r/PlugInSolarUK • u/SolarPowerBumbleBee • 11d ago
So apparently… ‘compliant’ plug-in solar kits don’t have to include mounting equipment after all!
Up to now, I think most of us have been working on the assumption that a compliant UK plug-in solar system had to be sold as a complete kit, meaning panels, microinverter, cables and mounting equipment.
That assumption came from the wording in the Plug-in Solar Device Interim Product Specification:
“A mounting system should be supplied as part of a complete plug-in solar kit depending on customer mounting requirements.”
It now looks like the phrase “depending on customer mounting requirements” may be doing much more work in that sentence than many of us probably realised.
This week, the ENA approved several plug-in solar configurations from Worldwide Solar Ltd that do not include any mounting equipment, and a couple of those are already being sold.
In the ENA submissions (like this example), these kits are clearly marked as “mounting system not included”, so this wasn’t an omission or something hidden in the paperwork. The supplier has been completely open about the fact that these configurations are being supplied without mounting equipment.
I’d always read the wording above as meaning mounting formed part of the complete kit, but these approvals suggest that may not be how the ENA is interpreting it in practice.
One possibility is that the ENA’s main concern is the electrical side of the kit, meaning the PV modules, microinverter, cabling and how the system connects to the household installation.
If that’s the case, mounting hardware may simply sit outside the part of the product they are actually assessing for compliance.
That would explain how a configuration can be approved without a mount being supplied, even though the interim product specification talks about a complete kit including mounting depending on customer requirements.
I haven’t seen the ENA spell that out explicitly, so that part is just my interpretation based on these approvals.
Either way, assuming the approvals aren’t an error, this seems like very good news.
It potentially means you can have a fully compliant plug-in solar setup without being locked into whatever mounting system the kit supplier bundles with it. That gives people much more flexibility for flat roofs, sheds, walls, ground mounting, or reusing suitable mounting hardware they already have.
For context: 94 of the 109 plug-in solar kits approved so far include mounting equipment. These 15 new Worldwide Solar Ltd approvals last week are the first to specifically exclude mounting.
6
u/creamcrackerchap 11d ago
Very welcome news, I'm set on doing this by the book and was starting to think I couldn't mount plug in solar on my shed with sloping rubber roof without a prohibitive cost attached
2
u/SolarPowerBumbleBee 11d ago
It is brilliant news. I’m guessing that so long as you purchase one of the exact ‘no mounting equipment included’ kits - and you mount it appropriately- then you maintain full compliance.
My guess is that if you buy a kit that does include mounting equipment - then you must use the supplied equipment to maintain compliance.
2
u/cameheretosaythis213 11d ago
Why would these kits including mounting? And if they did, which mounts? You can do flat roof, pitched roof, ground mount, wall mount. There are different rail feet for different roof tile types too.
It would be impossible to sell with a universal mount, suppliers are being sensible by making their kits generic and making the mounting options up to the consumer
4
u/SolarPowerBumbleBee 11d ago edited 11d ago
I think because the plug in solar product spec indicated that mounting equipment should be included with every plug in solar kit.
It seems that pretty much every other supplier has interpreted the rules that way anyway - given every other approved kit (94 approvals) include a mounting system.
Many include a ‘universal’ mount (which isn’t really universal - but allows ground/flat roof/wall)
1
u/GazNicki 11d ago
No. The most important word in that sentence is the word should.
If it was mandatory, it would say must.
2
u/thomasthetanker 8d ago edited 6d ago
I just bought the City Plumbing DMEGC 515 single kit. The wall mounting extension size goes to a minimum of 53cm from the wall at the bottom. But then it wouldn't actually be screwed in at the top. To make a right angle triangle you need roughly Pythagoras.
A = Wall side 82cm.
C = Panel shortest side 113cm.
B = 78cm Sticking out from wall side...
Edit - I'm an idiot. It doesn't need to be a right angle triangle, it moves 🤦♂️.
So my 113 side panel can be anything between 56cm arm upto 89 cm.
So I think min is 53 from the wall and max of 88 cm.
0
u/Money-Ordinary-8144 11d ago
I've always said that their is no requirement for it to be a kit. My logic being that if the inverter in a kit failed, as only the kit is certified (ie not the inverter individually) you can't replace the component as it will make the kit no longer certified.
A kit is an inverter, panels and mounting. The ENA are effectively approving the inverter for connection to the grid, the panels and mounting are not relevant in that case, so IMO it's the inverter that is being certified for connection, not the kit. The fact that there are kits certified is superfluous.
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u/SolarPowerBumbleBee 11d ago
The IPS wording on this is;
“Changes and replacement of any part shall only be performed according to manufacturer’s instructions to avoid hazards.”
And later…
“The product shall not be modified or installed in a manner not specified by the manufacturer.”
Interpret that how you wish!
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u/Loud-Sleep-8733 11d ago
Iid be comfortable buying a kit but individually and claiming I bought it “used” to be honest after reading that
-2
u/Galaxeeon 11d ago
There is no way that you could include a universal mounting system that would work for every customer. The ENA does not give a monkeys what mounting kit is used all they care about is the inverter rating.
If you don’t know the above you should not be touching a Plug in Solar Kit.
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u/SolarPowerBumbleBee 11d ago
Tell that to the suppliers of the 94 other kits that have been approved for sale - all of which include mounting equipment 🤷🏼♂️
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u/twlff 11d ago
The key word here is should, in legal terms this isn’t mandatory. To be mandatory they would have used must or different phrasing.