About this site

Where our scores come from

We do not test hardware. Nobody on this site has had any of these products in their hands, and we are not going to write as though they have.

What we do instead is aggregate. Every score on this site is a weighted average of reviews published elsewhere on the web. That includes specialist technology and energy publications, retailer star ratings, European reviews of the same hardware sold as a balcony kit, and long-form video reviews. Each review page shows how many independent sources the average rests on, and says plainly where the evidence is thin. Products with no meaningful review coverage get no score at all rather than a number we made up.

We refresh those averages periodically as new reviews appear, and we re-check availability and pricing on a regular schedule. Any figure carries the date we last verified it.

How we choose what to list

Three rules, applied in order.

• Complete kits only. Panels and inverter in one purchase, ready to use. A microinverter on its own is a component. Readers who buy one still need panels, mounts and cabling, and they usually end up with something that does not match.
• Buyable now. There is no point recommending a kit that has been out of stock for a month. Stock in this category moves fast, so if you find a dead listing, tell us.
• Compliance stated honestly. Every product carries a status showing whether it can lawfully be plugged in from 27 August, and a note explaining why. A kit with a battery, or an output over 800 VA, or no entry on the ENA register, says so on its own page.

How we research the rules

The regulatory material comes from primary sources. That means legislation.gov.uk for the two statutory instruments, GOV.UK for the Interim Product Specification and the government response, the Energy Networks Association for G98, and the published safety study for what the testing found. Where sources conflict, and on this subject they do, we set out the conflict. The clearest example is the AC limit, which the statutory instrument gives as 800 watts and the specification gives as 800 VA.

You can read the detail in our guide to the UK rules.

How we make money

Affiliate commission, mostly through Amazon Associates. If you buy through a link on this site we earn a small percentage at no extra cost to you. That is the entire business model, and it creates a pressure worth naming: the products that pay us are the products we have an incentive to praise.

What we do about it is straightforward. Every problem we know about goes on the product page in the same size type as the good points, including the ones that would put a reader off buying. Several kits listed here carry warnings about unconfirmed plug types, missing ENA register entries and batteries that fall outside the new rules. Those warnings cost us money and they stay. Our full affiliate disclosure has the details.

Corrections

If something here is inaccurate, out of date, or has been overtaken by a change in the rules, tell us and we will fix it and say what changed. This is a fast-moving area. An amendment to G98, a long-term product standard, a Northern Ireland decision and DESNZ consumer guidance are all outstanding at the time of writing, and any of them could date parts of this site.

This is not advice

Everything here is general information. It is not legal, electrical or planning advice, and we accept no liability for decisions made on the basis of it. Before installing anything, verify the current position with a qualified electrician, your distribution network operator and your local planning authority. If you are a leaseholder or a tenant, check with whoever owns the building.

Last reviewed 22 August 2026.