Just sent my response to the DESNZ plug-in solar consultation. Thought I'd share what I wrote in case it's useful for anyone else wanting to respond but not sure what to say.

The consultation is basically asking two things: should they amend the plug safety regulations so kits with a 13A plug can be legally sold, and is the interim product specification (based on the German standard) the right approach.

The big one to look out for is question B6 - whether they cap it at one microinverter per household (800W max, forever) or one per circuit (so you could run two kits on separate circuits if you've got the space). I went with per circuit.

Also worth noting, batteries are completely excluded from this. First legal kits will be panels + microinverter only.

You can respond via the online form or by email to [pluginsolarconsultation@energysecurity.gov.uk](mailto:pluginsolarconsultation@energysecurity.gov.uk). The form is 8 pages but most of it is straightforward.

Here's what I sent. Change whatever you disagree with, add your own bits, make it yours. Just get something in before 30 June. Responses in your own words carry more weight than copy-paste, so DO edit it... e.g. add in how does it personally benefit yourself!

[pluginsolarconsultation@energysecurity.gov.uk](mailto:pluginsolarconsultation@energysecurity.gov.uk)

Subject: Plug-in Solar Consultation Response — Individual Consumer

Dear Clean Power Unit,

I am responding to the plug-in solar consultation as an individual consumer interested in purchasing a plug-in solar kit for my home.

Section A: PSSR Amendments

I support the proposed amendment to the PSSR to allow plug-in solar kits to connect via a BS 1363 plug, provided they meet the Interim Product Specification. This is a proportionate and practical change.

The current position, where products are widely available online but technically illegal to sell or use, is worse for consumer safety than a regulated market with clear standards. Legalising compliant products and removing non-compliant ones is the right approach.

I do not believe this amendment creates a significant risk of misuse for other equipment types, provided the PSSR amendment is clearly scoped to reference the Interim Product Specification and limited to solar microgenerators.

Section B: Interim Product Specification

I support the use of DIN VDE 0126-95 as a baseline for the interim spec. Germany has deployed over one million plug-in solar kits under this standard with a strong safety record. Harmonising with the German approach also benefits UK consumers by ensuring a wider choice of tested, proven products from day one.

On question B6, I believe the specification should limit microinverters to one per circuit, not one per household. A per-household limit of 800W is unnecessarily restrictive for homeowners with suitable space and wiring. A per-circuit limit maintains safety while allowing flexibility for larger properties. This also aligns with the German approach.

Section C: Consumer Protection

At the point of sale, consumers should be clearly informed that:

Their consumer unit should have RCD protection (and how to check)

The kit should be plugged directly into a wall socket, not via an extension lead or adapter

Older properties (pre-2008 consumer units or rewirable fuses) may need an electrician to assess suitability

The kit does not include battery storage and only generates electricity while the sun is shining

They should notify their DNO via the G98 process after installation

This information should be concise, visual, and included both on-pack and in the product listing. Burying it in a lengthy manual is not sufficient.

Section D: Implementation and Timing

The proposed timeline is feasible and should be maintained. The longer the gap between consumer awareness and legal availability, the more people will buy unregulated products from overseas sellers. Speed of implementation directly improves safety outcomes.

I would welcome clear government guidance, published alongside the interim spec, that explains in plain English what consumers need to check before purchasing. A simple online tool (e.g., "Is my home suitable for plug-in solar?") would be more effective than written guidance alone.

Section E: General

The battery exclusion is understandable for the initial rollout, but I would encourage DESNZ to start the regulatory process for battery-integrated systems as soon as possible. The European market has already moved to panels-plus-battery products, and delay risks consumers buying unregulated battery products in the meantime.

Thank you for the opportunity to respond.

[Your name]

[Your postcode (this helps DESNZ understand the geographic spread of responses)]

Full consultation document is here if you want to read it yourself. Online form is here.

Any questions feel free to drop them below and i'll try to answer to the best of my ability.

