Households could start saving more than £100 a year on their energy bills from later this month as plug-in solar panels are set to hit the shops.
New regulations announced by the government in June will allow supermarkets, stores and websites such as Currys, B&Q, Amazon and Lidl to sell plug-in solar panels from 27 August.
The panels could help “slash families’ energy bills”, said The Sun, a welcome opportunity amid the cost of living crisis. They could also spark a “home energy revolution”, said TechRadar, and reach “‘air fryer’ level of popularity”.
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What are plug-in solar panels?
A plug-in panel is a “smaller and less powerful” version of a rooftop solar panel, said The Independent. But it offers renters, flat owners and households without a suitable roof “a cheaper way to generate some of their own electricity and help reduce their energy bills”.
These types of panels have been “popular in Europe in recent years”, said uSwitch, and can be plugged into wall sockets to generate electricity on balconies, gardens and in other outdoor spaces without needing professional installation.
How do they work?
A plug-in panel is typically paired with a “clever micro inverter”, said Octopus Energy, that can be installed in a “sunny spot of your choosing” with a cable that plugs straight into a typical socket at home.
The device works in the same way as a rooftop solar panel by generating electricity from sunlight, which feeds directly to your home’s electrical circuit.
Any switched-on appliance will automatically and instantly use this free solar-generated power, “before importing costly electricity from the National Grid”, said MoneySavingExpert.
How much can you save?
It will be up to stores to set their prices but similar kits in Europe sell for between £400 and £600 – “before extra costs such as mounting, installing a new socket or any wiring checks”.
The government estimates that the panels could save households about £70 to £110 a year on energy bills so the “average break-even point is about four to six years”, said MoneySavingExpert.
Are they worth it?
Plug-in panels work differently to rooftop versions as energy isn’t stored. So it helps if “someone is generally at home during the day and able to use much of the electricity as it is generated”, said The Independent. Other factors such as shading, location, electricity prices and the angle and direction of the panels “could all affect the result”.
Additionally, the panels are limited to a capacity of 800W, which could generate a maximum of about two kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity a day. The average UK household uses around 7.4kWh of electricity a day, according to Ofgem, so it is “unlikely to power your entire home”, said MoneySavingExpert.
Look for UKCA or CE markings before purchasing any equipment to avoid poor quality products. Plus, plug-in solar panels should not be connected through extension leads, adaptors or overloaded sockets, which “can overheat and cause fires”, said the London Fire Brigade.
Before getting too excited, you may still need permission to install a plug-in panel if you are renting or own a leasehold property as the legislation doesn’t “automatically override” other agreements, said This Is Money.
