energy Saving Trust's estimate that a typical system of about 4.5kWp costs around £7,600 to install, that about 4kWp can make more than 3,000kWh a year, and published battery prices from two large energy suppliers (around £2,500, and from £3,995).

Questions