Wow, ” 340kW produced per unit”!  Thats 14 times the maximum power from a standard (100A) UK mains supply. And only £450, it’s almost unbelievable……..

On a serous note, plug in solar power are NOT LEGAL in the UK at this time (March 2026).

Robert.

Read further down. It says ” recharge from the sun 340W Solar unit. So 340kw is probably a typo.

On 27 March 2026 at 12:23 Robert Atkinson 2 Said:

Wow, ” 340kW produced per unit”!  Thats 14 times the maximum power from a standard (100A) UK mains supply. And only £450, it’s almost unbelievable……..

On a serous note, plug in solar power are NOT LEGAL in the UK at this time (March 2026).

Robert.

It is envisaged that the rules concerning the concept of plugging a potentially live 13 amp plug top into a house domestic socket will be modified soon.

Plug-in Solar Panels UK: What the New Rules Mean for You (2026)

It is envisaged that the rules concerning the concept of plugging a potentially live 13 amp plug top into a house domestic socket will be modified soon.

From what I’ve read; These panels will never offer mains power on an exposed pin. They will only generate power when they are plugged into a live mains supply.
Firstly that prevents a ‘dead’ circuit being energised which would be dangerous if being worked on.
Secondly the invertor for the panel will need to lock it’s output frequency to that of the mains before sending any power.

So they won’t be any use as back ups for power cuts by themselves.

It’s called islanding.  Google explains it succinctly:

“Solar islanding occurs when a grid-tied solar system continues to power a local circuit during a utility outage, creating a dangerous “isolated island.” Anti-islanding protection is mandated to immediately shut down inverters during outages to protect workers and equipment, though intentional, safe islanding is possible with specialized battery-backed hybrid systems.
Key Aspects of Solar Islanding
The Danger (Unintentional Islanding): When the utility grid goes down, solar inverters might fail to detect the loss of power immediately, continuing to push electricity into the grid. This creates a severe risk of electrocution for utility workers who believe the lines are de-energized.
The Solution (Anti-Islanding): Solar inverters are legally required to have anti-islanding mechanisms. These monitor voltage, frequency, or impedance to detect grid failure and disconnect the inverter within seconds.
Intentional Islanding (Backup Mode): With a hybrid inverter and battery storage, a system can legally break connection with the main grid and operate in “Island Mode” (or EPS mode). This provides power to the home while safely isolating it, preventing energy from feeding back to the grid.
System Requirements for Intentional Islanding: To operate in island mode, the system usually requires a manual or automatic transfer switch and a dedicated earthing arrangement.”

Rod

The obvious problem, with plugging in, is that the item is beyond the circuit fuse.

Adding huge amount of power beyond the fuse could mean the circuit wiring could be loaded with its full power (through the fuse) plus the extra power injected beyond the fuse!

The current requirements are that the solar generation is fed to the consumer panel and then distributed, to wherever needed, through circuit protection fuses.

These ‘instant’ solutions are bound to be very bad value for money and expensive if not impossible to repair in two years let alone ten.
Do the maths. Excluding fridge and heating and all day TV you perhaps use 2KWh per day, hopefully less. (modem, alarm, laptop, radio, LED lights).
Battery only you could charge on cheap rate overnight and use it during the day. The difference between day and night rate might be 20p per KWh, so 40p per day saved. (to simplify ignore that some of the time is direct off night rate) Max saving is £150 per year.
If it actually lasts ten years you have to then buy a new one, so need to save at a rate of 10% ready for the new one, plus pay interest on the money for the current one at 5%, ie 15% total. (ignoring the interest on the savings to simplify). This equates to about £700. Can you buy a battery that delivers 2kWh every day for 10 years? NO. They typically quote 1000 cycles.
That is all before you get enough solar panels to deliver 2kWh/day in winter.

“This equates to about £700. Can you buy a battery that delivers 2kWh every day for 10 years? NO. They typically quote 1000 cycles”

10 year/ 4000 cycles warranty

12V 230Ah LiFePO4 lithium leisure battery

Built in cell balancer

Will run a 2500 watt inverter

€746.90 inc vat (in euros) in sterling ~ £ 649.47

https://www.12voltplanet.co.uk/fogstar-drift-seat-base-12v-230ah-lithium-leisure-battery-with-active-balancer.html

A decent reliable supplier – I’ve dealt with them.

Apart from the purely technical problems, any attempt to use some sort of power-supply merely plugged into the mains could invalidate your home insurance due to the shock and fire hazards.

On 28 March 2026 at 16:15 Nigel Graham 2 Said:

Apart from the purely technical problems, any attempt to use some sort of power-supply merely plugged into the mains could invalidate your home insurance due to the shock and fire hazards.

They won’t be allowed to sell them until the regulations are updated to allow their use, so insurance shouldn’t be an issue.

If you’ve followed the thread you’d realise that there’ll be no ‘shock’ risk as the panel will need to check for mains input and match frequency before allowing any output to the connected circuit.

The should be safer than an electric iron or fire.

It would be nice if some folk bothered to read the specs.

340Wp. Estimated 340kWh/per year in the midlands (which is a reasonable and common approximation). 20 year warranty. integrated grid-tied inverter.

The price is unattractive, but is roughly comparable with roof mounted plus inverter plus installation.

Government plans to make the concept legal ‘within months‘.

You think that a country of 1.4 billion people, with the world’s largest GDP (PPP basis), that makes almost all of the consumer electronics that we use, suddenly can’t make a safe grid tied inverter, when they’ve been making ones approved for UK, EU and US installation for a couple of decades?