EcoFlow and Zendure clear the register, and EcoFlow’s entry does not name the balcony mounting Register update: 109 kits approved, only 20 are on sale The price index: a watt of plug-in solar now costs £0.80 Lead times: Argos quotes nine weeks, four sellers quote nothing at all The floor has fallen to £336, for a single 465W panel at a builders’ merchant Octopus Energy cleared the register on 8 September, three weeks before its first deliveries The price index, now in pence per unit: your own electricity costs 2.4p against the 26.32p you pay the grid EcoFlow and Zendure clear the register, and EcoFlow’s entry does not name the balcony mounting Register update: 109 kits approved, only 20 are on sale The price index: a watt of plug-in solar now costs £0.80 Lead times: Argos quotes nine weeks, four sellers quote nothing at all The floor has fallen to £336, for a single 465W panel at a builders’ merchant Octopus Energy cleared the register on 8 September, three weeks before its first deliveries The price index, now in pence per unit: your own electricity costs 2.4p against the 26.32p you pay the grid

Checked 22 September 2026

Independent UK plug-in solar guide

Own Your Energy with Plug-In Solar.

Plug-in solar is legal, and we track every kit approved to plug in. 109 are on the register, only 20 are on sale anywhere, and we read every price on the seller’s own page. We earn nothing from any of them.

Calculate My Savings

Every price read at the seller Updated 22 September 2026 No affiliate links on approved kits

Modelled saving £124 a year on a south-facing 800W kit. Run your postcode →

Market watch

Two big names cleared this week. Most of the register is still not for sale.

109 kits are approved, only 20 are actually on sale, and the cheapest has fallen to £336 without a single seller cutting a price. We read every price on the seller’s own page and publish the index behind it. Here is what has changed since the law came in. See this week’s index.

Two plug-in solar panels mounted on a garden store roof behind a terraced house in the UK — Photo: Thunder Energy

EcoFlow and Zendure are on the register. One mounting is missing.

Both cleared this week and the register has almost doubled in thirteen days. EcoFlow’s entry names the flat roof, facade and pitched roof, and not the balcony it markets hardest. We read the entry, set it against Zendure’s six bracket filings, and put the question to EcoFlow.

Read what the register says →

Plug-in solar panels mounted on a London apartment balcony railing

Buying

The cheapest kits you can legally buy

Five approved kits are now under £500, and three of them carry close to a kilowatt of panel.

Plug-in solar panels on a flat roof behind a UK terraced house — Thunder Energy

Where to buy

Argos quotes nine weeks. Four sellers quote nothing.

Every seller of an approved kit, the wait each one publishes, and the £290 you save collecting in person.

Price index

The floor fell to £336, and the index did not move

Single-panel kits reset the cheapest way in. What a watt costs barely changed. Two different numbers, and most coverage runs them together.

Free Tools

Check your spot, then run your numbers

Two free tools, no sign-up. See whether your balcony gets sun, then get a postcode-level savings estimate.

Shadow Simulator

Will your balcony actually get sun?

Search a postcode, drop a marker, and see real direct-sun hours with buildings and trees included (how we model accuracy).

Try the shadow simulator

Savings Calculator

What would a kit save at your postcode?

PVGIS satellite data for your postcode, your tariff, your setup. A modelled annual saving in about 60 seconds.

Calculate my savings

Where UK plug-in solar actually stands

800 VA

The cap on a compliant kit, set by the final product spec

£124

Modelled yearly saving, south-facing 800W kit

£336

The cheapest approved kit, down from £583 on 28 August

109

Approved kits on the ENA register, of which 20 are actually on sale

London skyline viewed from the Thames on a partly cloudy day - typical UK weather conditions under which balcony solar panels still generate electricity — London’s mixed skies do not stop solar generation. Panels produce from daylight, not only from direct sun, which is why a modelled saving is worth more to you than a peak-output figure. How we track the sun position. Photo: Miguel Rivera via Pexels

The Benefits

What plug-in solar gives you

£124

Annual Savings

A south-facing 800W kit is modelled to save about £124 a year at the current cap. Your roof, your postcode and your tariff all move that number. Run yours.

3–5yr

Payback Period

The cheapest approved kit is £336, so payback lands near three and a half years at the modelled saving. Panels are warrantied well beyond that.

100%

Portable

Designed for renters. Take your panels when you move - nothing left behind.

Approvals needed first

A kit on the register is notified to your network operator after it goes in, not before. The form takes minutes and costs nothing. See the G98 walkthrough.

How It Works

Three steps to your own electricity

Since 27 August 2026 a kit on the ENA G98 register plugs into an ordinary socket. You notify your network operator afterwards, and the notification is a form, not an application.

Check the register, then buy

Check the reference number is on the register before you pay, because compliance attaches to the tested kit and not to the brand. All 109 approved kits, and who actually has them in stock.

Mount it and plug it in

Fix the panels to a balcony railing, a garden fence, a flat roof or a south-facing wall, then plug the kit in. Anything not on the register still needs a CPS-registered electrician and a hardwired connection.

Generate and save

Your system feeds electricity into your home, offsetting what you'd draw from the grid. Watch your bill drop. Understand balcony solar as part of energy resilience.

Read the full guide →

Common Questions

Quick answers

Yes, since 27 August 2026. The Statutory Instrument amending the Plugs and Sockets Regulations 1994 and the ESQCR 2002 came into force that day, and one hundred and nine kits from twenty-four manufacturers are now listed as compliant on the ENA G98 register. A listed kit can be plugged into an ordinary socket and self-notified to your network operator afterwards. For any kit that is not on that register, the compliant route remains a CPS-registered electrician with a hardwired connection.
Yes. Under the Renters' Rights Act 2025, landlords cannot unreasonably refuse a portable system with no structural impact. Take it with you when you move.
The cheapest kit on the approved register is £336 and carries 940W of panel. Most approved kits sit between £430 and £700, and we read every price on the seller’s own page. See what a watt costs this week.
The best defence is layered: cut baseline demand with LEDs, shift appliances to off-peak or solar hours, and generate your own with a balcony kit (self-generated units are immune to price cap rises). Most households get the best return from those first three layers. Read the full strategy →

See all questions →

One email when the register moves

The register now carries 109 approved kits and the cheapest has fallen to £336. We email you when a new kit is approved, when the price index moves, and when a major brand lands. Nothing in between.

One email when the register moves, not a newsletter. Unsubscribe in one click. Questions to [email protected].

Independent UK guidance, now that plug-in solar is real.

Run the calculator for your postcode-level savings, then check the register before you buy. A listed kit plugs into a socket. Anything else needs an electrician.

Run the calculator

City Guides

Real PVGIS irradiance data for your city

Click to see local savings, DNO notification, and renter information for the six largest UK cities we model.

Electricity North West

£171/yr

Bristol

National Grid Electricity Distribution

National Grid Electricity Distribution

£154/yr

Leeds

Northern Powergrid

Free register alert

Be first to know when the next compliant kit lands.

One hundred and nine kits from twenty-four manufacturers are now approved, and the list is changing week by week. I will email you when prices move or a major brand clears the register. One message, no noise.

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