Is plug-in solar legal in Great Britain? (2026)

On 16 June 2026 the government (DESNZ) formally proposed legalising plug-in (balcony) solar and opened a public consultation, which closed on 30 June 2026 at 23:59. The regulations were then made on 16 July 2026 and laid before Parliament on 17 July 2026: The Plugs and Sockets etc. (Safety) Regulations 1994 and Electricity Safety, Quality and Continuity Regulations 2002 (Amendment) Regulations 2026, SI 2026 No. 848. They come into force on 27 August 2026 — that is the day the plug-in route opens. Before 27 August 2026 the compliant route is a hardwired install by a CPS-registered electrician plus a G98 notification.

The instrument amends both the Plugs and Sockets etc. (Safety) Regulations 1994 (so a notified body can approve a standard plug intended for a plug-in microgenerator) and the Electricity Safety, Quality and Continuity Regulations 2002 (so such a device must not be installed or operated unless it complies with the specification). The controlling document is the Plug-in Solar Device Interim Product Specification, version 2, published 16 July 2026, with an enduring BSI standard to follow.

Where this applies. The instrument sets out its own extent, and the two paragraphs do different things: “(3) Regulations 1 and 2 extend to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. (4) Regulation 3 extends to England and Wales and Scotland.” Regulation 3 is the one that amends the Electricity Safety, Quality and Continuity Regulations 2002 — the change that makes installing and operating a plug-in microgenerator lawful on the new route. It extends to England, Wales and Scotland. Regulation 2, the plug-approval route, extends to Northern Ireland as well. What otherwise applies in Northern Ireland rests on separate legislation that this instrument does not touch, and we are not going to guess at it.

The law defines a “plug-in microgenerator” in five limbs, and the 800W cap is only one of them. The definition appears twice in the instrument — at regulation 2(3), into regulation 8 of the Plugs and Sockets etc. (Safety) Regulations 1994, and at regulation 3(2), into regulation 1(5) of ESQCR 2002 — with identical wording in both places. Verbatim:

“plug-in microgenerator” means a source of energy which—

1. generates electricity from the direct conversion of sunlight into electricity;
2. has a maximum rated alternating current output not exceeding 800 watts;
3. is intended for connection to a low voltage consumer’s installation by means of a standard plug and socket;
4. is designed to operate in parallel with a distributor’s network; and
5. is not designed to import electrical energy from a low voltage consumer’s installation for the purpose of storing energy for later supply, other than for control or auxiliary functions permitted by the Plug-in Solar Device Interim Product Specification;

We are not aware of any product yet certified to the Interim Product Specification v2. Before buying for the plug-in route, check the ENA Type Test Register yourself — it is public and needs no login. Filter Type to “Plug-in Solar”. Read on 2 September 2026 at 11:06 it listed twenty-three plug-in solar entries. Twenty of them carried the status “Compliant”, from five manufacturers: UKSOL Ltd (seven), Perlight (eight), Thunder Energy (two), InstaGroup (two) and City Plumbing Supplies (one). The day after the rules came into force, the register more than doubled its Compliant count. The other three — from EcoFlow, Anker and InstaGroup — were “Non-compliant”. Compliant here is the register’s own assessment, that network operators will accept the equipment. It is not the same thing as certification to the Interim Product Specification v2, and we have not verified that any of these kits carries that certification. The register’s own wording for each status is quoted in full further down this page. There is no third-party certification against the specification itself, and IPS v2 §7 says a device merely submitted for registration does not count. Statuses change — check the register rather than trusting this page.

Why the plug needed its own route. Regulation 2(2) inserts a new paragraph (3A) into the 1994 Plugs and Sockets Regulations so that a notified body can approve a plug type which does not conform to BS 1363 — because “BS 1363 contains a provision which prohibits or restricts the use of the plug for the connection of an electricity-generating device to a socket-outlet”. Coverage saying a plug-in kit “must be BS 1363” has it backwards.

