News · Plug-In Solar
Plug-In Solar UK — Two Weeks On: What Actually Changed
The compliant kit list has roughly doubled, prices have fallen by nearly half, and some of the biggest names in the category have quietly dropped out. Here's the honest state of play.
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Quick answer: The genuinely compliant plug-in solar market has moved fast since 27 August 2026. The ENA register has grown from 7 kits on launch day to over 40 today, prices have fallen from £848+ to as low as £432, and real retail availability now exists through City Plumbing, Argos and direct sellers. The flip side: EcoFlow, Anker, TSUNESS, Fox ESS and Segen have all dropped out of the compliant category entirely, meaning any of their plug-in systems currently need a qualified electrician rather than a genuine self-install.
Two weeks ago, we published our launch-day roundup with a genuinely thin picture: one brand, UKSOL, held every compliant listing on the ENA Type Test Register, and their kits were ground-mount only. Anyone hoping for a cheap, balcony-ready, self-install system was left waiting. That picture has changed substantially — worth a proper, honest update rather than pretending nothing's moved.
The Register Has Roughly Doubled
Independent trackers monitoring the ENA Type Test Register consistently show the same trajectory: from 7 compliant kits on launch day, to 20 by 29 August, to 30 by 4 September, to over 40 as of this week. New names have entered the category, including Perlight Solar, PatioSun, HDM Solar, APsystems, Skyworth, PowerXpress, Modular Solar Technologies, InstaGroup, The Impact Crowd, and even Octopus Energy.
*Independent trackers show slightly different totals depending on exactly when the register was pulled — the register updates continuously, so treat this as a genuine range rather than a single fixed number.
Prices Have Fallen Substantially
This is genuinely the most consumer-relevant change. On launch day, the only compliant option — UKSOL — priced kits at £848–£1,199. Two weeks later, City Plumbing now sells genuine compliant kits from three different panel manufacturers starting at just £432:
- Jinko 940W Hoymiles HiFlow kit — £432.00
- DMEGC 930W Hoymiles HiFlow kit — £444.00
- DMEGC 1030W Hoymiles HiFlow kit — £468.00
- PatioSun Lite — £449 (down from roughly £583 a fortnight ago)
This is a genuinely important shift for the payback maths. At launch-day pricing, we calculated payback of 7–9 years on an 800W system. At £432–£468, that comes down closer to 4–6 years — a meaningfully more attractive proposition for renters and flat owners. See our updated Balcony Solar Panels UK guide for the full current product breakdown.
The Real Retail Picture Is Finally Emerging
On launch day, there was genuinely nowhere obvious to buy a compliant kit as a normal consumer. That's changed: Argos now stocks six UKSOL bundles from £599, with delivery estimated late October; City Plumbing sells five different compliant kits across three brands; Thunder Energy and PatioSun sell direct and ship now. Perlight Solar's UK customer centre, Westech Solar, has confirmed genuinely strong demand and is finalising wholesaler arrangements, with stock expected late September to early October.
⚠️ Worth knowing: the mainstream supermarkets and DIY chains named by government as working partners on plug-in solar — Amazon, Asda, B&Q, Currys, Lidl, Screwfix and Wickes — still had no verified compliant kits on sale as of the most recent independent checks. If you see a suspiciously cheap plug-in kit on general marketplace listings, check the exact model number against the ENA register yourself before buying — cheap look-alike kits that aren't on the register are not covered by the new legal route, whatever the listing implies.
The Names That Dropped Out
This is the part worth taking seriously if you were specifically waiting on a particular brand. EcoFlow, Anker, TSUNESS, Fox ESS and Segen have all left the compliant category entirely since launch. This isn't necessarily a safety verdict — leaving the register is a record-keeping outcome, and status genuinely moves in both directions (Octopus Energy and Modular Solar Technologies both dropped out at points, then returned as Compliant). But practically, it means anyone hoping to self-install one of these specific brands' systems right now still needs a qualified electrician for the grid connection, exactly as we flagged on launch day.
Separately, Anker has confirmed UK sale pricing for its Solarbank 4 E5000 Pro (£1,699 standalone, £2,299 with four 500W panels) — but this is explicitly a hard-wired, electrician-installed system, not part of the plug-in self-install route, whatever the marketing framing implies.
One Genuine Process Improvement — myplugin.solar
The DNO notification process now has a dedicated, purpose-built route: myplugin.solar, a genuine two-minute online registration portal specifically for compliant plug-in microgenerators. This sits alongside the existing G98/G99 process, which still applies to larger or hard-wired installs. Worth using this specific portal rather than the older forms if you're installing a genuine plug-in kit — it's simpler and built for exactly this use case.
What Hasn't Changed
Worth being honest about the limits too. Nothing on the compliant register is confirmed as genuinely balcony-rail rated — the cheapest, most available kits (UKSOL via City Plumbing, the new Jinko/DMEGC options) are all ground-mount. Battery storage remains explicitly excluded from the plug-in framework. And SEG export payments still aren't available to plug-in systems, since they aren't MCS-certified — any surplus generation is still exported to the grid for free.
See what's actually available today
Our balcony solar guide is updated with real, current pricing and compliance status — checked directly against retailer listings.
See What's Compliant Now →Published 12 September 2026. Compliance figures based on independent tracking of the ENA Connect Direct Type Test Register from multiple sources; exact totals vary slightly by check date since the register updates continuously. Prices confirmed directly against retailer listings at time of publication and may change. Non-compliant status reflects the register at the time of writing, not a safety verdict — always check the exact model number yourself before buying. Read our government guidance on plug-in solar for the official position.