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Recent changes to solar rules in the UK
A dated log of changes we have confirmed from official sources, newest first. The guides and FAQs are updated to match. SolarBot in the app also shows our latest notices.
Updated
Changes
Calculators easier to find; portable power station planner shows the yearly solar saving
The five calculators now sit directly under the app's opening screen and in their own section above the guides, so you do not have to hunt for them in the text. The portable power station planner now also tells you what the solar panel saves you over a year, in the same way it shows the saving from cheap night-rate charging. We now say "portable power station" throughout, to avoid any confusion with the power stations that supply the grid.
New: portable power stations and solar panels
We added Guide 4 on portable power stations (solar generators) with solar panels, a companion guide comparing 19 current UK models with suitable panels, 21 new FAQs with sources, and a portable power station planner in the app. The guides explain that a stand-alone portable power station needs no installer or network notification, that battery products feeding a wall socket are outside the plug-in solar route (SI 2026/848 and the July 2026 government response), and that feeding a home through a socket is unlawful under regulation 21 of the Electricity Safety, Quality and Continuity Regulations 2002. Guides 4 to 11 are now Guides 5 to 12.
New guide: battery types, cold weather and where to put a battery
We added a guide comparing LFP, NMC, sodium-ion and lead-acid batteries, explaining why lithium batteries cannot charge below about 0 °C, and setting out where PAS 63100:2024 lets a battery go in a home (it applies to every battery type, including sodium-ion). Battery prices now include 2026 market figures alongside the Energy Saving Trust's, and the battery calculator starts at a 10 kWh battery at a typical installed price.
Energy Saving Trust updates its plug-in solar guidance
The Energy Saving Trust now says a plug-in device must be registered before use, that compliant kits cost from around £450, generate around 700 kWh a year and save around £70 to £100 a year. Our plug-in guide and answers have been updated.
Price cap for October to December 2026
Ofgem's price cap rose by 4% for a typical dual-fuel Direct Debit customer. Electricity averages 26.32p per kWh with a standing charge of 54.83p a day, excluding VAT, which the government has removed from domestic electricity bills from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027. Our savings examples use this rate.
Source: Ofgem: Changes to the energy price cap between 1 October and 31 December 2026
Northern Ireland answer clarified
We re-checked the legislation. The plug-approval part of SI 2026/848 applies across the UK, so compliant kits can be sold in Northern Ireland, but the part that makes plugging a kit into a socket lawful applies only to England, Wales and Scotland. Northern Ireland's own connection rules have not been changed, so plug-in solar is still not permitted for use there.
Source: legislation.gov.uk: SI 2026/848
Northern Ireland still not permitted
The Energy Saving Trust's checklist says plug-in solar panels are not currently permitted for use in Northern Ireland and may follow once regulations are updated.
Source: Energy Saving Trust: Plug-in solar panels, checks to make before you buy
Plug-in solar becomes legal in England, Wales and Scotland
The Plugs and Sockets etc. (Safety) Regulations 1994 and Electricity Safety, Quality and Continuity Regulations 2002 (Amendment) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/848) came into force. Compliant devices of up to 800 VA can now be sold and plugged into a standard socket.
Source: GOV.UK: Households can save as plug-in solar panels come to market
England's permitted development right for solar updated
The right now covers plug-in solar, with separate limits for houses and blocks of flats and a ban on fixing plug-in solar to timber walls, balconies and enclosures. The old rules can still be used until the end of 26 August 2027.
Source: legislation.gov.uk: SI 2026/896, changes to permitted development for solar equipment (England)
Ofgem approves the network-code change for plug-in solar
Ofgem approved the distribution code amendment (DCRP/MP/26/02) that allows plug-in solar devices meeting the government's specification to connect with a plug.
Source: Ofgem: decision to approve DCRP/MP/26/02, amendment to facilitate plug-in microgeneration (PDF)
Regulations made and final product specification published
SI 2026/848 was made on 16 July 2026, and the final Plug-in Solar Device Interim Product Specification (version 2.0, July 2026) replaced the withdrawn draft.
Source: GOV.UK / DESNZ: Plug-in solar: regulatory amendment and interim product specification
Ofgem lowers its typical electricity use figure
Ofgem's typical domestic consumption value for a medium electricity user is now 2,500 kWh a year. Our battery sizing examples use this figure.
Source: Ofgem: Energy price cap update from 1 July 2026, revised typical consumption values (PDF)
Coming up
0% VAT on installed solar and batteries is scheduled to end
The zero rate for installing energy-saving materials in homes is due to revert to 5% on 1 April 2027 unless the government extends it.
England's permitted development transition ends
Until the end of that day you can follow either the old or the new permitted development rules for solar equipment.
VAT returns to domestic electricity bills
The government has removed VAT from domestic electricity bills from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027. When it returns, each unit of solar electricity you use yourself is worth correspondingly more.
The one-device-per-household limit could change
The product specification allows one device per final circuit, but the network code currently limits it to one per household until it is amended.
Plug-in solar in Northern Ireland
Plug-in solar needs changes to Northern Ireland's own connection rules. We will update our guides as soon as an official change is announced.
See how we check. If you spot something we have missed, use our contact form.
Updated 2026-10-05. General information, not legal, electrical or financial advice.