The requirement sits inside the definition, so a device that does not meet all five limbs never reaches the new route at all. For a worked example on two products people are already buying, see EcoFlow STREAM vs Anker SOLIX.

Detailed figures (voltage, current, DC panel wattage, fuse rating, devices per household) sit in the Interim Product Specification v2, not in the regulations — so we do not quote numbers here that the legislation itself does not state.

Full detail: what the new law says →

Dates above are taken from SI 2026 No. 848 as made. We update this page when the picture changes.

Amendment 4 to the IET’s 18th Edition Wiring Regulations (BS 7671) does one specific, narrow thing: it reclassifies a compliant microgeneration unit up to 800W as a portable appliance, rather than a permanent generation installation requiring Part P notification and a full Electrical Installation Certificate.

For that reclassification to apply, the unit must meet all of:

• 800W AC inverter output cap (not panel watts — you can have higher-rated panels behind a clipping inverter).
• Single-phase connection.
• Type-approved anti-islanding inverter — the inverter must disconnect within ~0.2 seconds when grid voltage drops, so it cannot energise a dead grid (protects line workers).
• RCD protection on the final circuit it connects to.

What Amendment 4 does not do: create a product standard for off-the-shelf plug-in kits. That part is delivered by SI 2026 No. 848 together with the Interim Product Specification v2, in force 27 August 2026, with an enduring BSI standard to follow.

This is the question that comes before “which kit”, and almost nobody asks it. The Interim Product Specification v2 — the document the regulations name — puts building and surface restrictions on the plug-in route. Section 5.8, verbatim:

“The manufacturer shall identify any planning restrictions on installation surfaces or building types applicable to the product. Installations shall not be permitted on: • aluminium composite material (ACM) or metal composite material (MCM) cladding systems; • high pressure laminate (HPL) cladding systems; • timber cladding systems; • timber balconies; • buildings that are subject to external wall remediation works, building safety remediation works or equivalent restrictions relating to external wall fire safety.”

A timber balcony is out. So is a building under external wall remediation — which, after Grenfell, is a great many blocks of flats. This is written as a duty on the manufacturer to identify and declare, expressed as a restriction on where the product may be installed. It is not us telling you what is legal. But if your balcony is timber, or your block is mid-remediation, the plug-in route is not the one to plan around.

One device per household, not per circuit. Section 1, verbatim: “NOTE: While this specification permits one device per final circuit, GB network connection requirements also apply. As of publication, current network requirements Engineering Recommendation G98 Issue 2 Amendment 1 2026 restrict this to one device per household, which applies unless and until that is amended.” The limit comes from G98, not from the specification, and the note says it can change.

No adaptors, and the plug is the manufacturer’s. Section 6.2.3: “The use of multi-way adaptors, travel adaptors, RCD adaptors and plug convertors shall not be permitted.” Section 6.2.3.2 says what the plug must be: “Plug-in solar intended for connection to UK sockets shall use plugs designed to BS 1363-1”, with “partially insulated pins to prevent access to live conductive parts” and a “non-rewireable moulded plug fitted with a BS 1362 fuse not exceeding 5A”. So it is still a BS 1363 plug. The approval route in the instrument exists because BS 1363 restricts using a plug to connect a generating device to a socket — not because the plug should be something else.

Planning law reaches the same answer for wood, separately. A second instrument in force the same day — SI 2026 No. 896, the planning order — excludes plug-in solar on a wooden fence, gate or enclosure, on a wooden wall or balcony, and on any part of a house clad in timber. Two different routes, the same result. See planning rules for plug-in solar. The full buyer’s checklist pulls together the product requirements that decide whether a kit qualifies.

Read from the Plug-in Solar Device Interim Product Specification v2.0 (July 2026) on gov.uk, 5 August 2026.

