Plug-in solar in the UK: the legal kits, and what they actually save
Since 27 August 2026 you can plug a solar kit of up to 800 VA into an ordinary wall socket in Great Britain. A south-facing 890 W kit generates roughly 700 kWh a year; at 26.32p/kWh and 60% self-use that is about £110 a year. Here is which kits are compliant, and the payback maths.
Quick answer: is plug-in solar worth it in the UK?
Yes, if you have an unshaded south-, south-east- or south-west-facing spot, you are at home enough to use the daytime electricity, and you buy a kit that is on the ENA Type Test Register as a plug-in solar device. A compliant 800 VA kit with around 900 W of panels generates roughly 650–850 kWh a year depending on tilt and location; at the current cap that is worth about £100–£135 a year at 60% self-use. A £600 kit pays back in about five to six years and should last twenty.
Vertical balcony-rail mounting cuts output by roughly a fifth; east or west facing by a quarter or more. In winter a kit produces a small fraction of its summer output — plug-in solar is a spring-to-autumn saving.
The Plug-in Solar regulations (SI 2026 No. 848) came into force on 27 August 2026. A compliant device is capped at 800 VA output and 3.5 A, plugs into a standard BS 1363 socket on a non-rewireable plug with a 5 A fuse at most, has no battery inside the plug-in device, and must be verified on the Energy Networks Association (ENA) Type Test Register before it can legally be sold as plug-in solar. Panel capacity feeding the inverter can be higher — up to around 2,000 W — the cap is on what the inverter pushes into your socket.
Three things to check before you buy on Amazon.co.uk: that the exact kit (brand and model) appears on the ENA register with device type 'Plug-in Solar'; that it ships with a UK plug, not a Schuko/EU plug; and that the seller is the brand or an authorised retailer. Several listings with 'G98' and 'UK plug' in the title are generic kits whose register status we could not confirm — we have left those out.
After installing, you still notify your distribution network operator (the G98 Form B, within 28 days) — the register listing is what makes the device permitted, not a substitute for the notification.
Legal noticeOnly a kit that is listed on the ENA Type Test Register as a Plug-in Solar device may be sold and used as plug-in solar in Great Britain (SI 2026/848, in force 27 August 2026). Limits: 800 VA / 3.5 A output, BS 1363 plug, no battery in the plug-in device, one device per household. Check the register for the exact model before buying, and send the G98 Form B to your network operator within 28 days of installation. Northern Ireland has separate rules.
Our picks
#1Best complete kit
UKSOL Plug-in Solar 890 W Pro Duo, ground-mount kit (2 × 445 W, 800 W inverter)
UKSOL
£112.44 Saving per year, tilted (60% self-use)
Panels2 × 445 W (890 W)
Inverter800 W microinverter, Wi-Fi/Bluetooth
MountGround-mount frame included
Weight51 kg (listing)
UKSOL is one of the first UK brands with kits verified on the ENA register, and this Pro Duo is the full package: two panels, an 800 W smart microinverter, the ground frame and the plug-in cable. The listing's seller field shows 'Generic', so confirm the seller before ordering.
At 890 W of panels on a south-facing frame our model gives about 710 kWh a year, worth around £112 at 60% self-use.
Best for: a garden or flat roof with a clear south-facing spot. Skip it if: balconies — it is a ground frame, and 51 kg.
EcoFlow STREAM 800 W microinverter with 2 × 500 W panels
EcoFlow
£126.34 Saving per year, tilted (60% self-use)
Panels2 × 500 W (1,000 W)
InverterSTREAM 800 W, app monitoring
MountNot included — check variant
PlugConfirm UK plug variant
EcoFlow's STREAM 800 is on the ENA register in its facade, flat-roof and pitched-roof kit variants (as of September 2026, per the register and independent trackers). With 1,000 W of panels it is the highest-yield kit here: about 800 kWh a year tilted.
Check two things on this Amazon listing before buying: that it is the UK-plug variant, and that the mounting variant you receive matches a registered configuration — the balcony and garden variants were not on the register when we checked.
Best for: a wall, flat roof or pitched roof with a registered mounting variant. Skip it if: anyone who cannot verify the exact variant against the register.
UKSOL Pro Compact 460 W kit with 800 W microinverter, ground mount
UKSOL
£58.11 Saving per year, tilted (60% self-use)
Panels1 × 460 W
Inverter800 W smart microinverter (expandable)
MountGround-mount, 60 × 60 × 85 cm
Weight25.5 kg
A single-panel starter kit with the same 800 W smart inverter as the Pro Duo, so you can add a second panel later. Half the output — about 370 kWh a year tilted — but a fraction of the footprint and weight.
Good for testing whether your spot and your daytime usage justify a bigger kit.
