June was the consultation. July was the decision. On 16 July, DESNZ published its government response, finalised the product specification as version 2.0, and made the enabling regulations in a single day. SI 2026/848 was laid before Parliament on 17 July and comes into force on 27 August. After years of grey area, plug-in solar is now a legal category in the UK.
There is a lot in the detail that the headlines missed. Here is all of it.
The government response arrived six days early
We said in the June roundup to watch for a government response around 22 July. It came on 16 July instead, six days ahead of schedule. That is worth noting because the consultation closed on 30 June and the turnaround was fast by any standard. Of the 466 responses received, 85% backed the product specification and 78% backed the timeline. The government got a clear mandate and moved quickly.
The full response and final Interim Product Specification v2.0 are available at gov.uk/government/consultations/plug-in-solar.
What SI 2026/848 actually amends
This is where most coverage has been imprecise. The Statutory Instrument does not just amend the Plugs and Sockets Safety Regulations. It amends three separate pieces of legislation simultaneously.
The Plugs and Sockets etc. (Safety) Regulations 1994 creates the new “plug-in microgenerator” legal category and permits an approved BS 1363 plug to be used to feed power into a socket from a compliant device. The Electricity Safety, Quality and Continuity Regulations 2002, known as ESQCR, is amended to recognise the new product class from the network side. And G98, the engineering recommendation that governs DNO notification, is amended alongside the regulations to align with the new connection route.
The “BSI product standard expected in July” that we and much of the trade had described for months is not quite what arrived. What arrived is the government’s own Interim Product Specification v2.0, which operates as the enabling safety document working alongside the amended regulations and G98. A full BSI standard may follow later. For now, the IPS is what manufacturers certify against.
The one device per household limit
This is the detail that has caused the most confusion, and it is worth getting exactly right.
The Interim Product Specification v2.0 says one compliant device per final ring circuit. In theory that means one upstairs, one downstairs. In practice, the G98 network connection rules currently cap the plug-in route at one device per household, full stop. The IPS moved ahead of G98 on this point. Until G98 is amended to match, one device per household is the real limit regardless of what the product spec says.
There is no date for the G98 amendment. The government is committed to it, but it is one of three things still pending alongside the full BSI standard and a framework for plug-in batteries. None of the three has a confirmed timeline.
If you already have a full rooftop system, there is an additional complication worth knowing: the 3.68kW simple-connect limit under G98 is cumulative per property. Adding an 800W plug-in system could push your total over that threshold and technically require a formal G99 application. If you have a rooftop system, check with your DNO before connecting a plug-in kit.
The product specification numbers that matter
Version 2.0 of the IPS is precise, and the numbers are worth knowing because kit marketing will blur them. A compliant device must not export more than 800 VA of apparent power to the mains. Output current must not exceed 3.5 A. The device must be solar-only, it must not import electricity for battery storage, and it must be supplied as a complete kit with a factory-fitted British BS 1363 plug. You cannot buy an inverter separately, add your own panels, and claim compliance. The certification covers the whole system as a unit.
One practical implication: every plug-in kit currently on sale in the UK has a battery in it. EcoFlow STREAM Pro, Ultra X, and similar products are battery-integrated systems. None of them qualify for the new socket-connection route under the current framework. They remain valid, useful products, but they require hardwired installation by a registered electrician for now. The products that will qualify from 27 August are microinverter-only kits with no battery — panels, inverter, cable, plug. That category does not have a widely available UK product yet.
No certified product exists yet
As of 1 August 2026, the ENA G98 Type Test Register — the list that a product must appear on before it can legally be sold for socket connection — lists no certified plug-in solar product. Zero. The law comes into force on 27 August. The shops are not yet ready.
This does not mean nothing will be available on 27 August. Manufacturers have known the specification was coming and have been working through the certification process. The realistic picture is that the first certified products appear in the weeks around 27 August, with availability building through September and into autumn. Watch the ENA register rather than the calendar date.