Before blaming a kit that keeps dropping out, check the voltage it is being asked to work with. This is a recognised issue in the industry with an open reform attached to it, and almost none of the buying guides mention it.

The range the law allows. The Electricity Safety, Quality and Continuity Regulations 2002 set it in regulation 27. Regulation 27(2): “the voltage declared in respect of a low voltage supply shall be 230 volts between the phase and neutral conductors at the supply terminals”. Regulation 27(3)(b): “in the case of a low voltage supply, a variation not exceeding 10 per cent above or 6 per cent below the declared voltage at the declared frequency”. That puts the top of the legal range at 253 V and the bottom at 216 V.

What the network operators say about it. The Energy Networks Association, the body for the distribution network operators, on its Statutory Voltage Limits programme page: “UK mains electricity operates at a nominal voltage of 230V, and can operate within limits of 253V and 216V set by the Electricity Safety, Quality and Continuity Regulations (ESQCR).” And on why that range is under pressure: “The connection of low carbon technologies (LCTs), such as domestic solar generation and electric vehicle chargers, has led to an increasing challenge in maintaining the voltage range within those specified in the ESQCR. This can cause over voltage, which can cause household and commercial equipment, including EV chargers, to shut down when protective limits are reached.”

Read that carefully for what it does not say. Over voltage can cause equipment to shut down — not that it does, and not everywhere. And domestic solar generation is named among the things putting pressure on the range, not among the things suffering from it.

What the specification expects a device to cope with. Interim Product Specification v2 carries the same number: it applies to plug-in solar “with a rated voltage of up to 253 V (AC)”, and it requires that “The inverter shall be tested to determine its maximum apparent power output at supply voltages of 0.94 Un, 1 Un and 1.1 Un, where Un is the nominal supply voltage (230V)”. 1.1 × 230 is 253. A device built to the specification is expected to still be working at the top of the legal range.

The reform. ENA says network operators are “proposing to amend the lower voltage limit in ESQCR from 216V to 207V”. The 253 V ceiling is not part of that proposal. Lowering the floor gives operators room to run the whole network further below the ceiling. ENA says the consultation has closed and that “we are now reviewing those responses and developing our evidence case document” before taking options to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. Nothing in the regulations has changed.

What to do with it. If an inverter keeps disconnecting in an area with a lot of rooftop solar, a faulty kit is not the only explanation and may not be the likeliest. The thing to establish first is what the supply voltage actually is at the socket, measured across a day rather than at one moment. Your distribution network operator can tell you what it records, and a qualified electrician can log it. If it sits near the top of the range, that is a conversation with the network operator rather than with the retailer. What a G98-certified unit is actually required to survive at 253 V, and where an EU device stops, is set out separately.

Voltage limits read from the Electricity Safety, Quality and Continuity Regulations 2002, regulation 27, on legislation.gov.uk. Network operator wording read from the Energy Networks Association Statutory Voltage Limits programme page on 6 August 2026.

How to check a device yourself

This is the part you do not need us for. IPS v2 §7 requires manufacturers to “register devices on the ENA Type Test Register… and obtain confirmation that the device has been assessed and identified as compliant prior to placing them on the market”. That register is public:

1. Open connect-direct.energynetworks.org and go to the Live Device Register. No account is needed to search.
2. Open Filters and set Type to “Plug-in Solar”.
3. Read the Compliance Status column for the device you are considering.
4. Ask the retailer for the System Reference so you can look up that exact entry rather than a similar model name.

Read on 2 September 2026 at 11:06, the register returned twenty-three plug-in solar entries:

“Non-compliant” is the register’s own word, not ours. Each entry’s page carries the same sentence: “This device has been assessed by ENA’s engineers as non-compliant. Distribution network operators are unlikely to accept this equipment on their networks”. The register explains that the status “is assigned by ENA appointed evaluators”. Follow any reference in the table above to read that page yourself.

