1. What changed in 2026 (and what did not)
Three documents matter for plug-in solar in the UK, and they move on different timelines:
| Document | What it does | Status (31 May 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| BS 1363-1:2023 | Governs UK 13A plugs, sockets and adaptors. BS 7671 A4 carves an exception for BSI-certified plug-in solar. | In force, unchanged |
| BS 7671:2018+A4:2026 | The IET Wiring Regulations, 18th Edition Amendment 4. Governs how electrical installations are designed, protected and tested in UK buildings. | Published 15 Apr 2026 |
| BSI plug-in solar product standard | Product specification for plug-in solar kits. Once published, it makes the BS 7671 A4 plug-in route usable in practice. | Expected Jul 2026 |
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 forthcoming BSI plug-in solar product standard. Regulation 551.7.1 is redrafted for bidirectional energy flow and 551.7.2 requires generating sets on the supply side of protective devices. Maximum per home is 800W AC peak.
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. So as of 31 May 2026, the regulatory framework for plug-in solar via a standard plug is in place. What is missing is the BSI standard publishing on or close to its expected July 2026 date, and the first kit being certified to it. Until that happens, no certified plug-in solar kit yet exists in the UK, so the practical install for buyers today still defaults to a hardwired connection by a CPS-registered electrician.
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?
The picture as of 31 May 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 hardwired install route is the only route usable in practice today. A hardwired install by a CPS-registered electrician, with G98 notification to your local DNO before energising, is compliant under BS 7671:2018+A4:2026 and existing DNO rules.
- The plug-in route is now authorised in regulation but not yet usable. BS 7671 A4 Section 712 authorises plug-in solar via a standard plug for kits meeting the forthcoming BSI plug-in solar product standard. Until the BSI standard publishes (expected July 2026) and the first product is certified, no certified kit yet exists.
3. Do I need an electrician for an 800W plug-in solar kit?
For the compliant install route, yes. 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 matters in practice:
- 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 more useful framing is: under what standards, and with what protective devices, would a self-install satisfy BS 7671 and DNO rules? The honest answer in April 2026 is that the standards do not provide a self-install route via the 13A socket, and a self-install of a hardwired connection requires you to demonstrate competence and to notify the relevant authority under Building Regulations. In practice, that 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.
1Protection against electric shock
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 Section 415. Earthing and bonding fall under Chapter 41 / Section 411.
For a hardwired PV install, the dedicated final circuit on the consumer unit is designed and protected to those rules, with the protective device chosen against the inverter's manufacturer guidance. For a 13A-socket plug-in, the existing socket circuit was not designed as a generation circuit, and the protective device was sized for the loads expected to draw current from the socket, not be injected into it. Our visual explainer breaks down how RCBO protection works in a plug-in solar home.
2Connection of generating equipment
Section 712 of BS 7671 covers solar PV power supply systems. Chapter 82 covers prosumer's low-voltage electrical installations. Section 551 covers low-voltage generating sets. Together these set the framework for inverter behaviour, anti-islanding, protective devices on the PV side, and how the PV circuit connects into the rest of the installation.
The recognised UK route is a dedicated final circuit from the consumer unit to the microinverter, with appropriate AC-side isolation and labelling, and (for kits with DC-side wiring) DC-side isolation per Section 712. A 13A-plug-fed install does not produce that documented circuit topology.
3Overcurrent and backfeed risk
Chapter 43 of BS 7671 covers protection against overcurrent. Standard ring final circuits and radial socket-outlet circuits are designed with the circuit protective device (typically a 32A or 20A MCB or RCBO) sized for current flowing out from the consumer unit to the loads.
Injecting AC into the same circuit from the plug end means the protective device is no longer guaranteed to see all of the current passing through the conductors. With multiple loads on the circuit, the conductors can carry more current than the device protects, particularly in parts of the circuit upstream of the injection point. This is one of the reasons UK industry guidance has historically not endorsed using a 13A socket for backfeed, irrespective of how small the generator is.
4Isolation and switching
Chapter 46 of BS 7671 covers isolation and switching. A hardwired PV install must have an accessible AC isolator and, where DC wiring is present, a DC isolator, both labelled and located so an electrician or first-responder can safely de-energise the system. Section 712 sets specific requirements for PV isolation.
