The rules
When did plug-in solar become legal here?
27 August 2026, in Great Britain, under the amending regulations made on 16 July 2026. Before that date they could not lawfully be sold, supplied or used here, because the plug and socket standard did not allow a plug on generating equipment.
Do I need planning permission?
Usually not, though it is never a given. A plug-in panel relies on the permitted development right for small scale solar, and that right has conditions. Meet them and there is no application. Fall outside them and there is one, and the government expects that to cost a lot next to the price of the kit.
Can I put one on my balcony?
Not if the balcony is wooden. The permitted development right was rewritten on 27 August 2026 and it now rules out plug-in solar on a wooden wall, on a balcony, or on timber cladding, for houses and for blocks of flats alike. A metal or glass balustrade is a different answer, so tell us what yours is made of.
I have a listed house. Is that the end of it?
Not necessarily, but it becomes a planning conversation rather than a shopping one. You need both permission and consent on the house itself, and the guidance points you at the authority early. The right is also unavailable in the grounds of a listed building, and on a scheduled monument.
Does the old rule still work?
For now. A twelve month transitional period runs to 27 August 2027, and during it you can follow the rules as they stood immediately before 27 August 2026, or the new ones.
The kit
How big is one of these?
At most 800 VA of apparent power into the mains and at most 3.5 amps, at up to 253 volts and 50 hertz. Up to four panels can be connected to the inverter, and no more than two in series in any one string. The panels themselves may total up to 2000 watts.
Why does the box say 800 W and the rules say 800 VA?
They are different quantities. The regulations define a plug-in microgenerator by a maximum rated alternating current output of 800 watts, and the product specification sets a maximum apparent power of 800 VA. Both are true, and they are not the same number.
Can I have two?
No. One per household, because the connection rules say so.
Can I add a battery?
Storage was left outside the approved class. Neither a plug-in battery on its own nor a solar device with storage built in falls inside what was approved. People who responded to the government consultation argued that this cuts the payback, the government recorded the argument, and the exclusion stayed.
How do I check a product is compliant?
There are three things you can look up yourself. Check whether the ENA Type Test Register carries it. Check that the listing gives you both the panel wattage and the alternating current output. Check that the box includes the maker's own direct current connectors and routing instructions.
Where a panel goes, and what it makes
What would I get in a year?
On an unshaded south facing roof pitch near Exeter, about 822 kWh a year from one 800 watt device. A frame on open ground at 30 degrees comes to roughly 816. An upright south facing wall gives about 594. An upright east facing wall gives about 417, which is close to half the roof figure. Those are modelled figures for one point, not a forecast for your house.
Is the South West a good place for this?
Yes. It is second only to the South East in Great Britain. The difference between the best region and the worst is smaller than the difference between a good mounting and a bad one at the same address, so we ask about the surface first.
Is generation the same as saving?
No. What you save depends on how much electricity you are using at the moment the panel is generating. With batteries outside the approved class, there is no way to store the rest for later.
What about shade?
Every figure here assumes nothing between the panel and the sky. A tree, a chimney, a dormer or the house next door all take a bite out of it, and a modelled figure cannot see any of them. Somebody has to look at the actual spot.
Generation from PVGIS for 0.8 kWp with 14 per cent system losses at one point near Exeter, queried 13 September 2026. Product limits from the interim product specification, version 2.0, July 2026.
Money, renting and insurance
Why is there no price on this website?
Because we have not got one we would stand behind. Kit prices move, the socket work varies house by house, and the only published figure we hold is a European range in a government document rather than a British shelf price. We would rather quote you properly.
I rent, or I am a leaseholder.
You will need your landlord's or your freeholder's agreement. The government response to the consultation records this, along with lease restrictions and building management, as things that may limit uptake and have not been solved by the regulations. Ask first.
Does it affect my house insurance?
It might. The instructions supplied with a compliant device are required to tell you to check. Ring your insurer before the device arrives.
My house is old and the wiring is older.
Have an electrician look at the socket and the circuit before anything is plugged into it. Older wiring came up repeatedly in the consultation as the practical risk with these devices, and the South West has a lot of old housing.
Still not sure about your surface?
Send us the postcode and the spot, and we will tell you where it stands.
- Cornwall
- Devon
- Somerset
- Dorset
- Wiltshire
- Gloucestershire
- Bristol
- Bath
Tell us where the panel would go
Your name, postcode and email, plus the roof, wall or garden you have in mind. We reply by email with what the rules allow there and what it would make in a year.
We reply by email. We don't pass your details to anyone and we don't take commission.