Plug-in solar panels were approved for use by households in England, Scotland and Wales a few weeks before 25 October 2026, and demand is reported to be rising sharply1. The kits are now sold by high street retailers including Screwfix and Argos for less than £700 each, and Octopus Energy sold out of its first kits within two weeks1.
The rules cap a plug-in system at 800W, and such systems cannot include integrated battery storage, unlike larger professionally installed systems1. That means the electricity has to be used as it is generated rather than stored for later2. Octopus Energy advertises a two-panel kit for £650 and Screwfix sells a comparable two-panel PowerXpress kit for £669; both have two 460W panels and an 800W inverter2. The panels are about the size of a single mattress, 1.8m by 1.1m, and weigh 22kg1. They can be placed in gardens, on outbuildings or on balconies1.
The Energy Saving Trust estimates that an 800W system in Manchester, facing south at a 30 degree tilt without shade, could generate about 700kWh a year1. Using Ofgem's average rate of 26.32p a unit, This is Money calculates that a household using 40 per cent of that output itself would save about £77 a year, giving a payback period of 10.1 years on a £780 outlay1. Its worked example applies a 0.7 factor for a south-facing panel mounted vertically, which reduces usable output to 294kWh1. The same article sets out how payback varies with daytime electricity use and panel position:
| Factor | Rating given |
|---|---|
| Everyone usually out during the day | 40 per cent of output used |
| Somebody home part of the week | 50 per cent |
| Somebody home most days with daytime appliance use | 60 per cent |
| Substantial daytime demand, such as regular EV charging | 75 per cent |
| South-facing, tilted and unshaded | 1.0 |
| East- or west-facing, tilted and unshaded | 0.8 |
| South-facing but mounted vertically | 0.7 |
| Less favourable position | 0.5 |
Source: This is Money1. Its payback bands run from under five years ("gold-standard candidate") to more than 12 years ("poor financial prospect")1.
Simon Bones, founder of Genous Retrofitting, told This is Money that savings are likely to be modest because the government has limited the size and power of plug-in panels1:
MCS, the certification body, has published an item headed "MCS responds as plug-in solar panels become available in the UK"3. The content of that response has not been reported in the pages seen here. Tenants and flat owners may be refused permission by a landlord or freeholder, and north-facing outside space is described as unsuitable for generating much power2.
Why it matters for households
Plug-in kits lower the entry cost of generating electricity at home: a system costing under £700 that connects through an ordinary plug socket, against a professionally installed rooftop array1. The trade-off is scale and timing. At the 800W limit and without battery storage, a household's saving depends on how much of the output is used while the sun is shining, so the benefit is largest where daytime demand is steady and the mounting position is favourable1. For a home's energy independence, the effect is partial: some daytime consumption shifts to self-generated power, but evening use and storage remain outside what the current rules allow. Households weighing the two routes can compare them in our guides to plug-in solar kits and plug-in solar versus professionally installed solar, with costs set out in how much solar panels cost in the UK.
What happens next
Octopus Energy hopes to launch a version with a battery in the first quarter of next year, subject to regulatory changes1. No date has been reported for any change to the rules on battery storage in plug-in systems.
Sources3 sources
- Could new plug-in solar panels help YOU fight soaring energy bills? Our simple formula will tell you exactly how many years it will take to cancel out cost of buying them | This is Money, thisismoney.co.uk
- Could new plug-in solar panels help YOU fight soaring energy bills? Our simple formula will tell you exactly how many years it will take to cancel out cost of buying them | This is Money, thisismoney.co.uk
- Pre-sale & System Performance Estimate Standards Archives - MCS, mcscertified.com