BS 7671 Amendment 4 and Plug-In Solar in the UK

1. What changed in 2026 (and what did not)

Four documents matter for plug-in solar in the UK, and they arrived on different dates:

Amendment 4 to BS 7671 is the load-bearing change. Section 712 was updated to acknowledge that small-scale PV connected via a standard plug does not require a dedicated spur or an MCS-certified installer, provided the kit meets the DESNZ Interim Product Specification, published as v2.0 on 16 July 2026. Regulation 551.7.1 is redrafted for bidirectional energy flow and 551.7.2 requires generating sets on the supply side of protective devices. The maximum per household is 800 VA and 3.5 A, one device, with PV DC input allowed up to 2000W.

The UK Government confirmed the route on 15 March 2026 through a DESNZ written ministerial statement (announced publicly on 24 March 2026), and paired it with a £25m low-income pilot announced on 21 April 2026. The register opened on 18 and 19 August 2026, when four UKSOL kits were listed as Compliant. SI 2026 No. 848 came into force on 27 August 2026. The route is therefore live. As of today forty-eight kits from thirteen manufacturers are listed as Compliant, 15 of them are on sale, and the cheapest was £432 when we last read the price at the seller. A buyer with a listed kit plugs it into a 13A socket and self-notifies afterwards. A buyer with an unlisted kit still uses a hardwired connection by a CPS-registered electrician.

One correction worth making plainly, because we got it wrong for months and so did most coverage. The switch that turned this on was not a forthcoming BSI product standard. That route was abandoned. What opened it was the Interim Product Specification, then the G98 amendment, then the statutory instrument.

For the dated standards-tracker view, including the timeline of milestones and primary-source links, see the BSI 2026 Tracker.

2. Is plug-in solar legal in the UK in 2026?

Yes. The picture as of 15 September 2026 has three layers:

• The product can be sold in the UK. A retailer can list an 800W plug-in solar kit for sale in the UK today, the same way they could in 2025.
• The plug-in route is live for listed kits. BS 7671 A4 Section 712 authorises plug-in solar via a standard plug for kits meeting the DESNZ Interim Product Specification v2.0, and SI 2026 No. 848 made that lawful from 27 August 2026. If your exact model shows Compliant on the ENA G98 Type Test Register, you may plug it into an ordinary 13A socket yourself and self-notify your network operator afterwards under EREC G98 Issue 2 Amendment 1. Check by model code, not by brand.
• The hardwired route is now the route for unlisted kits. Until 27 August 2026 it was the only compliant route for anyone. A hardwired install by a CPS-registered electrician, with G98 notification to your local DNO before energising, remains compliant under BS 7671:2018+A4:2026 and existing DNO rules, and it is what a kit outside the register needs.

3. Do I need an electrician for an 800W plug-in solar kit?

Only if the kit is not on the ENA G98 Type Test Register. Since 27 August 2026 a kit showing Compliant on that register may be plugged into an ordinary 13A socket by the householder, with no electrician, no prior permission and a self-notification to the network operator afterwards. That is the whole process.

Until 27 August 2026 the answer to this question was yes for everyone, and it is still yes for a kit that is not listed. In that case a CPS-certified electrician (Competent Person Scheme registered with NICEIC, NAPIT, ELECSA, Stroma or equivalent) carries out and self-certifies the work under BS 7671 and Building Regulations Part P, where Part P applies. The electrician produces a Minor Works Certificate or Electrical Installation Certificate which becomes the document your insurer, your DNO and any future buyer of the property will refer to.

Why the CPS route still matters for an unlisted kit:

• Insurance. Home insurers can decline claims involving electrical incidents where the work was not carried out to BS 7671. A CPS certificate is usually the easiest evidence that the install meets the standard.
• DNO notification. G98 notification asks for the inverter type, the installer, and the install date. The form expects an installer who can stand behind the work.
• Future home sale. Conveyancing searches now routinely flag generation equipment. A documented BS 7671 install with G98 confirmation is much easier to evidence than a self-installed plug-in.
• Resale and warranty. Many manufacturers tie warranty to a documented professional install.

