The figures
What would I actually get in a year?
Use the calculator on the home page. It reads PVGIS data for your chosen region and mounting and shows kWh a year, not pounds. Pick your region and where the panel would go and the figure updates straight away.
Why does the figure change so much between mountings?
Angle and direction matter more than location. Averaged across all thirteen regions, a garden frame at 30 degrees south comes within about one per cent of an ideal roof pitch, a south wall gives about three quarters, and an east or west wall gives about half.
Is generation the same as saving money?
No. Your saving hinges on how much you are actually drawing while the panel is generating, and because batteries fall outside the approved class, there is no way to bank the surplus for later. We show generation because it is the one figure with a named source.
The rules
Do I need planning permission?
Not in most cases, though your particular surface can change that. A plug-in panel relies on the permitted development right for small scale solar, and that right has conditions on projection, conservation areas, listed buildings and, since 27 August 2026, on wooden surfaces. Meet them and there is no application. Fall outside them and there is one. We check your address against the conditions before anyone quotes.
Can I put one on my balcony?
Not if the balcony is timber. 27 August 2026 is when the permitted development right changed, and the version now in force treats a wooden wall, a balcony and timber cladding the same way on a house or on a block of flats: none of them are covered. Metal and glass balustrades sit outside that exclusion, so tell us what your balcony is actually built from.
Is it the same rule in Wales and Scotland?
No. Wales has its own permitted development rules, sets a different flat roof limit than England, and its guidance does not yet mention plug-in solar or timber. Scotland runs its own classes too, allows more protrusion than England, and also has no timber-specific exclusion in its guidance. We check whichever rule actually applies to your address.
What about a listed building or a conservation area?
A listed house needs both planning permission and listed building consent. England also draws a line at conservation areas and World Heritage Sites: no panel on a wall facing the highway there. Inside the grounds of a listed building, or on a scheduled monument, the right does not apply at all.
The device, and getting it fitted
How big is one of these?
The mains side is capped at 800 VA of apparent power and 3.5 amps, with a rated voltage up to 253 volts and a frequency of 50 hertz. The inverter will take up to four panels, with no more than two wired in series on any string, and the panels together can add up to 2000 watts. Once the panels total more than 960 watts, the specification wants a professional to assess whether the house can take it.
Does fitting it need an electrician?
Not to plug it in. The specification is written for devices ordinary people can install. You do need a qualified electrician for anything that touches your fixed wiring, including replacing an overcurrent protection device where the circuit needs it, and for fitting an outdoor socket, which must carry an IP55 rating or better.
Can I run it through an extension lead?
No, never. Extension cables, multi-way adaptors, residual current device adaptors and travel adaptors are all ruled out, stated twice over: on the device’s own marking and again in its instructions.
How do I know a kit is genuinely compliant?
Check the ENA Type Test Register yourself and see whether the model is listed. Before a device reaches the market, its maker has to get it type tested, registered, and confirmed as compliant. One that is not on the register has not been assessed, whatever the listing says.
Does it affect my insurance?
It might. A compliant device’s instructions are required to raise it with you directly. Call your insurer while the device is still on order, not after it turns up.
Your network operator
How many can I have?
One per household. On its own the specification would allow one device per final ring circuit, but the network rules override that: Engineering Recommendation G98 Issue 2 Amendment 1, in force since 27 August 2026, holds every home to one device.
Does anyone official need telling once it is fitted?
Yes. Great Britain asks you to register the device with your distribution network operator within 28 days of installation: a short online form, about five to ten minutes, with your name, email and installation address. We fill it in with you if you would rather not do it alone.
Which operator is mine?
It depends on your postcode, and Great Britain has fourteen licence areas. Scotland has two operators, the North West is split between two, and the South East spans two as well, so a single named answer is not always possible. The route that needs no map at all is to ring 105, free, anywhere in England, Scotland or Wales, and you are put through to the company that runs the wires in your street.
Is Northern Ireland covered?
No. This 28 day registration route is a Great Britain system. Northern Ireland sits outside it and has its own, separate arrangements.
What this costs
Why isn’t a price shown anywhere?
None of the figures on offer are ones we would put our name to. Kit prices are not something we can currently source for the UK, so we would rather quote you properly once we know your address than print a number that might be wrong.
Why no payback figure either?
Payback needs an installed cost and a tariff, and neither is reliably sourced right now. We show what PVGIS says a device would generate, which is the one figure we can name a source for, and leave the rest for a proper quote.
Does sending my details cost anything?
No. We reply by email, and nobody pays us commission to recommend a device.
Want the figure for your exact location?
The calculator uses one point per region. Send your postcode and we'll run it for your address.
Turn the figure into a quote
Your region, your name and email, and the spot you have in mind. We confirm the figure for your actual location, check the rules for that spot, and say what fitting would involve.
We reply by email. Your details stay with us and nobody pays us commission.