Products · 5 min read

Plug-In Solar With a Battery: Can You Do It in the UK?

What the rules say about batteries, and why one wouldn't pay for itself anyway.

The short answer

Not yet. The UK's plug-in solar rules only cover solar panels. Plug-in batteries, and kits with a battery built in, are left out. The government says it is still working on them. For a small kit, a battery wouldn't pay for itself anyway. At best it would save about £69 a year.

It sounds like the perfect pair. Catch the sun at lunch, use it at teatime. But the UK's plug-in rules stop at the panel, and the sums for a battery are worse than you'd think.

Is a plug-in battery allowed in the UK?

Not under the plug-in solar rules. The law that made plug-in solar legal in August 2026 covers panels only. The product rules leave out batteries and any kit with a battery built in. Which? puts it bluntly: plug-in batteries are not included in the new regulations.

But I've seen plug-in batteries for sale. What gives?

You have. Battery kits are on sale in the UK. EcoFlow, for one, launched a range here in August 2026, priced from about £1,499. Being on sale isn't the same as being covered by the plug-in rules. Before you buy one, ask the seller in writing how it can be connected legally in a UK home. Then ask your network operator the same thing.

Would a battery even pay for itself?

Here's our sum. A south-facing 800 W kit makes up to 690 kWh a year, and the home uses about 428 of that. So about 262 kWh is spare. A battery that saved every drop would be worth about £69 a year at today's price of 26.32p per kWh. On a £1,499 battery, that's about 22 years to break even. For a kit on an east or west wall, the spare power is worth about £28 a year.

What can you do instead?

Use the power while the sun's out. Set the washing machine or dishwasher to run at midday. That's a free battery, in a way. If you want backup for power cuts or camping, a portable power station is a different tool and doesn't feed your home's wiring. And if you own your roof, rooftop solar with a proper battery is where batteries start to make sense.

Will the rules change?

Probably, but nobody knows when. The government's response in July 2026 listed plug-in batteries as work still to be done. It gave no date. We'll update this page when it does.

Sunny says

Sunny says: a timer is the cheapest battery you'll ever buy. Most washing machines and dishwashers already have one. Set it for noon and let the sun do the washing.

The quick version

The plug-in rules cover panels only, not batteries.
A battery on an 800 W kit would save £69 a year at best.
Running appliances at midday does the same job for free.

Common questions

Can I use a battery with plug-in solar in the UK?

Not under the plug-in solar rules. They cover solar panels only. Plug-in batteries and kits with a battery built in are left out. The government says it is still working on rules for them.

Is a plug-in solar kit with a battery worth it?

Not on today's numbers. A south-facing 800 W kit leaves about 262 kWh a year unused. That's worth about £69 a year. A battery costing around £1,499 would take about 22 years to earn that back.

Why are plug-in batteries not allowed?

The government made rules for panels first and left batteries for later. Its July 2026 response lists plug-in batteries as something still to be worked on. No date has been given.

Can I plug a portable power station into the wall to power my house?

No. A portable power station is made to run things you plug into it. It isn't made to feed power back into your home's sockets. Never try to connect one to your house wiring.

What happens to spare power from a plug-in kit without a battery?

It flows out to the grid. At the moment you aren't paid for it. That's why it pays to use power at home while the sun is shining.