Are Plug-in & Balcony Solar Panels Legal in the UK? (2026)

By Rob Hammond · Updated September 2026 · How we score

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Plug-in (balcony) solar is legal in Great Britain from 27 August 2026, but the rules are tighter than the “any 800W kit” headlines suggest. Here’s exactly where things stand.

What changed, and when

Two separate changes had to land:

• 15 April 2026. BS 7671 Amendment 4. The wiring regulations gained guidance for plug-in solar. This didn’t make plugging a kit in legal on its own.
• 27 August 2026. SI 2026/848. The statutory instrument amended the plug and electricity safety regulations to allow a plug-in microgenerator to connect through a normal socket. This is the date plug-in solar actually became legal.

To qualify, the device must meet the government’s Plug-in Solar Device Interim Product Specification (version 2, published 16 July 2026).

The rules in plain terms

A kit you can install yourself must:

• Output no more than 800W AC into your home. The panels behind the inverter can total up to 2,000W.
• Have a factory-fitted, moulded UK plug (BS 1363) with a 5A fuse, not a European Schuko plug on an adapter.
• Be listed Compliant on the ENA Type Test Register. “Registered” or “applied for” isn’t enough; the status must say Compliant.
• Not store energy. The regulations exclude devices designed to import electricity to store and supply later, so kits with an integrated or attached battery don’t qualify.

Plug it into a wall socket directly: no extension leads or multi-way adaptors.

Which kits are on the register?

When we last read the ENA register on 28 September 2026, 83 kits from 21 manufacturers were listed Compliant, mostly UK-focused brands such as UKSOL, Perlight, PatioSun, Thunder Energy and PowerXpress, sold through Argos, City Plumbing, Screwfix and direct. The big European names aren’t there yet: EcoFlow’s filing was marked non-compliant and withdrawn, and Anker’s Solarbank battery system was assessed non-compliant for the plug-in route, and because a withdrawn or non-compliant filing need not stay on the register, neither appears in the snapshot table below. The systems in our plug-in kits comparison carry a notice showing their register status. Check the ENA Type Test Register for the exact model before you buy.

What’s on the register

Every Compliant entry in our 28 September 2026 snapshot of the ENA Type Test Register, newest listing first. Capacity is the device’s AC output, the 800W ceiling in practice. The register is updated continuously, so check it for your exact model before you buy.

What about batteries?

Not yet. Because the rules exclude energy storage, a balcony battery can’t be used under the plug-in route. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is commissioning an 18-month safety study of 800W plug-in batteries, starting October 2026. Until the rules change, a battery needs a hardwired installation by a qualified electrician.

Registering your kit

Every grid-connected generator has to be notified to your network operator (DNO). For a compliant plug-in kit it’s quick:

1. Go to myplugin.solar, the Energy Networks Association’s national registration portal.
2. Enter your address and pick your exact kit from the approved list. Have your MPAN (the 13-digit supply number on your bill) and the kit’s details to hand.
3. Submit within 28 days of plugging in. It’s free, the portal routes it to the right DNO, and you get a reference number by email; keep it.

Systems outside the plug-in rules, whether hardwired, with a battery, or larger, still go through your DNO’s own G98 or G99 process, normally via an installer. Our G98 vs G99 guide explains which of those two routes your inverter size puts you on, and when the DNO has to approve before you connect. Our registration checker shows who your DNO is.

Setting up safely

• Mount panels securely. A balcony panel is a wind-load and falling hazard if it isn’t.
• Renters and leaseholders: get written consent for anything fixed to the building. See balcony solar for renters and flats.
• Use a socket on a normal circuit, not one shared with a cooker or other heavy kitchen load.

Work out the numbers with the balcony solar savings calculator.

Regulations are still settling and this is general information, not legal advice. Check the ENA register and the current government guidance before connecting anything.

What’s changed (changelog)

We keep this guide current as the rules evolve:

• 21 September 2026. The register count and the table of Compliant kits are now generated from our committed ENA register snapshot, so they can’t go stale in prose.
• 15 September 2026. Rewritten for the rules in force since 27 August 2026: SI 2026/848, the ENA register requirement, the battery exclusion and myplugin.solar registration. Earlier versions of this guide wrongly said plug-in solar became legal on 15 April 2026.
• 2 July 2026. Added per-network notification guides and the network operator checker.
• 15 April 2026. BS 7671 Amendment 4 published, adding wiring guidance for plug-in solar.

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UKSOL · UKS-PRO-C-1-515-MZ1

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