The UK government has published legislation legalising plug-in solar kits, with the changes taking effect on 27 August. This follows a pledge made earlier this year to allow households to buy approved solar panel kits with a micro-inverter and simply plug them into a wall socket to cut energy bills, without requiring formal installation.

Earlier this month, the government set out an interim specification for domestic plug-in solar systems, capping the maximum DC output from panels at 2000W, similar to the approach taken in Germany, though this is described as a generous upper limit. In practice, most setups are expected to produce closer to 960W, with micro-inverters limited to a maximum output of 800 volt-amps. It remains to be seen how quickly manufacturers will get compliant hardware onto the market, with the change arriving as the UK moves towards fewer hours of summer sun.