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Which plug-in solar kits are compliant?

This site does not recommend products. What it can do is tell you what to ask for, so you can judge a kit yourself before you pay.

Plenty of kits on sale online were built for other markets. They may be well made and still not meet the conditions that apply here. The listing will not always tell you. Assume nothing from the photos and ask for paperwork.

A compliant kit is a whole device, not a compliant inverter with panels attached to it. It has to meet all of the following.

  • No more than 800 VA of apparent power to the mains and no more than 3.5 A.
  • No more than 2,000 W of panels in total, across at most four modules, with no more than two in series and no more than 120 V DC open circuit at the inverter.
  • A factory fitted, non-rewireable moulded plug to BS 1363-1, with partially insulated pins and a BS 1362 fuse not exceeding 5 A.
  • Ingress protection of at least IP55 for anything mounted outdoors, including outdoor plugs and sockets.
  • An inverter that disconnects from the mains within 100 milliseconds of losing supply, with the voltage at accessible plug pins falling below 34 V in that time.
  • A mounting system supplied with the kit, backed by structural analysis for wind and snow loads. Cable ties, rope, string, tape, bungee cords and straps are not acceptable as the sole fixing.
  • No battery. The specification does not cover plug-in batteries or solar devices integrated with battery storage.

On top of the product itself, the manufacturer must have the device type tested against G98, registered on the ENA Type Test Register, and confirmed as compliant before selling it. A listing that is on the register but not marked compliant does not count. That register is the check to make, and it is public.

Source: Plug-in Solar Device Interim Product Specification v2.0, clauses 1, 4.1, 4.2.2, 5.4, 5.5.1, 6.2.2, 6.2.3.2, 6.2.3.3.3, 7 and 9.3, DESNZ.

Ask the seller for these, in writing

Email is fine. Keep the reply. If a seller will not answer these in writing, that is your answer.

  1. Confirmation that the kit is intended for sale and use in Great Britain, and which conditions it is sold as meeting.
  2. The declaration of conformity and the test certificates for the inverter, as documents, not as a claim in a listing.
  3. The full installation instructions, before you buy. You need to know what the mounting kit fixes to.
  4. The exact contents of the box, including the length of the mains cable and the plug fitted to it.
  5. The weight of one panel with its frame, and the wind load the supplied mounting is rated for.
  6. Who the UK contact is for warranty and for safety notices, with an address.

Check when the box arrives

  • The plug on the cable is a UK plug, fitted by the maker, not an adaptor in the box.
  • The mounting hardware in the box matches the instructions, item for item.
  • The inverter labelling matches the model on the certificates you were sent.
  • The instructions are a real manual in English, with fixing details and torque figures, not a single sheet of pictures.

Warning signs

  • An adaptor or extension lead supplied to make the cable reach.
  • A listing that says compliant or certified without naming what it complies with.
  • No named UK seller, or a seller who only answers through a marketplace chat.
  • Mounting hardware sold separately, with no rating given.
  • A claim that no permission is needed in a block of flats. External alterations need consent regardless of the kit.

Check your own home first

The kit is the easier half. Whether your balcony or wall can take it is the harder half.

Start the check

Where to buy

Kits started reaching UK retailers in late August 2026. Argos is one of the retailers now stocking one.

Plug-in solar kit at Argos

We are not telling you that kit is right for you, and we are not confirming its compliance status. Look it up on the register yourself, read the mounting instructions before you pay, and check whether it is sold for the place you want to put it. At least one of the first kits on sale is for ground mounting only.

We may earn a commission if you buy through this link. It does not change what this page says.

Where to check before you buy

The register is public and it is the only thing that settles the question. Look the exact kit up on it, and check the listing says compliant rather than just appearing on the list.

Energy Networks Association, which runs the Type Test Register.

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