Hoymiles is the most watched name because their microinverters sit inside most of the white-label European kits. EcoFlow have been inside the government process from the start as an official partner. Lidl and their kit suppliers are presumably in the certification queue. But nobody has crossed the line yet.
What about the emissions test failure?
This one also got buried in the news. The government’s independent safety study, carried out by Arceio Limited, tested six representative kits and found they operated safely in terms of shock, fire, and anti-islanding protection. All six passed those tests. All six also exceeded the Class B radio frequency emissions limit. This is a separate issue from electrical safety — it relates to electromagnetic interference — and the government has not yet confirmed how it will handle it in the certification process. It is not a reason to avoid plug-in solar, but it is a gap in the current framework that has not been resolved.
UK solar capacity hits a 15-year high
Against this regulatory backdrop, UK solar is having its best year in well over a decade. The UK added over 2 GW of solar capacity in the 12 months to the end of June 2026, bringing total capacity to 22.8 GW. New installations in the first half of 2026 were at a 15-year high, driven by rooftop systems and solar farms. Plug-in solar is not yet in those numbers in any meaningful volume, but the market context it is launching into is one of strong and accelerating momentum.
What the Ofgem rate means for your payback
The Ofgem price cap for July to September 2026 is 26.11p per kWh, with a standing charge of 57.19p per day. The previous cap was 27.69p, so bills have come down slightly this quarter. The honest savings number for an 800W system without battery storage is lower than some sources claim. Without a battery, you self-consume roughly 25 to 40% of what your panels generate — the rest exports to the grid at effectively zero value unless you have a Smart Export Guarantee tariff. On that basis, realistic annual savings from a battery-free 800W system in central England are in the range of £40 to £85 rather than the £150 to £180 gross generation figure. With a battery, self-consumption rises to 70 to 80% and the savings figure climbs significantly.
This matters because it affects payback calculations. On a £500 battery-free kit saving £65 a year, payback is around eight years. On a £1,100 battery-integrated system saving £165 a year, it is around six to seven years. Both still make financial sense at current rates, particularly as electricity prices are expected to rise again from October. Use our savings calculator to work out what your specific setup produces based on your location and orientation.
Northern Ireland
Worth flagging because it is consistently missed in coverage. The ESQCR amendments in SI 2026/848 do not extend to Northern Ireland, which has its own electricity safety regulations. The plug-in solar framework as it stands applies to England, Wales and Scotland. If you are in Northern Ireland, the legal position remains unchanged and you should check with your DNO directly before connecting any plug-in system.
What is still pending
Three things confirmed but undated. The full BSI product standard, which will eventually replace the Interim Product Specification. The G98 amendment that moves the limit from one device per household to one per circuit. And any regulatory framework for plug-in battery systems, which remains out of scope with no timeline.
The plug-in battery question is the most commercially significant. Given the pace of the plug-in solar reform, some in the industry expect a battery framework to follow later in 2026. That would be fast by any regulatory standard, but the government has shown it can move quickly when it wants to. Watch for a consultation announcement in autumn.
Where things stand right now
The law is made. The date is 27 August. No certified product exists yet. The hardwired route via a registered electrician remains the only compliant installation option until the first product appears on the ENA register. Battery-integrated systems like the EcoFlow STREAM Ultra X continue to require that route indefinitely under the current framework.
For everything about the regulations in one place, see our rules and regulations page, which we keep updated as certifications come through. The full article on what the 27 August date means in practice is at Plug-In Solar Is Legal in the UK from 27 August 2026. And if you are trying to work out whether the numbers stack up for your home, the savings calculator is the starting point.
August is going to be an interesting month. If you are watching for the first certified product to land, keep an eye on the best kits page — we will update it the moment something appears on the ENA register.
If you have questions or have been through your own install this month, leave them in the comments. There is a lot still moving and the more we share what is actually happening on the ground, the more useful this site becomes.