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About & methodology

Quick answer: BalconySolarHub is an independent UK guide tracking the BS 7671 Amendment 4 transition for balcony / plug-in solar. We write in plain English, refuse to publish “just plug it in, fully legal now” copy while the legalisation route (PSSR amendment + DESNZ interim product spec) is still pending, and update pages as the regulatory picture changes. Reader-supported via Amazon UK affiliate links — never product placement.

What we do

The UK is mid-transition on balcony / plug-in solar. BS 7671 Amendment 4 (in force 15 April 2026) created the legal opening, but true plug-and-play DIY is still pending — the government’s legalisation route became law on 16 July 2026 (SI 2026 No. 848) and comes into force on 27 August 2026. That gap matters — a lot of US and German content gets imported wholesale into the UK conversation and ends up misleading readers.

We exist to fill that gap with UK-specific, source-checked, plain-English coverage of:

  • The legal timeline — what changed, what’s pending, what you can actually do today.
  • The G98 DNO notification process — a free 10-minute step most sites skip.
  • UK-distributed kit availability — not pretending Amazon US listings work for British buyers.
  • UK economics — the energy price cap, self-consumption only (no SEG), realistic payback.

Editorial principles

  1. If we don’t know, we say so. Expected dates are marked as expected. UK Amazon stock that’s intermittent is marked “watch”, not silently linked.
  2. Verify against primary sources. IET (BS 7671), ENA (G98), Ofgem (price cap), DNO portals, BSI announcements. We cite where we can.
  3. UK numbers only. Rates in pence/kWh. Kit availability against Amazon UK. Payback at the current price cap, not the global average.
  4. Update on change, not on a schedule. When BSI publishes the product standard or a kit’s UK stock situation shifts, the relevant page gets revised — not the entire site.
  5. No “just plug it in, fully legal now” copy. Not while the legalisation route is pending. We’d rather lose the SEO click than mislead a reader.

Funding & conflicts of interest

BalconySolarHub is reader-supported. We participate in the Amazon Associates programme (UK) — if you buy a kit through one of our Amazon UK links we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We do not:

  • Accept paid placement (no “sponsored picks”).
  • Accept free product in exchange for reviews.
  • Run display ads.

If a kit gets recommended, it’s because we think it’s the right buy for that reader — not because the commission is higher.

Get in touch

Spotted a stale fact, a new BSI announcement, or a DNO portal that has moved? Let us know. The faster the corrections, the more useful the site.

Who runs this

PlugInSolarHub, BalconySolarHub and HeatPumpGrantHub are run by the same person. Where one of them answers a question another does not, we say so and link across. We do not link between them to move traffic around, and you will not find them in each other’s menus or footers.