Plug-In Solar Is Finally Legal — So Why Does It Cost So Much?
Plug-in solar is finally legal in the UK.
I’ve been arguing for this for years. It should make small-scale solar cheaper, simpler and accessible to people who can’t justify spending thousands on a conventional rooftop installation.
There’s just one problem.
Have we managed to legalise cheap solar — and then regulate away the cheap bit?
£395 of Hardware. £650, £850... £1,000+ Kits?
I priced up what it would cost me to build an equivalent two-panel system today using components available at normal retail prices.
Two solar panels: about £195.Microinverter: £129.Cable: around £20.Mounting: roughly £50.
Total: about £395.
These aren't wholesale prices. I'm not importing a container from China. I'm buying at retail, where the manufacturers, distributors, sellers and marketplace have already taken their margins.
Yet some of the new approved plug-in solar kits are considerably more expensive.
Now, companies need to make money. They have costs for certification, stock, warranty, support, delivery and returns. I have no problem with that.
But when prices start heading towards £850 or even beyond £1,000, I think consumers are entitled to ask:
What exactly are we paying all that extra money for?
The Bigger Problem Might Be Government
This is where things get interesting.
I completely support sensible safety standards. We're connecting electricity-generating equipment to our homes. Microinverters need appropriate anti-islanding protection, plugs need to be safe, cables need to be correctly specified and equipment needs to comply with appropriate standards.
But why certify complete kits rather than the safety-critical components?
Why can't I buy an approved microinverter, compatible solar panels, approved cable and suitable mounting separately?
That would create competition.
Instead, consumers are pushed towards predefined compliant packages.
And restricting consumer choice is a pretty good way of creating an environment where prices can remain high.
Then There's the Cable...
This might be my favourite example of how regulation can collide with the real world.
Imagine your approved kit comes with a five-metre cable.
Your sunny spot is twelve metres from the house.
Extension cable? No.
Modify the supplied cable? Potentially you've modified the approved product.
So what happens?
You could end up paying an electrician to install a new outdoor socket closer to your panels.
For a product whose great selling point was that you didn't need an electrician.
You couldn't make it up.
Plug-In Solar Needs Competition
I don't think the answer is less safety regulation.
It's better regulation.
Certify the components that actually make the system safe. Create interoperable standards. Let manufacturers offer compliant cables in different lengths. Let consumers choose compatible panels and appropriate mounting systems.
Then let the market compete.
Because the difference between a £395 system and a £1,000 system isn't academic. When government talks about annual savings of around £110, hundreds of pounds added to the purchase price can add years to the payback.
Plug-in solar was supposed to remove the installer.
It shouldn't replace the installer with a government-approved box.
I've gone into the prices, regulations, cable problem and potential alternatives in much more detail in the video.
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