The register does issue “Compliant”. Of the twenty most recent entries of all types when we looked, seven were marked “Compliant” — devices from POWEROAK and InstaGroup, all of them Energy Storage Devices. So a new entry does not start out non-compliant by default. InstaGroup now appears on both sides of that line: compliant for energy storage in that reading, and non-compliant for the plug-in solar entry we found on 19 August 2026 at 18:11. The two status texts sit side by side: a compliant device “has been assessed by ENA’s engineers and has been deemed acceptable for use by Distribution network operators”, while these seven say network operators “are unlikely to accept this equipment on their networks”.

Both GoodWe entries carry a manufacturer comment explaining the capacity: “Although the model name indicates 3 kW, the default on-grid output is 0.8 kW for plug-in solar applications. Changing the output to 3 kW requires wiring by an authorized installer and configuration via the installer App.” The GW2K entry says the same with 2 kW. The Anker and InstaGroup entries have no comment.

This is an assessment of these registration entries against ENA requirements, not a statement about anything else those manufacturers sell, and not a claim by us about any product. This is a snapshot, and we can show you that it moves. When we first read this filter on 5 August 2026 it returned four entries. One of them, ANKER/20925/V1, is no longer in the list and its page no longer loads. Both GoodWe entries were republished on 11 August under references ending “/A1” that they did not carry before. On 14 August 2026 at 18:20 the filter returned three. That reading was incomplete, and the correction is ours. INSTA/20951/V1/A1 had been published the same day at 12:10, six hours before we looked, and it is not in what we recorded. We found it on 17 August 2026 at 20:55, reading the register through its own search API rather than the filter on the page. The API returned four that day. We have changed our method to match, and we are leaving this paragraph here rather than quietly restating the number, because a page that says it shows movement should show its own. Treat the table as a dated reading and follow the links to see where things stand on the day you are reading this. We have not matched any of these model numbers to a retail product, and you should not assume they correspond to anything on our other pages. Between 17 and 19 August 2026 the list went from four entries to eleven. The two GoodWe entries we recorded on 17 August, published on 11 August, are no longer in the register at all, and we do not know why. The InstaGroup entry was republished under a new reference ending “/A2”. On 26 August 2026 at 20:12 the filter returned twenty-three. The two HDM Solar entries we recorded on 19 August were no longer in it, and INSTA/20951 had been republished again, this time under “/A8”. On 27 August 2026 at 19:19 it returned twenty-two: Perlight’s four earlier entries and INSTA/20951/V1/A8 were no longer in it, and a new Perlight entry, PERLI/21158/V1, was published that day carrying “Compliant” — the first entry from any manufacturer other than UKSOL to do so. On 28 August 2026 at 22:10 it returned thirty-one, with twenty carrying “Compliant”. Thirteen entries had been added since the previous reading — seven more from Perlight, two from Thunder Energy, three from InstaGroup and one from City Plumbing Supplies. Four had gone: CITYP/21096/V1/A3 and INSTA/21105/V1, each of which now appears under a later version reference, and FOXES/21059/V1 and FOXES/21058/V1. FOXES/21121/V1 remains, “Non-compliant”. On 31 August 2026 at 18:55 it returned twenty-nine, with twenty carrying “Compliant” — unchanged. ANKER/20920/V1 now appears under a later version reference, ANKER/20920/V1/A2, published that day and still “Non-compliant”; the new entry names the kit in full: Anker Solix E5000 Pro with the SOLIX RS50S panel. MODUL/21168/V1 and MODUL/21169/V1, both added on 27 August, were no longer in the list; MODUL/20957/V1 remains. On 1 September 2026 at 15:48 it returned twenty-four, with twenty carrying “Compliant” — unchanged. Five entries were no longer in the list, all of them “Non-compliant” in our previous reading: OCTOQ/21124/V1 (Octopus Energy, published 25 August), FOXES/21121/V1 (FoxESS, 25 August), TSUNE/21104/V1/A1 (21 August), MODUL/20957/V1 (20 August) and SEGEN/21070/V1 (19 August). FoxESS, Modular and Segen no longer have any entry under the plug-in solar filter; TSUNESS and InstaGroup each keep one “Non-compliant” entry, as do EcoFlow and Anker. On 2 September 2026 at 11:06 it returned twenty-three, with twenty carrying “Compliant” — unchanged. One entry was no longer in the list: TSUNE/21103/V1/A1 (TSUNESS, published 21 August), “Non-compliant” in our previous reading. TSUNESS no longer has any entry under the plug-in solar filter. EcoFlow, Anker and InstaGroup each keep one “Non-compliant” entry. We record what changed and when we saw it; we do not guess at reasons.

