For years, installing solar PV has required a full electrical installation, scaffolding, roof-mounting systems, specialist electrical work, and a large investment.
A new type of system known as plug-in solar or balcony solar aims to simplify that process. From 27 August 2026, small plug-in solar systems of up to 800 W will be permitted in the UK, allowing homeowners to install a system themselves without the complexity associated with traditional rooftop solar installations.
But what exactly is plug-in solar, how does it work and is it likely to change the way we generate electricity at home?
What Is Plug-In Solar?
At its simplest, plug-in solar is a small solar PV system designed to connect directly into a standard electrical socket.
Rather than being permanently wired into your consumer unit like a traditional solar installation, the system generates electricity during the day and feeds that power directly into your home’s electrical circuits through a dedicated plug connection.
If your home is using electricity at the same time, appliances will simply use the solar energy first before importing power from the grid.
Example of two 400W panels plugged into a microinverter similar to a plug in array
What Components Does A Plug-In Solar System Need?
Although the installation is much simpler than a traditional rooftop system, the key components remain broadly the same. It requires a little more DIY than just plugging in but is similar to the time taken to put together a piece of flat pack furniture. The components are the following.
- Solar panels to generate electricity from sunlight. Usually 2 panels make 800W and they are quite sizeable.
- A microinverter that converts DC electricity from the panels into AC electricity suitable for the home. Small, simple to plug and often has an app to show you how much you are generating.
- Mounting equipment for a roof, wall, garden or balcony location.
- A suitable plug-and-play connection system to connect the panels to the microinverter
- Optional battery storage to store excess generation for later use. This isn’t legalised yet but is expected in 2027.
Why Is It Being Considered?
Traditional solar installations can require significant upfront costs and often aren’t suitable for every property.
Plug-in solar could potentially provide:
- Lower installation costs.
- Reduced installation complexity.
- Opportunities for flats and apartments.
- Easier relocation if occupants move home.
- A simple first step into renewable energy generation.
For many people it could become the equivalent of a “starter solar system”. It is expected you will see these systems suddenly become widely available in the £250-£500 price bracket.
How Much Will It Generate?
So 800Wp is not a big solar array but at £250-£500 it suddenly is much more affordable. In August 2026 according to MCS the average solar array install is £8400 and 5250Wp (notably this often includes batteries).
We’ve been testing this size of system during the summer and on a really clear July day the 800Wp rated panels generate around 600W of electrical power at peak sun (and when the panels are cool). To provide some context, a big TV may use 200W, a kettle 3000W, a hair dryer 1500W, a vacuum 1000W, etc. It’s definitely some electricity, but it’s not vast quantities at this small scale. It will reduce bills but not cover all the consumption.
On a clear day in summer it generated approximately 4.5kwh of electricity and in the month of July it generated 90kwh when sun power is highest. This will drop significantly in the winter months and in some ways the timing of the legislation is unfortunate as the generation will be reducing heading into winter due to the shortening of days.
Example of our 800W test array from July 2026
Is It Cost-Effective?
In short, yes, but it has its limitations. The payback for it depends on:
– How much direct sun hits the panels and in turn how much electricity is generated
– How much of that electricity the building uses directly as without batteries or an export tariff the excess will be going back to the grid.
– What electricity tariff you are on. A tariff that is expensive during the day (e.g. and EV tariff) will save more money than one that isn’t.
A payback for a large rooftop solar array is commonly around 10 years. Plug-in solar, if all the electricity is consumed by the building, could be less than this, but with a high amount of shading or a lot of the electricity goes back to the grid free of charge, it will be more than this. It is expected to pay back within the lifetime of the system.
It is expected that plug-in batteries will arrive shortly and these will greatly improve the cost-effectiveness.
The Hidden Benefits
Often what consumers are really purchasing with solar panel arrays is energy security and slowly disconnecting themselves from volatile fossil fuel markets. This is difficult to put a price on but for many, this security is really high value. Large rooftop solar arrays are likely better financial investments, but there are benefits to these smaller systems.
– The upfront cost is significantly reduced making renewable energy far more accessible.
– Showing the power available in sunlight should help drive electrification, hopefully leading to lower costs for all.
– These more temporary solar installations can often be easily re-angled for summer and winter sun angles making better use of the sun at different times of year.
– They can often be angled to generate electricity when home consumption or the grid price is highest, reducing bills even further.
– Commonly, they are much more accessible and so can be cleaned more regularly and generate more electricity.
– They can be easily moved if changing property or a better location in a garden is found
– There may become a good second-hand market as systems theoretically can be unplugged and sold on and with lifespans of 25 years could make very good investments
The Bigger Picture
There are lots of great pieces of content available about peoples personal experiences when testing these microarrays and what the paybacks are. However, it gets really interesting when looking at the bigger picture.
Over time, Britain’s electricity grid has been shifting from large-scale power plants to huge numbers of renewable micro-generators. Each solar array is decreasing Britain’s reliance on fossil fuels and improving its resilience to fossil fuel shocks. So a generation of 90kwh in July may not sound like much, but it’s 90kwh of fossil fuel that doesn’t need to be shipped from somewhere else in the world. When you account for power station and transport efficiencies, this may be as much as 180kwh less natural gas that needs to be shipped from somewhere else in the world.
It’s these knock-on effects that are fascinating, as it should slowly reduce the relative grid electricity price for everyone as each customer will have a smaller dependency on grid energy.
At Woohoo, we think the real power will be in education and showing people the power and potential of electrification. Often when people get solar panel arrays they then quickly transition to electrical technologies once they’ve seen the potential and the cost savings of renewable technologies. Heat pumps, batteries, EVs, large solar arrays, etc are big investments, but a small microsolar array can suddenly show the potential in electrification with a much smaller cost barrier.
The Likely Future: Plug-In Batteries
Plug-in solar is a great step forward. It still has some issues to work through but with this legislation solar will become very common, costs will continue to drop and it will become ever simpler to install. Importantly, it will become affordable for significantly more people.
Plug-in solar has been aimed at customers with flats and whilst it should pay back for these customers, multiple factors such as shading, sun angles, time of generation etc will likely make it much less cost-effective.
In the very near future, it is expected that plug-in batteries will come into legislation and these will be very exciting and much more cost-effective for flats. These will be much simpler to plug in and will start saving immediately across all times of year.
The exciting part is the issue with our national energy systems have is less one of generation but more one of storage. Renewable electricity is very cheap to make but we don’t have enough storage currently and so having to frequently turn down generation.
If every home had a small battery, then suddenly we can maximise the already existing grid infrastructure and heavily reduce grid electricity prices. This won’t happen immediately but at scale will have a huge impact. There are rumours that there will be large-scale schemes put in place where houses are given plug-in batteries as the reduction to the national electricity price far outweighs the price of the battery and can hugely reduce the cost of living for those most in need.
The next 12 months could be really exciting…
How Woohoo Can Help
At Woohoo, we’re constantly assessing emerging technologies that may help buildings reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions.
As plug-in solar develops, understanding the expected generation, potential savings and integration with battery storage will be key to delivering the best results.
The question isn’t just whether plug-in solar works – it’s where it makes sense, who it benefits most and how it can be deployed safely and effectively.