Plug-in solar is legal in five days.
Most of what you’ll be sold does not qualify.
SI 2026/848 legalises a much narrower category than the headlines suggest. Battery-free, 800 VA, on a UK plug, one per household. Nearly every product being marketed for 27 August falls outside it. Here is what qualifies.
The test, in four parts
What actually becomes legal on 27 August
A device has to satisfy all four. Fail one and it is not a plug-in solar device in law. It becomes an ordinary microgeneration installation, and it needs an electrician.
01
800 VA AC, 2,000 W DC
Maximum 800 VA apparent output, measured as a 10-minute average, and 3.5 A at the point of connection. Panels may total 2,000 W. The statute says 800 watts; the specification says 800 VA. Treat 800 as the ceiling either way.
02
No battery
The government response is explicit: the framework relates only to plug-in solar devices without batteries. Every battery-integrated balcony system on the market is outside it.
03
A moulded BS 1363 plug
Non-rewireable, partially insulated pins, BS 1362 fuse of 5 A or less. Adapters, convertors and extension leads are prohibited outright. A Schuko lead cannot be adapted.
04
On the ENA register
Manufacturers must list the device on the ENA Connect Direct database and hold confirmation of compliance before placing it on the market. If it is not listed, it should not be on sale as plug-in solar.
Sources: SI 2026/848 · SI 2026/896 · DESNZ Interim Product Specification and government response, July 2026
Not one rule, four
“Legal across the UK” is wrong
The change arrives through two separate instruments with different territorial extent, and a third regime (planning) that only one nation has amended.
England
YesPlanning: Permitted development, with limits
Both instruments apply. Projection limits of 0.2 m facing a highway, 0.4 m otherwise; restrictions on listed buildings and timber-clad flats.
Scotland
YesPlanning: Not confirmed
The product and connection rules apply. We found no equivalent permitted development amendment, so check with your planning authority.
Wales
YesPlanning: Not confirmed
The product and connection rules apply. No equivalent permitted development amendment located.
Northern Ireland
Plug rules onlyPlanning: Not confirmed
The plug approval extends to NI, but the connection limb does not. NI uses G98/NI, and application is awaiting a decision by the relevant NI department.
Market status, 22 August 2026
There is nothing worth recommending yet
What we think is happening
The timing points one way. Manufacturers appear to have pulled UK stock ahead of 27 August so they can relaunch with hardware and paperwork that meet the new rules. That would mean a moulded BS 1363 plug instead of the Schuko leads most of this kit shipped with, and an entry on the ENA register. If that is right, the listings return within days rather than months.
What the register says
Filtered to Great Britain, plug-in solar, compliance status Compliant, the ENA Connect Direct register returned 7 products on 22 August 2026. All are from a single manufacturer and none is sold on Amazon. So on the day the rules change, almost nothing on the open market is lawful to plug in.
What we are tracking
We re-check these every week. When one comes back as a complete kit with a compliant plug, it goes back on the site with a full review.
| Product | ASIN | Why it is not listed |
|---|---|---|
| EcoFlow STREAM 800W with 2 x 450W panels and balcony bracketsEcoFlow · complete kit | B0F59WSFB1 | Listing withdrawn from Amazon UK. Battery-free at 800W AC, which put it inside the technical limits, but it never carried an ENA register entry and the plug type was never confirmed. |
| EcoFlow STREAM 800W with 2 x 450W panelsEcoFlow · complete kit | B0F1D1RCK5 | Listing withdrawn from Amazon UK. Was the most popular kit with our readers at £449 in June 2026. |
| Anker SOLIX Balcony Power Station Pro 3.2kWhAnker SOLIX · complete kit | B0CSFP64MQ | Listing withdrawn from Amazon UK. Battery-integrated, so it sat outside the plug-in framework in any case and needed an electrician. |
| EcoFlow STREAM Ultra 1.92kWh with 2 x 400W panelsEcoFlow · complete kit | B0F5BFY23Z | Battery-integrated and rated at 1,200W AC, so outside the new rules on two counts. EcoFlow states the UK unit ships with a stripped-end cable and no plug at all. |
| EcoFlow STREAM 800W MicroinverterEcoFlow · component only | B0F2FTSZKG | Inverter only, with no panels or mounting. We do not list components, because a reader who buys one still needs panels, mounts and cabling that match. |
| Hoymiles HM-800 with UK plug leadHoymiles · component only | B0CC5LXNNV | Listing unavailable, and inverter only. Was notable as one of very few listings explicitly supplying a UK three-pin plug. |
| Marstek 800W MicroinverterMarstek · component only | B0DH8LN35D | Listing unavailable, and inverter only. |
4 complete kits and 3 components tracked. No affiliate links on this page, because there is nothing live to link to.
The honest arithmetic
How much would you actually save?
The government estimates £70–£110 a year for an 800 W system. The spread below matters more than the midpoint: what you save depends almost entirely on how much of the electricity you use as it is generated, because you are very unlikely to be paid for the rest.
400 W system
£25–£90
~320–400 kWh/yr
600 W system
£35–£140
~480–650 kWh/yr
800 W system
£50–£190
~650–760 kWh/yr
Lower bound assumes ~30–35% self-consumption, typical for a household out during the day with no battery. Upper bound assumes ~70–90%, meaning someone at home or with storage. Generation is modelled for a south-facing installation in central England (PVGIS) at roughly 25p/kWh. Export earns nothing in practice: the Smart Export Guarantee requires MCS certification, and plug-in solar sits outside MCS. Full payback analysis →
Five days out
What to do about it
Check the ENA register before you buy
The register is what makes self-installation lawful. Filtered to Great Britain and plug-in solar, it returned seven compliant products on 22 August 2026, all from one manufacturer, and none of them is sold on Amazon. If a seller cannot give you a register reference, assume there is not one.
Look at the plug, not the marketing
A compliant device arrives with a moulded BS 1363 plug and a 5 A fuse. If the photographs show a Schuko lead, or the listing is written for the German market, that kit is not ready for a UK socket and no adapter will make it so.
Decide whether you actually want a battery
A battery roughly doubles what you save, because it lifts self-consumption from about a third to three-quarters. It also puts you outside the new framework and back into needing an electrician. That can still be the right call. Just make it deliberately.
Diarise the G98 notification
You have 28 days from commissioning to notify your DNO using the Form B installation document, and you must notify again if you remove the system. There is no exemption for small systems. Put it in the calendar on the day you switch on.
Straight answers
Frequently asked questions
Are plug-in solar panels legal in the UK?
Is there a BSI standard for plug-in solar?
Can I use a Schuko-to-UK adapter on a European kit?
Do I still have to tell my network operator?
Is it legal everywhere in the UK?
How much can I actually save?
Did plug-in solar pass government safety tests?
Can renters and leaseholders install one?
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