On 24 March 2026, the UK government announced that domestic plug-in solar panels would be available to buy and self-install “within months”.

This could allow millions more households – and in particular flats with a balcony – to reduce their energy bills by generating solar electricity.

In this guide, we’ll give you the latest on when these changes will come into force, whether plug-in solar panels are worth waiting for, and which homes should (and shouldn’t) get a system.

Plug-in solar panels aren’t available yet, but traditional solar & battery systems are a proven and popular way of significantly cutting energy bills, with more than 1.6 million homes having already made the move.

If you own your property and live in a house, traditional rooftop solar offers far better savings. To find out how much you can save with a solar & battery system, pop a few details below and we’ll provide an estimate.

What does a plug-in solar panel kit include?

A standard plug-in solar kit includes two panels, each with a peak capacity of 400-450 watts (W).

These monocrystalline panels are around 22-25% efficient, which is just as good as regular rooftop panels, with the same sleek, black, modern look – but they're lighter, so they can be safely hung on balconies or walls.

Unfortunately, they likely won't receive as much light on your balcony as they would on your roof, and will therefore produce less electricity.

When you're buying a package, you'll be able to choose between different types of metal brackets, depending on whether you’re putting the panels on a balcony, in your garden, or on a wall.

The kit will also include an installation guide, safety instructions, and an 800W microinverter (more on this further down). Once the regulations change, this microinverter will be safe to plug into a standard three-pin socket, with no extra electrical work.

When will plug-in solar panels be available in the UK?

It’s not clear exactly when plug-in solar panels will be available for UK households to buy and install, with the government just saying it’ll happen “within months”.

Lorna Wallace-Smith, of solar manufacturer EcoFlow, said that “seeing these systems available in stores by summer would be a major win for households”, but this isn’t a firm date either.

You can technically buy plug-in solar panel kits online right now, but plugging one into your mains socket is currently against regulations.

To be safe, you’d currently have to hire an electrician to hardwire the system to your consumer unit (more on this below).

When they are available, you’ll be able to get these systems from EcoFlow, as well as retailers like Amazon and Lidl. All these companies have worked with the government to bring plug-in solar to the UK.

Who can get plug-in solar panels?

Once the government has updated the regulations around plug-in solar panels, all households should be able to buy and install these systems themselves.

There are around 285,000 flats with balconies in England alone , whose residents could benefit enormously from this rule change.

And considering more than 80% of households in Britain have a private garden or outside space, most people in the country should have somewhere they can install a plug-in system.

However, plug-in solar panels will probably only be a good idea for people who have otherwise been unable to go solar.

If you own your property and have enough roof space, traditional rooftop solar panels are a much better option (more on this below).

Will renters need landlord permission?

Renters will probably need permission from their landlord to put up plug-in solar panels, but the government has indicated that it'll ensure as many tenants as possible can make the move.

Climate minister Katie White told The i Paper in April 2026 that she doesn't think many landlords will say no, but would consider changing the law if it becomes a source of "friction".

Germany's parliament has already taken this step, by passing a law that gives people who live in rented accommodation – more than half the population – the right to plug-in solar.

Tenants still have to ask their landlord, but this request can only be rejected in exceptional circumstances.

Leaseholders may have to go through a similar process, with the added inconvenience of potentially having to pay extra.

It all depends on your lease agreement, which can include one of a few different permission levels. It may also allow your landlord to charge an administration fee.

To learn more about switching to solar as a leaseholder, read our guide to solar panels for leaseholds.

How do plug-in solar panels work?

A plug-in solar panel system usually consists of two panels that you can hang over your balcony, after securing them in place with brackets or hooks.

You could also put a system on your terrace, patio, garden, or even suspend it on a wall.

Whatever location you choose, just make sure your panels are as unobstructed by shade as possible, to maximise their electricity production.

Each set of plug-in solar panels comes with a microinverter that connects to your panels and plugs into a mains socket. In contrast, most rooftop systems use a standard string inverter.