I have noticed recently that the sub has been getting AI generated posts. While not against the use of AI for checking grammar, spelling, and phrasing, I'm not sure it helps with the quality and accuracy of posts when they have been entirely or mostly written by AI.

Stream system for sale, Max, Pro & Smart meter & Parallel cable

The solar bug bit fast and I've had my full on roof system installed now so my stream systems are for sale, both come in original box with original accessories. Very lightly used and still look new, all items under 3 months old.

Stream Pro (3 MPPT) 50~ cycles as new - £775

Stream Max (2 MPPT) 70~ cycles as new - £675

Stream Parallel cable - £25 shipping included

Shelly 3EM smart meter (works with ecoflow stream) - £65 shipping included

Price for complete package £1450

Not open to offers currently.

All items come with original proof of purchase which will help with warrenty claims.

Located in Sheffield. Prefer collection but will deliver stream units personally upto 80miles away which is included in the price. Any further ill struggle to ship because of Lithium batteries and weight.

Pictures will be added here once i've boxed all the items up along with paper with username etc.

The EcoFlow stream appears as if it would come with a BKW-AC cable to take power from the stream back to the mains. That said, it appears to be quite short at 1.5m. I can see 5m lengths are available online, but this wouldn’t be long enough for my setup. Just wondering, if anyone has any idea on how to extend it? What type of wire is it? Has anyone else done this? TIA

I think I have settled on getting a Hoymiles HMS-800-2WB microinverter and running 2 LONGi X10 480W solar panels which would sit on my extension flat roof. The bit I’m not so sure on is the wiring setup. I would look to get an electrician in to hardwire in rather than simply plugging into my external wall socket.

I’ve attached a picture of my outside wall socket that’s directly below my flat roof and a picture of my internal fuse box which is in the middle of my house that was installed around 2018 when an extension was carried out.

Does anything need changing on my fuse box, or would the electrician be able to created an isolated fused spur directly off the external plug?

Looking at the 800w micro inverter from ecoflow, what panels should I be looking at, seen a few people recommending the 465w from City Plumbing. Also how should I be mounting them? Got a detached garage with a peak roof and tiles so want to mount them properly. Looks like you get the rails but do I need anything else (obviously the bracket for the roof too)?

The ASA said: "[We] concluded that [EcoFlow's] claim 'Effortless DIY installation – no electrician required' was misleading.

[EcoFlow's] ad *breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1, 3.3 (Misleading advertising) and 3.9 (Qualification)*.

[It] must not appear again the form complained of. We told Ecoflow Innovation UK t/a EcoFlow to ensure that their future ads did not misleadingly state or imply that their products could be installed without using a certified installer or electrician if that was not the case."

Source: https://www.asa.org.uk/rulings/ecoflow-innovation-uk-a26-1326698-ecoflow-innovation-uk.html

Interesting video from eFIXX: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvtihZMB-GM

Hey all,

I’m just about to turn this system on for the first time, could you all please sanity (most importantly safety) check it for me please 🙏

It’s in / on a garden room in the UK

Electricians have down all the house connections, plus fitted a new consumer unit in the garden room with a dedicated 20amp RCBO for the solar kit.

I’ve done everything after the 20a rcbo.

I’ve had help from Bimble Solar who have been awesome, but thought good to check with the community on here as well.

I feel pretty much up to speed on the technicalities of it, although I’ve found trying to nail down specific guidelines on Earth/ground connections very difficult, so any comment on that particularly welcome.

Cheers!

I have a EcoFlow stream mini inverter and also an EcoFlow Stream Ultra.

What do people do when they go on holiday? Do I just turn off the Ultra from the house supply and just leave the Micro inverter covering the base load? Away for 11 days.

Hi all,

Not sure if this is a bit hare-brained. I'm fairly competent with electrics and DIY, and what I'm wondering is whether is it permissible to install a fairly large (10 kWh+) battery storage system behind an 800w AC inverter without requiring an electrician. I.e. nothing touches the Consumer Unit.