How long has each of these been on the register? → · Which of them can you actually buy? →

ENA Type Test Register read at connect-direct.energynetworks.org on 2 September 2026 at 11:06, and first read on 5 August 2026 at 20:25. The register that used to live at ena-eng.org closed in April 2024 and its data moved here. See the full change history of this register. Where to buy plug-in solar when it reaches shelves.

Broken down by install path, with the date each one applies from.

✅ 800W hardwired install by a CPS-registered electrician

This route is available now and stays available after 27 August 2026. The electrician fits the microinverter, isolator and protection in line with Amendment 4, certifies under Part P, and you (or they) file a G98 Connect & Notify with your DNO. Typical professional installation cost: £300–£600 on top of kit price.

❗ True plug-and-play DIY kit

This route opens on 27 August 2026, when SI 2026 No. 848 comes into force. It requires the device to meet all five limbs of the definition above and to comply with the Interim Product Specification v2. We are not aware of any product yet certified to that specification. A CE or EN mark is not the same thing: it certifies against European standards, not against the specification the regulations name. Until a product states that it meets IPS v2, you are inferring compliance rather than relying on a UK-stamped one — so ask the retailer to confirm it before you buy.

❌ “Just plug it in” with no DNO notification, no RCD, no anti-islanding inverter

Not legal. The ≤800W “portable appliance” classification only applies when the four safety conditions above are met and the DNO has been notified via G98. Skipping any of those puts you outside Amendment 4’s coverage.

The G98 form is a Distribution Network Operator (DNO) notification under Engineering Recommendation G98 (microgenerators up to 16A per phase). For a single-phase 800W install, it is:

• Free.
• Online, takes ~10 minutes.
• Notification, not approval — you tell them what you’ve installed, you don’t ask permission.
• Required for the install to fall within Amendment 4’s portable-appliance pathway.

The form depends on your region’s DNO — e.g. our UK Power Networks G98 guide. We have a step-by-step on the next page:

G98 notification walkthrough →

• IET — BS 7671:2018+A4:2026 (18th Edition Wiring Regulations, Amendment 4), ratified 16 March 2026, in force 15 April 2026.
• Engineering Recommendation G98 — connection of fully type-tested micro-generators (up to and including 16A per phase) in parallel with public low-voltage distribution networks. Energy Networks Association.
• Ofgem — energy price cap (Q2 2026): residential electricity standing charge and unit rate.
• SI 2026 No. 848 — The Plugs and Sockets etc. (Safety) Regulations 1994 and Electricity Safety, Quality and Continuity Regulations 2002 (Amendment) Regulations 2026: made 16 July 2026, laid before Parliament 17 July 2026, in force 27 August 2026.
• GOV.UK / DESNZ — “Plug-in solar: regulatory amendment and interim product specification” consultation (16–30 June 2026); the Plug-in Solar Device Interim Product Specification is published there.
• SI 2026 No. 896 — The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) (Amendment) Order 2026: made 29 July 2026, laid before Parliament 30 July 2026, in force 27 August 2026. Extends to England and Wales. Read 23 August 2026.

If you spot a fact on this page that has shifted, let us know — we update.