This does mean you’ll either need a socket outside, or to find a way to feed a wire through your home’s wall, so the microinverter can plug into an inside socket.

Your system will be productive throughout the day, as the photons present in sunlight dislodge electrons in your panels’ silicon atoms, generating Direct Current (DC) electricity.

This electricity flows through your microinverter, which converts it into Alternating Current (AC) electricity and feeds it to your home via the mains socket.

The UK is modelling its approach on the German standard, which sets an 800W AC output limit on the microinverter. A typical German system uses two 400-450W panels and one 800W microinverter.

And in the event of a power cut, your system will automatically shut down. This is called 'anti-islanding', and is a crucial safety feature for engineers working on power lines.

What happens to the excess energy?

Just like their rooftop counterparts, plug-in solar panels will sometimes produce more electricity than your home needs – especially in summer.

When this happens, your inverter will send any excess electricity to the grid.

Unfortunately, you won’t be able to sign up for any solar export tariffs, as these require MCS or Flexi-Orb certification – so you won't be paid anything for this exported energy.

This is a serious drawback of plug-in solar panels, since export income is one of the main financial benefits of rooftop solar, netting households hundreds of pounds per year.

However, there is a solution: you can store most of this excess electricity by adding a battery (more on this below).

How much do plug-in solar panels cost?

A standard system with two 400W panels and a microinverter costs around £500.

£500 isn’t cheap, but it’s certainly a lot less than the cost of rooftop panels and a battery, which is around £11,000 for a typical household.

Naturally, the price can change depending on how many panels you get and how powerful they are – though there’s not much point getting more than two 400-450W panels, since your inverter will be capped at 800W.

The location of your panels can also affect the price, as you'll need specialised mounting equipment for different places. Here’s a bit more detail on that.

Unfortunately, the 0% VAT rate doesn't apply to plug-in solar panels.

Any solar hardware that you buy or install yourself is excluded – so you'll pay the standard 20% rate.

Can you get a battery as well?

Some companies, like EcoFlow, already sell battery storage alongside (or integrated into) their plug-in solar panel systems.

If a battery is built into the system, like the EcoFlow STREAM with its power station add-on, it's likely to be considered part of the same plug-in unit.

We can therefore assume it'd be fine to install yourself, since the battery would sit between the panels and the socket, meaning you wouldn't be wiring anything into your consumer unit.

But we'll only know for sure whether consumers are allowed to get a battery with their plug-in system when the BSI publishes its new product standard, likely in July 2026.

You should definitely consider getting a battery if you can, since it allows you to maximise how much of your solar electricity you use at home, further reducing how much you have to buy from the grid.

It also ensures that all your excess energy doesn’t just get exported to the grid for free.

To give you some idea of pricing, you can currently get a 1.92kWh EcoFlow battery for around £800.

How much can you save with plug-in solar panels?

You can save more than £100 per year with plug-in solar panels.

A plug-in solar panel is unlikely to produce as much energy as a roof-mounted panel, since all the most common installation locations – a balcony, outside space, or wall – don’t usually come with the optimum angle of 40°.

But EcoFlow has said its standard system, with two 400W panels and a microinverter, “can help you save up to £115 per year on energy costs.”

And the government has told Sunsave that you can reduce your energy bills by up to £70-£110 with plug-in solar panels.

With kits costing about £500, you should break even in roughly five to nine years – and that payback period will shrink if energy bills continue to rise.

These savings could be much higher if you add a battery to your system. Your upfront cost would also rise though, which could extend your break-even period.

Savings with a proper rooftop solar & battery system are significantly better though, so it’s worth considering this instead if you own your home and have a suitable roof (more on this below).

To find out how much you could save with rooftop panels, pop your details below and we'll provide an estimate.

Is your balcony suitable for plug-in solar?

Whether your balcony is suitable depends on a few factors, which can determine whether plug-in solar panels will save you enough money to make them worth it.