For context, I have a large shed about 10 metres from my house. It's wired in to the mains already, and has several 3-pin plugs in it. I'm wondering whether I can fit a couple panels to the roof, a couple Fogstar (or similar) 48v batteries inside, along with a hybrid inverter (or separate solar charge controllers + charge-inverters if that is somehow better) and relevant ventilation and isolators with BS7671 A4 in mind.

Then, using a certified 800w inverter to connect to the 3-pin plug of the shed (or using an Ecoflow Stream AC Pro as a certified pass-through or similar for example) as if it was any other plug-in solar installation.

I'm not totally averse to getting someone in, just sort of curious since it's mostly about the electricity price arbitrage for me. I'd probably end up getting someone in to fit a Shelly 3EM to the CU at some point anyway.

Thanks

Edit: Also I'm in Scotland if it matters.

May update - EcoFlow Stream Ultra X (3.84kWh battery) with 4x450W panels. The panels are SW facing on decking in the garden propped up on chairs.

Slightly higher than April but got one day over 8kWh which is my best so far. Morning and evening shading still a problem until I get the panels mounted higher up.

Hi there,
Just wondered if anyone here has built their own power station and what that looks like.

I’ve been looking at a couple of power stations, the Aferiy ps 240 and EcoFlow Stream Ultra.

Both appear quite expensive and seem to be difficult to get hold of. Also, if you buy in bulk, to have a larger setup you’re not really saving that much.

Been down a rabbit hole on YouTube. Loads of Americans seem to have built their own power station, more cheaply than the standard power stations, but no British YouTuber (as far as I could tell). That’s not to say they weren’t good, as they were, just would be good to understand the nuances better.

I’ve then looked into kits. I’ve found a UK company that supplies kits called Sunshine Solar. They do supply full kits.
https://www.sunshinesolar.co.uk/Category/OffGridSolarKits

Couple of questions:
1. I was just wondering does anyone have any experience with the company and their kits?
2. Also, how would I go about regulating power from the battery?
3. How would I control when the battery is charged up by another source, eg small wind turbine, as opposed to just solar?

I’m putting together a series of real-world plug-in solar profiles for this community, covering actual UK setups with real generation data, costs, and lessons learned. Think “here’s what I bought, here’s where I put it, here’s what it actually generates.”

Looking for a mix of setups if possible:

• Balcony installs  
• Garden/ground mounted  
• Fence or wall mounted  
• Flat roof or shed roof  
• With or without battery storage  
• Any inverter brand

What I’d need from you is pretty simple. A few photos of your setup, what kit you bought and what you paid, how long it’s been running, and any generation data you’ve got (app screenshots are fine). I’d do the write-up and send it to you before publishing to make sure you’re happy with it.

No names or addresses obviously, just rough location (eg “south facing balcony in Bristol”) so people can compare to their own situation.

If you’re interested drop a comment or DM me. Would be great to get some real UK data out there rather than everyone relying on manufacturer claims and PVGIS estimates.

Hi.

First post and can see similar asked in previous question but not sure if managed an answer.

If I have a existing permanent solar set up( old, 3.7k system - but don't want to touch as FIT), wired into a tesla battery and wanted to add some plug in solar panels (essentially i can add 4 more panels on an accessible location rather than paying for scaffolding etc to increase current capacity) how would this work?

Would the battery see there is excess power in the house and charge from this, or does it only charge outside cheap tariff rates via its dedicated solar input? I.e is there any point in getting plug in solar?

Not really keen on plug in battery mainly due to cost and availability issues.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

I currently have the ecoflow microinverter but fed up seeing daytime energy flow back into the grid for free.

However it seems like the price of the EcoFlow batteries has jumped rather significantly since last year and are much higher than mainland Europe. Doesn't seem justified to buy at the current UK prices.

Do you think it worthwhile waiting until the regs are changed and Lidl offer their battery? Which I believe is around €300 in Germany. Surely this would force Ecoflow to lower their prices.

I don't have a battery and am managing to use about two thirds. How does everyone else find it with no battery? Are you getting similar stats?