If the question is "can I do this myself", the answer now depends entirely on the register. Until 27 August 2026 the standards did not provide a self-install route via the 13A socket at all. They do now, for a listed kit, and the self-notification replaces the installer's submission. For an unlisted kit nothing has changed: a self-install of a hardwired connection requires you to demonstrate competence and to notify the relevant authority under Building Regulations, which in practice is the CPS electrician's job.

4. The eight wiring branches that decide compliance

Compliance for a plug-in solar install in the UK is not a single rule. It sits across eight branches of BS 7671, plus the DNO rules that sit around it. The list below is structured around the questions a CPS electrician will work through during design and verification. I cite chapter and section names rather than specific regulation numbers because regulation numbers can shift between amendments; the chapter and section structure is stable.

Read this section with the register in mind. For a kit listed as Compliant, the type testing against the DESNZ Interim Product Specification v2.0 is what satisfies the generation-side branches, which is why no electrician is needed to connect it. The detail below is still the right map of the standard, and it is the design work an electrician does for a kit that is not listed. It is also worth reading either way for one reason: the branches it cannot settle for you are the condition and protection of the circuit the kit is plugged into.

eFIXX: We Tested Plug-In Solar. The Industry Got This Wrong. Anti-islanding tests start around 5:00, the oscilloscope shutdown demonstration around 9:30.

What the video adds to the wiring-regs picture. eFIXX measures the inverter shutdown on grid loss at just over half a cycle of AC waveform, roughly 10 milliseconds, well inside the 0.5-second loss-of-mains requirement in G98. They demonstrate the protection on an older RCBO not marked as bidirectional, which addresses the second worry electricians raise about reverse power flow through legacy protective devices. They also flag the risk the industry argument tends to skip: the real failure mode is not the certified inverter, it is the rest of the installation, an old socket circuit without modern RCD protection, an extension lead, a damp outdoor adapter, or panels that are not securely fixed and become wind-loaded projectiles. None of that is a product problem. It is an installation problem, and BS 7671 already covers it.

5. Plug-in solar for renters

Plug-in solar gets pitched as renter-friendly because it does not, in principle, require permanent fixings. The standards apply to renters and homeowners equally; tenancy status does not change what BS 7671 requires.

Two practical scenarios for renters:

• Non-permanent kit, no electrical connection back into the property. A panel placed on a balcony or patio for sun exposure, with the inverter and any storage running self-contained loads (a portable power station, for example, charged from the panel) does not engage BS 7671 in the way a hardwired install does. The standards governing the equipment still apply, and tenancy agreements may still restrict the placement.
• Hardwired connection back into the property's wiring. Engages BS 7671 in full, requires a CPS electrician, and requires landlord consent. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 sets out the framework for asking for permission for energy improvements; landlords are not obliged to agree, and any consent should ideally be in writing before the install begins.

Since 27 August 2026 there is a third scenario, and for most renters it is the useful one: a kit listed as Compliant on the ENA G98 Type Test Register, plugged into an existing socket with no fixings into the fabric of the building and no alteration to the wiring. No electrician is involved and you self-notify the network operator afterwards. That does not override your tenancy agreement, so check what it says about balconies, external fixings and alterations, and I would still tell the landlord in writing. For a deeper read on the renter-specific options, see the Renter Guide.

6. Quick compliance checklist

Start with the first item, because it decides which of the two routes you are on. If the exact model shows Compliant on the register, the short version is: plug it in, self-notify afterwards, and only items one, six, eight, nine and ten below apply to you. The rest is the question set I would walk through with a CPS electrician before signing off a hardwired install of an unlisted kit.

