Anker SOLIX has put the Solarbank 4 Pro on pre-sale in the UK from 27th August at a special price of £1,699 via the Anker SOLIX website, with the BP5000 Expansion Battery available from £1,2991. The launch coincides with the date plug-in solar panels became fully legal in the UK, after the government updated electricity safety laws1.
The wider plug-in solar market is small and concentrated. Argos and Screwfix are currently the only two retailers selling plug-in solar panels, with kits starting at £5991. Argos became the first UK retailer to stock them, and its range runs from £599 to £1,1891. UKSOL is described as the only manufacturer licensed to sell plug-in solar panels in the UK at this time, and its registered products carry a 10-year warranty1. Octopus Energy has become the first major UK energy supplier to sell plug-in solar panels1.
Costs across the category vary. The Eco Experts reports plug-in solar panels cost a range from £599 to £1,189, and separately that they now cost an average of £170 (€200) in Germany1. Among the kits listed are the UKSOL 515w Pro Compact Plug In Solar Panel With Hybrid Mount Bundle at £599, the UKSOL 460w Pro Compact Plug In Solar Panel With Ground Mount Bundle at £849, the UKSOL 1030w Pro Plus Plug In Solar Panel With Hybrid Mount Bundle at £899, the UKSOL 1260w Pro Max Plug In Solar Panel With Ground Mount Bundle at £989, and the UKSOL 890w Pro Duo Plug In Solar Panel With Ground Mount Bundle at £1,1991. A Powerxpress 800w Bifacial Plug In Solar Power Kit With 2x 460w Solar Panels and 800w Micro Inverter is listed at £6691.
Each plug-in kit produces a maximum of 800W of power, which the report describes as the 20% the government talks about, and the now fully-legal kits could cover 20% of a household's annual energy needs1. Ministers estimate the average household could save £110 a year1. VAT on plug-in solar panels is currently 20%, while rooftop solar panels have no VAT, which is set to change on 31st March 20271.
"The Anker SOLIX Solarbank 4 Pro is available for pre-sale from today (27th August) at a special price of £1,699 via the Anker SOLIX website."
Why it matters for households
A plug-in kit at the £599 end of the range is a different proposition from a rooftop array: no installation or scaffolding costs, and no grant to apply for, since there are currently no grants dedicated to lowering the cost of plug-in solar panels1. For a household that cannot fund a full rooftop system, or lacks the roof space, a kit rated to a maximum of 800W is a route to generating some electricity on site1.
The practical value depends on how much of the generated electricity is used in the home. Actual savings will vary considerably depending on location, orientation, shading, household consumption, electricity tariffs and, importantly, how much of the electricity generated is used within the home, according to UKSOL's David Moore1. Savings are stated as higher if a kit is combined with a battery and dynamic tariffs1. That is where a unit such as the Solarbank 4 Pro, paired with the BP5000 Expansion Battery, sits: storage rather than generation, holding daytime output for later use.
The comparison with Germany is the clearest signal on price. Plug-in solar has been legal there since 2024, with more than one million installations, and costs have fallen by a third since 2024 to an average of £170 (€200)1. UK prices have not been reported as falling to that level.
What happens next
Wickes, Lidl, Tesco, Aldi and others will soon follow Argos in selling plug-in solar panels, according to the report1. The Warm Homes Plan will come into effect later in the year, but it is unlikely that plug-in solar panels will be included in the scheme1. The 0% VAT treatment of rooftop solar is set to change on 31st March 20271. No date has been reported for general availability of the Solarbank 4 Pro beyond the pre-sale.
Households weighing storage against a plug-in kit can compare typical outlays in home battery cost and portable power station cost, or look at all-in-one battery systems where the battery, inverter and backup sit in one unit. Anker SOLIX's own range is covered under Anker SOLIX portable power stations and home backup batteries.
Sources1 cited
- [](https://www.theecoexperts.co.uk/feed), theecoexperts.co.uk