For a 13A-socket plug-in, "isolation" is the user pulling the plug out of the wall. That is not a labelled, fixed point of isolation, and it is not what the standard envisages for a generating source on the AC side of the installation.
5External influences
Chapter 51 of BS 7671 covers external influences: water ingress (BB classification), ambient temperature (AA), mechanical impact (AG), solar UV and so on. Balcony and garden installs typically need IP-rated enclosures and connectors, UV-resistant cable jacketing, and mechanical fixings designed for wind loading.
Cable routing between an outdoor balcony installation and an indoor consumer unit must avoid trapping in window frames, must not compromise fire stopping, and on flats above 11m or 18m must be considered against the relevant building safety regime. The CPS electrician designs to those constraints; a self-installed cable run through a window seal is not compliant with Chapter 51 even before the rest of the standard is considered.
6Labelling and identification
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 any DC isolator, and circuit labelling on the consumer unit to identify the PV final circuit.
The notices exist so that a future electrician working on the installation, or a fire-and-rescue responder attending the property, can see at a glance that the building has on-site generation. A plug-in via a wall socket cannot meet these requirements through a wall plate.
7Inspection, testing and verification
Chapter 64 and Part 6 of BS 7671 cover initial verification before energising and periodic inspection afterwards. Initial verification includes continuity of protective conductors, insulation resistance, polarity, ADS verification, and RCD operation. The CPS electrician records the results on the installation certificate.
Subsequent inspections (commonly every five or ten years for domestic installations, depending on use) are recorded on an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR). A 13A-socket plug-in does not produce an installation certificate that an inspector can refer to during a future EICR. That makes it harder to prove the install met the standard at the time it was energised.
8G98, G99 and DNO coordination
The Energy Networks Association engineering recommendations sit alongside BS 7671 for the connection of generation. EREC G98 applies to small generators up to 16A per phase per installation: most 600W and 800W single-phase plug-in kits. EREC G99 applies above that.
G98 is a notify-after-install process for type-tested equipment: the inverter must be on the ENA G98 type-test register, and the installer (or you) submits the form to the local DNO before energising. Connecting an inverter via a 13A socket without G98 notification is a breach of the recommendation regardless of the wiring side. For a deeper walk-through, see the G98 / DNO Guide.
Could product certification close these branches without an electrician?
Everything above describes the compliant route in 2026. There is a separate question worth airing honestly: a growing view in the electrical trade is that several of the eight branches could, in future, be satisfied by the product itself rather than by an installer.
The reasoning sits squarely on Sections 551 (low-voltage generating sets) and 712 (solar PV systems) of BS 7671. Those sections are about how generating equipment behaves: anti-islanding, disconnection, protective response. The trade argument is that if a kit is certified to a rigorous product standard, the inverter's own electronics can guarantee that behaviour, so a certified plug-in product plus a sound, RCD-protected circuit could deliver a safe connection by engineering rather than by a bespoke installation. That is broadly the path Germany took, and it would not require BS 1363 to be rewritten from scratch.
The concern this has to answer is the obvious one: could a plug pin be live during backfeed and electrocute someone? A product certified for the purpose would have to prove rapid shutdown, anti-islanding, automatic disconnect, no exposed live pins, export limiting, compliant voltage and frequency behaviour, and safe operation on ring final circuits. If those are hard certification requirements, the live-pin scenario is engineered out.
Two honest caveats. First, this is a direction, not a decision: as of 22 May 2026 the UK Government has not confirmed a DIY route, a mechanism, or a date, so the compliant route today remains a CPS-certified electrician with a hardwired connection. Second, the branch a certified product cannot fix on its own is protection: many older UK homes do not have modern RCBO or RCD protection on every circuit, and adding it is an electrician's job. A safe kit does not make an unprotected 1960s ring circuit safe. The dated, primary-source view of where this could go is on the BSI 2026 Tracker.
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.
A non-permanent kit is the more realistic route for most UK renters in 2026, especially in flats. For a deeper read on the renter-specific options, see the Renter Guide.
6. Quick compliance checklist
This is the question set I would walk through with a CPS electrician before signing off a plug-in solar install in the UK in 2026. None of these items replace the certificate the electrician produces; they make sure you and they are on the same page before the survey visit.