• The exact model, checked by model code rather than by brand, is listed as Compliant on the ENA G98 Type Test Register. If it is, no electrician is needed and you plug it into an ordinary 13A socket, then self-notify. If it is not, the remaining items apply.
• For an unlisted kit, the installer is CPS-certified (NICEIC, NAPIT, ELECSA, Stroma or equivalent) and confirms they will issue a Minor Works or Electrical Installation Certificate to BS 7671:2018+A4:2026.
• For an unlisted kit, the install will be hardwired to a dedicated final circuit on the consumer unit, not via a 13A socket.
• The installer will fit an accessible, labelled AC isolator, plus DC-side isolation if the kit has DC wiring exposed at the building.
• The installer will fit the dual-supply warning notice at the consumer unit and circuit labelling per Section 514 of BS 7671.
• RCD protection on the circuit has been confirmed against BS 7671 Chapter 41 / Section 415. For a hardwired install that means the PV final circuit, confirmed in writing. For a listed plug-in kit it means the socket circuit you are using, which in an older property is the one thing worth having checked.
• G98 notification is done. For a listed plug-in kit you self-notify your network operator after connecting, under EREC G98 Issue 2 Amendment 1, and you keep a copy. For a hardwired install the installer submits it before the system is energised and gives you a copy.
• Outdoor enclosures, connectors and cable are IP-rated and UV-rated, and the cable route does not breach window seals or fire stopping.
• If you rent, you have written landlord consent before the install date.
• The home insurer has been notified, with the register listing or install certificate and the G98 confirmation kept with the buildings policy documents.

7. Common myths vs facts

8. Sources and methodology

This page is built from publicly available primary sources. Where a claim could be read more than one way, I prefer the more conservative interpretation and flag the uncertainty. Where I have used "based on public guidance" or "subject to manufacturer certification", that is deliberate, because the underlying document leaves the call to the qualified electrician and to the kit's certification.

• IET: BS 7671 Wiring Regulations (18th Edition) Amendment 4:2026 (publication and summary)
• BSI: BS 1363-1:2023, specification for 13A plugs, socket-outlets and adaptors
• DESNZ Interim Product Specification v2.0, published 16 July 2026: 800 VA and 3.5 A cap, one device per household, PV DC up to 2000W, batteries out of scope.
• EREC G98 Issue 2 Amendment 1, approved by Ofgem on 11 August 2026 under DCRP/MP/26/02, effective 27 August 2026.
• SI 2026 No. 848, amending the Plugs and Sockets etc. (Safety) Regulations 1994 and the ESQCR 2002, in force 27 August 2026.
• ENA G98 Type Test Register, our dated reading of the listings, last read 15 September 2026.
• Energy Networks Association: ENA EREC G98 (small generator connection)
• Energy Networks Association: ENA EREC G99 (larger generator connection)
• GOV.UK: Building Regulations Approved Document P (Electrical safety, dwellings)
• Legislation.gov.uk: The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989
• UK Government press release, 24 March 2026: "Government to make plug-in solar available within months" (commits to updating G98 and BS 7671)
• UK Government press releases on plug-in solar (Government Solar Roadmap context)

Methodology: I cite chapters and named sections rather than specific regulation numbers because numbering can shift between amendments. Where Amendment 4 has changed the detail of a rule, I describe the chapter or section it sits in and link to the IET summary. Corrections welcome at [email protected] and will be applied within seven days.

