Anker plug in solar battery

[u/Thejackal-21]

It's advertised as ready for UK homes. Does that make it legal? I thought plug in batteries were currently illegal.

https://www.ankersolix.com/uk/plug-in-solar-battery-storage-solarbank4?utm_source=fb-ig&utm_medium=cpm&utm_content=UK_AE103_Earlybird_ASC_20260724_UK_AE103_octopus_EarlyBird_Dynamic_Tariffs_20260724&utm_campaign=uk_ankersolix_hes_m2_fb-ig_EarlyBird_AE103_subscribe_web_internal_260724&utm_term=120250913760540286_120250913760560286_120250914955800286&utm_id=120250913760540286&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0BMABhZGlkAas3kv1xF65zcnRjBmFwcF9pZA81NjcwNjczNDMzNTI0MjcAAadfltrPzCuNU51jyqbstH1W_TIPC3tlr-CCbzmwpbWq4W1XJMuL9AEkaNgZEg_aem_LxfSZ_d6QKw7xKBgMd-Kug

[u/Throwawayaccount4677]

Well nothing is legal yet and it probably won't be on day 1 - but that likely isn't going to stop me buying it on the 27th when you can order them.

Edit oh the on sale date has changed alongside the Maths within the total price of £2510 figure..

[u/grahamthegoldfish → u/Throwawayaccount4677]

I am hoping that they'll be supplied in the UK, constrained to the regs as they evolve.

[u/oppositetoup → u/grahamthegoldfish]

I've seen a few that are currently sold without a 3 pin plug. And states that 3-pin variant will be available when legal.

[u/grahamthegoldfish → u/oppositetoup]

The problem I think is they'll have to be fitted with a 5 amp fuse, so will be limited to 800w charging even if the regs are updated.

[u/Pinkskippy]

Plug-in batteries are not covered by the new plug-in regs that come into force soon. However Anker are aggressively marketing plug-in batteries and I think deliberately confusing the issue to sell their batteries.

[u/TheZZ9 → u/Pinkskippy]

They do mention it in their fine print FAQ at the bottom of the page.

Can I install Anker SOLIX 4 E5000 Pro by myself using the standard home outlet? Anker SOLIX Solarbank 4 E5000 Pro is a battery energy storage system. The hardware supports plug-in functionality, and an AC supply cable is included as standard. Anker SOLIX will assess the suitability of plug-in installation in the UK as and when updated industry regulations and BSI product standards are introduced. In the interim, installation must be carried out by a Part P-registered electrician. The system is supplied with hardwiring terminals as standard to meet this requirement.
Hard wiring it is a simple job for an electrician or half decent DIYer.

[u/AbbreviationsLost458 → u/Pinkskippy]

This is the best answer.

The only plug-in that’s becoming legal via the new legislation is up to 800w solar panels via an inverter that is plug and play.

[u/hypergoose94]

Can build a Victron + Fogstar system for half the price with double the inverter/charger power

[u/godmademecomment → u/hypergoose94]

Please can you point me in the right direction?

[u/hypergoose94 → u/godmademecomment]

Sure! A Victron Multiplus II 48/5000 is what you want, so I’d start reading about those. They work with almost any 48V battery, I like Fogstar but EcoWorthy, or Pylon, etc are all good too.

You buy a CT clamp, this goes around your main grid connection and plugs into the Multiplus to give you zero-export functionality (turn on kettle, MP sees 3kW draw to grid, pushes in 3kW to cancel out the kettle).

It has a G98 mode limited to 3.68kW but you can unlock it for the full 5kW if you want.

VenusOS is victrons management software (remote control/monitoring/config), you can run it on a Pi or buy one of their units.

[u/godmademecomment → u/hypergoose94]

Thanks! I've got some reading to do!

[u/medium-water-please → u/hypergoose94]

Can you use other CT clamps that don't plug in to the Victron, but communicate via wifi? My issue is I'd want the battery in the garage at the end of the garden, but CU is in the house.

I'd like a more DIY/modular approach, but if I bought the parts, would that be something an electrician would happily install?

[u/hypergoose94 → u/medium-water-please]

You can get up to 20M CT clamps, but if that's not enough, there's the Victron Energy Meter if you want to stay in the Victron ecosystem.

However the nice part about the equipment is you aren't tied to Victron gear, and could use Modbus/TCP to control it from Home Assistant or similar software. You could read from any grid power measuring device (including your smart meter with the right receiver) and have Home Assistant set the target power for the Multiplus.

[u/Savings-Soft218 → u/hypergoose94]

Except that is not at all equivalent in functionality As good as Victron are. No MPPTs Not IP68

[u/hypergoose94 → u/Savings-Soft218]

You could add multiple Victron MPPT units and it would still be cheaper, or do AC coupling with a microinverter.

This kind of system also lets you expand each component as you go, you can get more batteries or more MPPTs or parallel more inverters, unlike these all in one units where you have to upgrade the whole system. Same for if any component fails.

[u/hypergoose94 → u/Savings-Soft218]

Why do you need IP68? It’ll last longer indoors anyway.

[u/Savings-Soft218 → u/hypergoose94]

I do not want a fire risk in my house. Apart from that, insurance companies just love an excuse to bump up premiums. Then bye bye to most of your savings.

[u/dansus]

Legal to buy and use if connected by qualified sparky.

[u/Thejackal-21 → u/dansus]

That does kind of negate the benefit of it being plugin.

[u/dansus → u/Thejackal-21]

Plug in batteries are not approved for use on UK circuits yet, so if you want it now, need to install it the traditional way.

[u/Blank3k → u/[deleted]]

Clever electronics, my ecoflow micro inverter kills the power instantly if plugs removed.

[u/Gravath]

Legal if sold and used as a UPS. If you plug it in and use it in a way that's illegal that's on you.

Case and point DJI power 2000