- The kit's microinverter is on the ENA G98 type-test register, or the manufacturer has confirmed equivalent UK testing.
- 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.
- 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 arrangements for the PV final circuit have been confirmed in writing against BS 7671 Chapter 41 / Section 415.
- The installer will submit G98 notification to the local DNO before the system is energised, and will give you a copy of the submission.
- 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 install certificate and G98 confirmation kept with the buildings policy documents.
7. Common myths vs facts
| Common claim | Reality | Where it goes wrong |
|---|---|---|
| BS 7671 Amendment 4 made plug-in solar DIY-legal in April 2026. | Conditionally | Section 712 of A4 (published 15 April 2026) authorises plug-in solar via a standard plug for kits meeting the forthcoming BSI plug-in solar product standard. The standard has not yet published, so no certified kit yet exists. Until then, the route is in regulation but cannot be used in practice. |
| If a kit is certified to VDE-AR-N 4105, it is automatically legal in the UK. | No | VDE-AR-N 4105 is a German technical connection rule. The UK uses ENA EREC G98/G99 for grid connection and BS 7671 for wiring. The German certification helps but is not a substitute for UK rules. |
| I just plug into the wall and notify the DNO under G98. | Once BSI publishes | Under BS 7671 A4, a BSI-certified plug-in kit may be connected via a standard plug and notified to the DNO under G98 (with Ofgem consulting on a simplified G98 for sub-800W type-tested equipment, taking effect in 2027). Until the BSI standard publishes and a kit is certified, the existing G98 hardwired-route remains the only usable option. |
| An 800W kit can use a standard 13A socket because 800W is well below 13A capacity. | For BSI-certified kits | The capacity argument is correct in isolation. The direction-of-energy-flow concern is addressed in BS 7671 A4 Section 712 for kits certified to the forthcoming BSI plug-in solar product standard. For non-certified kits, the direction-of-flow concern still applies. |
| Renters cannot have plug-in solar in the UK. | Partly | A non-permanent kit with no electrical connection into the property's wiring does not engage BS 7671 the way a hardwired install does. A hardwired install requires landlord consent. |
| I should wait until July 2026 to buy a kit. | Worth considering | The hardwired install route exists today and is fully compliant. Waiting until the BSI standard publishes means you can buy a kit that is BSI-certified, and your install can use the new plug-in route under BS 7671 A4 without a CPS-registered electrician for the connection itself. |
| BS 7671 is the law. | No | BS 7671 is a British Standard, not a statute. It is referenced indirectly through the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 and Building Regulations Part P. Non-compliance is unlikely to satisfy the duty-holder obligations under those regulations. |
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
- BSI: standards programme and announcements (plug-in solar product standard)
- 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
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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.
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Yes, conditionally. BS 7671:2018+A4:2026 was published on 15 April 2026 by the IET and BSI. It updates Section 712 to authorise plug-in solar via a standard plug for kits meeting the forthcoming BSI plug-in solar product standard, up to 800W AC peak. Until the BSI standard publishes (expected July 2026) and the first product is certified, no certified kit yet exists, so the plug-in route cannot be used in practice. Until then, the compliant install today is still a CPS-registered electrician with a hardwired connection plus G98 notification.
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For a compliant install, yes. The recognised UK route is 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. A non-permanent kit placed on a balcony for sun exposure but not energised through the wiring system is a different question.
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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. The installer or you submits the form to the local DNO before energising, listing the inverter against the ENA G98 type-test register. See the G98 / DNO Guide for a full walk-through.
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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.
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Standards apply the same way to renters as to homeowners. A non-permanent kit placed on a balcony with no fixings and no electrical connection back into the property does not engage BS 7671. A hardwired install does, and 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.
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The BSI plug-in solar product standard, expected to publish in 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 BSI product standard does not on its own override BS 7671 or BS 1363. See the BSI 2026 Tracker for dated status.
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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.
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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.
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Not directly. Germany's Solarpaket I (May 2024) raised the plug-in feed-in limit to 800W and authorised the Schuko plug as an inlet, alongside German wiring rules. The UK is taking the product-standard route first via BSI, expected July 2026. There is no announced UK amendment to BS 1363 that would authorise using a 13A wall socket as an inlet for externally generated power. The full Schuko to BSI route comparison sets the two paths side by side.
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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