Firstly, much like rooftop panels, a plug-in system isn't a good idea in the UK if it has to face north. South is ideal, and east or west are also acceptable.

Your plug-in solar savings will also take a hit if there's any unavoidable shading on your balcony.

This will reduce the output of the affected panel – and since systems comprise two panels sharing one microinverter, any shade on one panel will cut the other one's output as well.

A large building or tree between your panels and the sun could make any solar installation pointless, so make sure you assess your balcony before buying.

For more information, read our full guide to solar panel shading.

What regulations are changing?

The government is updating the regulations so that people can self-install plug-in solar panels without having to pay an electrician or submit a G98 application.

The current regulations allow you to get a plug-in solar panel system today, but to install it, you’ll need to hire an electrician to set up a ‘dedicated circuit’.

Your microinverter would still connect to your home, but instead of slotting into a standard plug socket, it’d require its own circuit.

This is disruptive and expensive, since it means finding and paying an electrician, who’ll charge you for all the additional gear they install in your home – which could include an upgraded consumer unit.

They would also currently need to send a G98 notification to your Distribution Network Operator (DNO) – the body that runs the hardware supplying your area with electricity – which is also factored into the price.

The current wiring regulations (BS 7671) were created with the assumption that domestic electricity, travelling through standard wires, only flows in one direction: from the grid, through your meter, to your home.

Plug-in solar breaks that assumption, causing safety issues – but thankfully, Germany has already solved this problem.

What are the new rules?

Germany discovered that by keeping the inverter’s wattage limit to a low enough level – 800W, currently – the risks are manageable within standard domestic wiring.

It’s estimated that the British Standards Institution (BSI) will publish the UK’s new product standard for plug-in solar panels in July, but there's no firm date yet.

The UK is explicitly modelling its approach on Germany, which permits systems of a certain size to connect to household mains without a dedicated circuit, with the safety burden shifted onto the inverter.

Manufacturers must ensure inverters don't push more electricity than wires can handle, include a feature that shuts them down in a power cut (‘anti-islanding’), and guard against plug prongs electrocuting anyone when they’re unplugged.

If these boxes are ticked, households will be able to plug in a microinverter that’s no larger than 800W. Your panels, however, could add up to more than 800W, as installers will usually recommend your inverter be 80% to 90% the size of your system.

Plug-in solar vs rooftop panels

While a plug-in solar panel system could save you more than £100, a typical home with rooftop solar panels and a battery could cut your bills by more than £1,100 per year.

In fact, the average home could reduce its electricity bills by 86% with a solar & battery system, which is based on a sample of over 150 systems installed by Sunsave in 2024.

This is partly because rooftop systems include many more panels – often between 10 and 12 – rather than just two, and also due to roofs usually offering better conditions for solar production (e.g. a better angle and minimal shade).

A larger system with better-positioned panels means more electricity, which you can use to replace a substantial chunk of the power you buy from the grid.

You can also sell all your excess electricity to the grid by using one of the best export tariffs, which you can’t do with plug-in systems, since they’re not included in the Smart Export Guarantee. 

Your battery will help you maximise your returns, especially as you can use it to take advantage of time-of-use tariffs and virtual power plants.

So if you own your property and have suitable roof space – and you can afford it – traditional rooftop panels and a battery are a much better choice than plug-in solar.

If you’re wondering how much you could save with a rooftop solar & battery system, enter a few details below and we’ll provide an estimate.

Are plug-in solar panels worth it?

Plug-in solar panels are a great way to cut your electricity bills if you can’t go solar in any other way.

They’re increasingly popular in Germany, and make sense for anyone who has some outside space and an available nearby socket, can afford the roughly £500 price tag, and can’t currently get rooftop panels.

You can also easily take them with you when you move.

It’s not clear when retailers like Lidl and Amazon will start selling them in the UK, but summer 2026 is the current estimate.

Plug-in solar: FAQs