Best for: a small patio or a first experiment. Skip it if: maximum savings per socket — the Duo doubles the output for not twice the price.
Modular Solar pre-built plug-in unit (no assembly, 13 A plug)
Modular Solar
Running cost: not published by the seller
PanelsPre-built unit, capacity not stated on the listing
InverterIncluded, plug-in
MountFree-standing, 180 × 120 × 30 cm
Weight35 kg
The simplest product on the page: a pre-assembled free-standing unit you stand in the garden and plug into a 13 A socket, no tools. Modular Solar is listed among the first brands on the ENA register.
The listing does not state the panel capacity, so we show no yield figure; the brand's own claim is 'up to £100 a year' per unit in an unshaded south-facing spot, which is consistent with a 400–500 W panel.
Best for: renters and anyone who wants zero installation. Skip it if: people who want to size the system — the spec is thin.
EcoFlow STREAM 800 W microinverter (inverter only)
EcoFlow
Running cost: not published by the seller
PanelsNot included — pair with up to 2 panels
Inverter800 W, 230 V, pure sine wave, app
UseExisting panels or a registered kit variant
Reviews420 (most on Amazon.co.uk)
The inverter at the heart of the STREAM kits, sold alone for people who already have panels. Pure sine wave, app monitoring, 800 W output.
On its own it is not a 'plug-in solar device' under the regulations — only the registered kit configurations are. Treat it as a component for a registered variant or a conventionally installed system, not a DIY plug-in.
Best for: replacing or adding an inverter in a registered EcoFlow configuration. Skip it if: building your own plug-in kit from unlisted panels.
Yearly output: PVGIS-based estimates for an 800 VA-class kit with about 1,000 W of panels in the UK give roughly 800 kWh a year on a south-facing tilt (London around 850 kWh, Manchester 750, Edinburgh 680) and about 650 kWh vertically on a south-facing balcony rail. We scale by the kit's panel capacity (capped at 1.3× for oversized panels, because the 800 VA inverter clips the peaks) — so a 890 W kit shows 712 kWh tilted and 579 kWh vertical.
Saving = output × self-use share × 26.32p/kWh. Self-use is the share of solar electricity you consume as it is generated rather than export unpaid; 60% is a reasonable figure for a household with someone home in the day and a fridge, router and standby loads running. If nobody is home until 7 pm it can fall to 30–40%; with a battery it rises towards 90%. Standing charges and export payments are ignored (most plug-in installations do not export for payment).
Payback = kit price ÷ yearly saving. Panels degrade about 0.5% a year and inverters typically carry 10–12-year warranties; we assume 20 years of service.
How we chose
Brands with kits verified on the ENA Type Test Register as of late September 2026 (UKSOL, EcoFlow STREAM, Modular Solar), per the register and independent trackers.
A UK BS 1363 plug and an 800 VA microinverter.
Panel capacity published on the listing.
Sold on Amazon.co.uk by the brand or an identified seller.
In Great Britain, yes, since 27 August 2026 (SI 2026 No. 848), provided the device is verified on the ENA Type Test Register as plug-in solar, outputs no more than 800 VA / 3.5 A, uses a BS 1363 plug and has no battery in the plug-in device. One device per household. You still send a G98 notification to your network operator within 28 days. Northern Ireland is not covered.
How much electricity does an 800 W plug-in solar kit generate in the UK?
Around 650–850 kWh a year for a kit with 900–1,000 W of panels on a south-facing tilt (more in the south of England, less in Scotland), and roughly 20% less mounted vertically on a balcony rail. Expect about 5 kWh on a good summer day and under 0.5 kWh on a dull December one.
How much money does plug-in solar save?
At the current cap of 26.32p/kWh and 60% self-use, 700 kWh a year of generation saves about £110. Use more of it in the daytime (dishwasher, washing machine, charging) and the figure rises; export it unpaid and it falls. Our calculator on this page lets you change all three numbers.
How long does a plug-in solar kit take to pay back?
Kit price divided by yearly saving: a £450 kit saving £110 a year pays back in about four years; a £850 kit in just under eight. Panels last 20–25 years, inverters 10–15, so most kits return two to four times their cost over their life, as long as the site is unshaded and south-facing.
Can I use a German 'Balkonkraftwerk' kit in the UK?
Not as plug-in solar. German kits come with Schuko plugs and are certified to German norms; they are not on the ENA register. In the UK only register-listed devices with a BS 1363 plug are permitted as plug-in solar. German-style kits can only be installed in the UK as a conventional fixed installation by an electrician.
Do I need a battery?
The plug-in device itself may not contain a battery under the UK rules. You can raise your self-use share without one by running appliances in daylight. Separate battery systems are a different product category with different rules.
APWritten by André Pires · ELEVA ONLINE LTDA · Updated 2 October 2026
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