9. Frequently asked questions

• Is BS 7671 a law in the UK?
  BS 7671 is a British Standard, not a statute. It is the standard the UK industry treats as the practical baseline for safe electrical installations, and it is referenced indirectly through the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 and Building Regulations Part P. In practice, an installation that does not comply with BS 7671 is unlikely to satisfy the duty-holder obligations under those regulations.
• Did BS 7671 Amendment 4 make plug-in solar DIY-legal in the UK?
  Yes, conditionally, though Amendment 4 was not the last step. BS 7671:2018+A4:2026 was published on 15 April 2026 by the IET and BSI, updating Section 712 to authorise plug-in solar via a standard plug for kits meeting the DESNZ Interim Product Specification, up to 800 VA. The specification was published as v2.0 on 16 July 2026, Ofgem approved EREC G98 Issue 2 Amendment 1 on 11 August 2026, and SI 2026 No. 848 came into force on 27 August 2026. 48 kits from 13 manufacturers are now listed as Compliant on the ENA G98 Type Test Register, so the plug-in route is usable with a listed kit, checked by model code. Until 27 August 2026 the only compliant install was a CPS-registered electrician with a hardwired connection plus G98 notification, and that route now applies only to kits that are not on the register.
• Do I need an electrician for an 800W plug-in solar kit in the UK?
  Only if the kit is not on the ENA G98 Type Test Register. Since 27 August 2026 a kit showing Compliant on that register may be plugged into an ordinary 13A socket by the householder and self-notified to the network operator afterwards, with no electrician and no prior permission. For an unlisted kit the recognised route is unchanged: a hardwired connection from the microinverter to a dedicated circuit on the consumer unit, completed by a CPS-certified (Competent Person Scheme) electrician under BS 7671:2018+A4:2026, with G98 notification to the local DNO before energising.
• What is G98 notification?
  G98 is the Energy Networks Association engineering recommendation that covers the connection of small generators (up to 16A per phase per installation) to the public low-voltage network. For a typical 600W or 800W plug-in solar kit installed on a single phase, G98 is the relevant notification. Under EREC G98 Issue 2 Amendment 1, approved by Ofgem on 11 August 2026 and effective 27 August 2026, a householder connecting a kit listed as Compliant on the ENA G98 Type Test Register self-notifies after connecting. For a hardwired install of an unlisted kit, the installer submits the form before energising. See the G98 / DNO Guide for a full walk-through.
• What does BS 7671 require for protection against electric shock on a PV circuit?
  Chapter 41 of BS 7671 covers protection against electric shock. The framework is automatic disconnection of supply (ADS), with additional protection by a 30 mA RCD on socket-outlet circuits up to 32A under Chapter 41 / Section 415. For a hardwired PV install, the dedicated final circuit on the consumer unit is designed and protected to those rules. The exact device choice is a matter for the qualified electrician carrying out the work.
• Can renters install plug-in solar in the UK?
  Yes. Standards apply the same way to renters as to homeowners, and since 27 August 2026 the useful route for most renters is a kit listed as Compliant on the ENA G98 Type Test Register, plugged into an existing socket with no fixings into the building and no alteration to the wiring. Your tenancy agreement still governs balconies and external fixings, so read it and tell the landlord in writing. A hardwired install of an unlisted kit needs landlord consent in addition to the electrician and G98 notification. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 sets out the framework for asking permission for energy improvements; landlords are not obliged to agree.
• What is the DESNZ Interim Product Specification, and how does it relate to BS 7671?
  The DESNZ Interim Product Specification, published on 16 July 2026, is a product specification: it sets out what a compliant plug-in solar product must do at the level of the kit. BS 7671 is an installation standard: it covers how the wiring inside a UK building must be designed, protected and tested. They are different documents covering different things. The Interim Product Specification does not on its own override BS 7671 or BS 1363. See the BSI 2026 Tracker for dated status.
• Does BS 7671 Amendment 4 require an AFDD on a PV circuit?
  BS 7671 sets out where Arc Fault Detection Devices are required and where they are recommended. The detail varies by circuit type and use. The decision for a specific installation is the designer's, working from the relevant chapter of BS 7671:2018+A4:2026 and any manufacturer guidance for the kit. Treat any blanket online claim that AFDDs are or are not required as suspect; verify against the current standard.
• Where does BS 7671 require labelling on a PV install?
  Section 514 of BS 7671 covers identification and notices. For a PV install, this typically includes a dual-supply warning notice at the consumer unit, identification of the PV AC isolator, identification of the PV DC isolator where present, and circuit labelling on the consumer unit. The CPS-certified electrician completes these as part of the install.
• Is the UK following Germany's Solarpaket I plug-in solar model?
  Broadly, yes, by a different document chain. Germany's Solarpaket I (May 2024) raised the plug-in feed-in limit to 800W and authorised the Schuko plug as an inlet through primary legislation. The UK took the product-specification route: the DESNZ Interim Product Specification v2.0 (16 July 2026), EREC G98 Issue 2 Amendment 1 (Ofgem approval 11 August 2026) and SI 2026 No. 848 (in force 27 August 2026), which amends the Plugs and Sockets Regulations 1994 and the ESQCR 2002 rather than rewriting BS 1363. The practical outcome for a buyer is now similar: buy a listed kit, plug it in, notify afterwards. The full Schuko to UK route comparison sets the two paths side by side.

Related reading: Solar panels that plug into a socket · BSI 2026 Standards Tracker · G98 / DNO Notification Guide · Complete UK Guide to Plug-In Solar · Renter Guide · UK plug-in solar kits