UK · plug-in and balcony solar
Is plug-in solar worth it for your home?
Four quick questions, then a straight answer. We run a full year of sunshine for your postcode against real UK homes like yours. No sign-up, and nothing you type leaves your browser.
What you'll get
A straight yes or no, with the yearly saving and the payback in years.
How much of the output your home would actually use, month by month, and whether a battery would help.
Kits on the ENA register ranked by how fast they pay back in your home, mount included, never by commission.
Why our answer can differ from others
A plug-in kit only saves money on the electricity your home uses while the sun is on the panels. Most calculators guess that share. We work it out: your panels' output for every hour of a typical year at your postcode, run against 10-minute readings from real UK homes from the University of Edinburgh's IDEAL study, picked by whether someone is usually home in the day. You see the middle and the range across those homes.
Our yearly output figures agree with the EU's PVGIS tool to within 6% on all 36 test setups we publish, worked out for six towns our calibration never saw. See the method, the sources and the checks.
What the rules say
- Since 27 August 2026 you can plug solar panels into a socket in England, Scotland and Wales, if the kit meets the government's Plug-in Solar Device Interim Product Specification (SI 2026/848, specification).
- The kit's inverter can put out at most 800 W. The panels can add up to 2,000 W.
- Only one plug-in kit per ring circuit in your home.
- The plug-in route is for solar without batteries: a kit must not be used with a battery. A battery needs a conventional installation.
- The rules don't cover Northern Ireland.
- A kit must be listed as compliant on ENA's device register (Connect Direct, which replaced the Type Test Register) before it is sold. Only installers and manufacturers can search it, so ask the seller for the kit's ENA reference; we list only kits whose seller prints it.
Checked against SI 2026/848 on legislation.gov.uk and the specification on gov.uk on 30 October 2026. Unit rates are Ofgem's price cap for October to December 2026.
Questions
Is plug-in solar legal in the UK?
In England, Scotland and Wales, yes, since 27 August 2026, if the kit meets the government’s Plug-in Solar Device Interim Product Specification. Its inverter can put out at most 800 W, though the panels can be bigger. The rules do not cover Northern Ireland.
How much will a plug-in solar kit save me?
It depends most on how much of its output your home uses as it is made, because anything you don’t use is usually exported unpaid. That depends on what runs in your home in the day, and on whether someone is usually in. Direction, shade, your unit rate and the kit’s price matter too. The calculator above works it out for your postcode and habits.
Do I get paid for the electricity I send to the grid?
Usually not. Ofgem’s Smart Export Guarantee asks for the installation and the installer to be certified (MCS or equivalent), which a kit you plug in yourself isn’t, so we assume 0p. If your supplier does pay you for export, enter the rate and the answer updates.
Is it worth adding a battery?
Batteries are not part of the plug-in rules, so one needs a conventional installation. A battery lets you use more of your own solar in the evening, but conversion losses and its own standby draw eat into that. Switch the battery on in your results to see both sides for your home.
Does plug-in solar work in winter?
It makes far less. Across Britain a panel produces several times more in June than in December, and upright balcony panels hold up a little better in winter than tilted ones. Your results include a month-by-month chart.
Why do plug-in solar calculators disagree so much?
Mostly because of the share of the output a home uses as it is generated. Many tools assume a fixed percentage or a steady background load. We run your panels against 10-minute electricity readings from real UK homes, chosen by whether someone is usually home in the day, and show the range across them.