Plug-in solar kits in the UK: which you can buy and what they cost

Lidl doesn't sell a plug-in solar kit in the UK. On 24 September 2026 its UK website listed none, and no Lidl kit appears on the Energy Networks Association (ENA) register that every legal plug-in kit must be on. The TRONIC 860 Wp / 800 W kit Lidl sells in Germany comes with a Schuko (German plug) cable and its mounting system is sold separately; UK kits need a UK three-pin plug to BS 1363 and a mounting system in the box, so it can't be used legally here.

On the same day we matched kits on sale at City Plumbing, Screwfix, Octopus, PatioSun and UKSOL to Compliant records on the register, from £336 for a one-panel kit to £951.60 for a two-panel kit. They are listed below by price, with how closely each matches its register record. The rules and likely savings are in our plug-in solar guide.

The kits we could match to the register

Prices are as shown on each seller's page on 24 September 2026, before any delivery charge. City Plumbing and Screwfix label theirs as including VAT; PatioSun and UKSOL don't say on the pages we read, and Octopus's page shows prices only after you enter a delivery address, so its figures are the prices in Octopus's shop listing, which match the £450 and £650 given in Octopus's own plug-in solar blog.

What's in the box also differs:

• City Plumbing's DMEGC kits include a mounting frame per panel and a 5 m plug-in cable; the listings state a 10-year guarantee without saying what it covers.
• PatioSun says its kits come on a steel ground stand made in the north of England, and states a 10-year product and 25-year performance guarantee on the panels and 10 years on the inverter. The Max has a two-input inverter, which PatioSun says helps in partial shade.
• UKSOL's kits are ground-mount only; for any other spot, UKSOL tells buyers to consult a qualified solar professional first.
• Screwfix's PowerXpress kit has a bracket for a wall, floor or balcony and a one-year guarantee. Its specification lists "AC coupled with battery systems", but the government's specification requires kits to warn against use with a battery, so don't pair it with one.
• Octopus's bundles use JA Solar 460 W panels with a wall or ground mount, and Octopus expects orders from 11 September to arrive between late October and mid-November.

The guarantees stated range from one to ten years, and UKSOL's and Octopus's pages gave no term, so ask who handles a claim. Whatever the guarantee, buying online you can normally cancel until 14 days after delivery, and under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 a faulty kit is the retailer's responsibility.

Registered, but not on sale or not matched

A register record doesn't mean you can buy the kit. On 24 September 2026:

• UKSOL's Hybrid Mount kits (wall or ground), registered in August, were on advance order for delivery from 1 November 2026, at £599 (515 W), £849 (890 W), £899 (1,030 W) and £989 (1,260 W).
• EcoFlow has two Compliant records (22 September 2026) for its EF-PS-800 and "EFStream" kits. Its UK shop's "STREAM 800W Microinverter Kit" page named neither, and the only option in stock came without brackets, though a compliant kit must include its mounting. Ask EcoFlow which record your kit matches.
• Zendure has six Compliant records for SolarFlow 800 kits (21 September 2026), but its UK shop didn't list a SolarFlow 800 kit.
• The Solar Centre has two Compliant records (10 September 2026), but its website showed only "planned" kits from £330.
• PatioSun Max Plus (£779) is sold with 2 × 465 W panels, but its record describes 460 W panels; ask PatioSun to confirm.

Nine plug-in records are marked Non-compliant, without reasons, so we don't list those kits; buy only a kit whose record says Compliant.

What you get for the money

One-panel and two-panel kits produce very different amounts, so we estimated each kit's yearly output with the EU's PVGIS solar model for the same spot and set-up, then worked out what each kWh costs over ten years.

Assumptions for every row: Birmingham, panels facing south at a 30° tilt, PVGIS's standard 14% system losses, no shading, no gain from the back of bifacial panels, no fall in output over time, and a ten-year life (the government's impact assessment assumes a kit lasts around ten years before at least the inverter may need replacing). Electricity at the Ofgem price cap for October to December 2026, 26.32p per kWh, held flat; the cap includes no VAT because electricity VAT in Great Britain is 0% until 31 March 2027. Exported electricity earns nothing, because export payments for plug-in kits are not established. Prices are as listed on 24 September 2026, before delivery; PatioSun's and UKSOL's pages don't say whether VAT is included. These are illustrations, not forecasts.

How to read a row, using the DMEGC 465W kit: £336 ÷ (446 kWh × 10 years) = 7.5p per kWh. Each kWh you use at home instead of buying it is worth 26.32p, so the kit recovers its price in ten years if you use at least 7.5p ÷ 26.32p = 29% of what it produces.

For context, the government's worked examples for a household at home during the day assumed 62% (tilted 30°, facing south) and 72% (vertical, facing east or west) of output was used at home. A household that is out all day will use less, and wall-mounted panels produce less than the tilted ones modelled here. Our plug-in solar guide works through the yearly bill reduction; installed rooftop prices are in our solar panel cost guide.