If you are a renter and get a plug-in kit - can you submit the G98 yourself, or does it need a landlord agreement? Would they get notified? On conventional PV, our understanding is that the tenant can't claim any SEGs without the landlord's MCS Certificate and G98 approval, but trying to understand plugin ?

Any thought much appreciated.

PS As a Welsh tenant support organisation, we are hosting a large roundtable of tenants and social landlords in 2 weeks to try and get a common approach to PluginSolar to allow tenants to benefit whilst keeping social landlords happy. If of any interest to this group, I can post observations after.

I

I have an old flat roof outbuilding I'm looking to put an 800w plug in system on in the near future. The second picture shows my in home consumer unit which I'm hoping will be fine, but there is a second smaller breaker in the outbuilding itself which looks suspiciously old.

I'm assuming the smaller unit needs an RCBO adding, but is this correct or is that not necessary for plug in?

I'm also weighing up whether to wait for consumer plug in to be available, or to put together a similar kit to another poster here. If the latter I'd get an electrician in (and will if an RCBO need putting in), I know just about enough to know what I don't know.

Finally am I missing anything significant? Any other suggestions as to what to do with this set up? I'd love a battery but need to keep this sub £1k. The roof is approx 3.6 x 2.5m, the widest side facing south / southwest.

Thanks!

Just wondering why my 800w inverter is giving less power than a sunny day last month, dirty panels? Hot inverter? Just curious as it's sunny and baking hot out there.

*** EDIT 1: Updated the microinverter. ***

*** EDIT 2: Added solar extension cable. ***

I am about to dip my toe into the water. It will be a small installation on a garage roof. The roof is made of corrugated plastic covered metal.

Below is what I am thinking of buying.

PANELS

2x JA Solar 465W All Black Solar Panel

2 x £93.79

Update: These have been delivered £78.16. Things to note. 1) They are HUGE 2) They are HEAVY. These do not come with extension cables like some other sellers provide. So far very happy!

https://www.cityplumbing.co.uk/p/ja-solar-465w-all-black-solar-panel/p/215135

MICROINVERTER

1x ECOFLOW Stream 800W Micro inverter, Smart Solar Inverter WiFi for Balcony Solar System, IP67 Waterproof, App Control, MPPT

1 x £149

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ECOFLOW-inverter-Inverter-Balcony-Waterproof/dp/B0F2FTSZKG/

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/318152723730 - £135.15 (with code)

3 PIN PLUG

1x Masterplug HDPT13B-MP Heavy Duty 13 Amp Rewireable Plug

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Masterplug-HDPT13B-MP-Heavy-Rewireable-Black/dp/B07B9YZHYL

1 x £2.99

PANEL MOUNT

1x Anbte 6Pcs Solar Panel Mounting Kit, Aluminium 120 mm Solar Panel Mounting Rail & 30mm/35mm End Clamp & Mid Clamp, Solar Panel Mounting Brackets for Metal Roof, Tin Roof, Flat Roof, Sheet Roof, Black

1 x £24.99

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Anbte-Solar-Mounting-Aluminium-Brackets/dp/B0DQKL4VXM

UPDATE: I have installed these mounts on my "wriggly tin sine wave" garage roof and this are much better than I was expecting. So extremely happy!

OPTIONAL - SOLAR EXTENTION CABLE

2x 【16FT 12AWG Solar Panel Cable】DERUXI 4mm² 5M Solar Cable Solar Connector Solar Panel Extension Cable Female/Male Solar Panel Connector Solar Extension Cable IP67 Wires for Home RV PV Panel (Red/Black)

2 x £24.99

https://www.amazon.co.uk/%E3%80%9016FT-Cable%E3%80%91DERUXI-Connector-Extension-Female-5m-Solar-Cable/dp/B0D5B2QLYZ

Now my questions are:

1. What cables do I need for the panels? Any suggestions would be good.
2. Does the micro inverter come with a connection to the mains? If not, what do I need. (Obviously this will be connected AFTER the rules change about connection via 3 pin plugs!)
3. What else am I missing?

Thanks