One panel or two

Every kit's inverter is limited to 800 W, the legal maximum; what changes is the panel power behind it:

• One panel (about 445–515 W) never reaches the 800 W limit, so its output is capped by the panel. It is cheaper and easier to place, and suits a small space or low daytime use.
• Two panels (about 890–1,030 W) roughly double the yearly output for well under double the price at City Plumbing and Octopus. In PVGIS's hourly figures, the 800 W cap cost under 0.2% of yearly output even with 1,030 W of panels (hourly averages hide short peaks, so the real loss can be slightly higher).
• Above 960 W of panels, as with the DMEGC 1030W kit, manufacturers must advise you to consider having your wiring assessed by a professional before you install. We recommend that check.

Other shops and websites

Of the retailers we checked on 24 September 2026, Screwfix sold one plug-in kit (the PowerXpress kit above) and B&Q's website search showed none. Some online sellers still advertise 2 kW "plug-in" packages or sell kits alongside batteries, and balcony kits from European websites often have European plugs. Whatever the listing says, a legal kit has an output of no more than 800 W, no battery, a UK plug, its mounting in the box and a Compliant register record.

Rules that decide which kit you can buy

Our plug-in solar guide covers the law and safety in full. The points that change what you buy and how you use it:

• 800 W output, no battery. The limit is on the inverter's output, and kits with a battery are outside the legal route.
• One kit per household until the network connection rules (G98) are amended.
• 20% VAT. The 0% rate applies only when an installer supplies and fits solar equipment; see our VAT guide.
• No export payments. In Great Britain, suppliers' Smart Export Guarantee tariffs need an MCS-certified (or equivalent) installation, which the government's impact assessment says is likely not to apply at first for many plug-in kits; see our Smart Export Guarantee guide.
• Tell your network operator. Notifying your DNO is mandatory when you connect a kit and when you stop using it; the kit's documentation explains how.
• Great Britain only. On 24 September 2026, none of the 79 plug-in records on the register was marked as type-tested to Northern Ireland's versions of the connection rules.
• Planning. In England, plug-in kits are not permitted development on wooden walls, balconies, fences or timber cladding; our planning permission guide covers each nation.

Before you buy a kit: a checklist

Check these on the listing, or ask the seller in writing.

• Register record. The seller can tell you the kit's ENA record reference, and the record says Compliant under "Plug-in Solar" on the ENA's Connect Direct register.
• Exact match. The brand, panel wattage and inverter on the listing match the record's description.
• UK plug. The kit has a UK three-pin plug (BS 1363), not a European plug or an adaptor.
• Mounting included. The mounting system is in the box and suits where you plan to put the kit.
• No battery. The kit has no battery and the listing doesn't suggest adding one.
• Consumer unit label. The kit comes with a label to fix at or near your fuse box.
• Price basis. The price includes VAT and delivery, or you know what they add.
• Guarantee. You know how long the panels and the inverter are each covered, and who handles a claim.
• Delivery date. The kit is in stock, or you know when it will arrive.

How we checked

We read the ENA's Connect Direct register on 24 September 2026, filtered to the device type "Plug-in Solar". It held 79 records from 24 manufacturers or sellers, 70 marked Compliant and 9 Non-compliant, published between 18 August and 22 September 2026. The same day we opened the websites of sellers we could identify for Compliant records (City Plumbing, Octopus, PatioSun, UKSOL, EcoFlow, Zendure, The Solar Centre), plus Screwfix, B&Q and Lidl; other registered brands may be sold elsewhere. A kit is listed only if its brand, panels and inverter match a Compliant record, and we say where the product code differs. The order is by price, not a ranking; we didn't test any kit, and no seller pays to be listed.

Plug-in solar kit FAQs

Does Lidl sell plug-in solar panels in the UK?

Not as of 24 September 2026: Lidl's UK website listed no plug-in solar kit, and no Lidl kit is on the ENA register.

How much do plug-in solar panels cost?

On 24 September 2026, registered kits cost from £336 (one panel) to £951.60 (two panels), with most two-panel kits between £444 and £749. Off-the-shelf kits carry 20% VAT.

Are plug-in solar panels any good?

They are a low-cost way to cut your bill if you are home in the day and have a sunny spot. In our comparison, most two-panel kits recover their price in ten years if you use roughly a fifth to a third of their output at home, assuming panels facing south at a 30° tilt in Birmingham, a ten-year life and the October to December 2026 price cap (26.32p/kWh), before delivery. Wall-mounted panels produce less, so the share needed is higher. Kits switch off in a power cut, and export payments for them are not established.

Can I buy a plug-in solar kit with a battery, or use two kits?

Not at the moment: the law excludes kits designed to store electricity, and the limit is one device per household until the network connection rules are amended.