Can I plug a solar kit into an extension lead?

No. Never use an extension lead, multiway adaptor, travel adaptor or plug-in RCD adaptor with a plug-in solar device. The kit must connect directly to a suitable socket using the manufacturer-supplied lead and fused plug.

Suitable modern residual-current protection on the circuit is required — typically an RCD or an RCBO at the consumer unit. A plug-in RCD adaptor is not an acceptable substitute. If you do not know what protection your circuit has, ask a qualified electrician before you buy.

Can I use an ordinary indoor socket with a cable through a window?

No. Running a lead through a window or door seal is not an acceptable installation. An outdoor socket must be one installed and certified for outdoor use by a qualified electrician.

Can I run two kits to get more output?

No. The current G98 arrangements allow one plug-in solar device per household, and you must not combine, extend or modify kits to exceed the framework limit of 800 VA inverter apparent output.

What about fire risk and cladding?

Treat the external wall as part of the decision. If your building has cladding, is high-rise, or has a fire strategy that restricts what may be placed in outdoor areas or attached to elevations, follow the building owner's rules and seek their written approval before installing anything. Do not obstruct escape routes, ventilation or means of access.

Guide · Safety

Plug-in solar safety: sockets, circuits, mounting and weather

A plug-in solar kit is only as safe as the socket, circuit and mounting it depends on. The non-negotiables: a suitable socket with modern residual-current protection, the manufacturer-supplied lead and fused plug used directly with no extension or adaptor of any kind, one device per household, mounting that can take the weight and the wind, and a qualified electrician for anything involving your fixed wiring.

Last reviewed: 13 August 2026

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Connection: Direct to a suitable socket
Never: Extension leads or adaptors
Protection: RCD / RCBO on the circuit
Devices: One per household

Is your property suitable?

Work through these seven questions before you order. Every question and every outcome is explained in full in the sections that follow, so nothing here depends on the interactive version.

Pre-purchase suitability check

Seven questions. Nothing is sent anywhere and no answers are stored — the check runs in your browser. It is a guide to whether a plug-in solar kit suits your property, not an electrical inspection.

01Is there a suitable fixed external socket within reach of the kit's position?
The device plugs directly into a fixed socket using the manufacturer-supplied plug and lead. Extension leads, multiway adaptors, travel adaptors and plug-in RCD adaptors are prohibited.
02Does that circuit have modern residual-current protection (an RCD or RCBO)?
Look at your consumer unit. Modern units have one or more test buttons. Older fuse-based boards without RCD protection are not suitable without an electrician's assessment.
03Are the socket, its faceplate and the surrounding wiring in good, undamaged condition?
Cracks, looseness, scorch or heat marks, discolouration, or wiring of unknown age or condition all mean stop and get it checked.
04Do you have a firm, level, load-bearing position — garden, patio, ground-accessible flat roof, or a sound wall for a wall-mounted kit?
The Compact, Plus and Max use a hybrid ground or wall mounting system, bolt-down or ballast-bag secured; the Duo is a foldaway ground mount with a ballast tray and is for ground installations only. These are not balcony-rail or pitched-roof systems. The surface or wall must carry the frame, the panels and the ballast.
05Can you source and place ballast to the manufacturer's specification?
Ballast weights are not supplied with the kit. An under-ballasted frame in an exposed position is the one failure mode you can create yourself.
06Do you have — or can you get — any permission your tenancy, lease, freeholder or planning position requires?
Reversible mounting does not remove the need for consent. Listed buildings, conservation areas and Article 4 directions need a word with your local planning authority.
07Is this the only plug-in solar device in the household, with no existing generating installation?
Current network rules allow one plug-in solar device per household. An existing rooftop system changes the notification position.

0 of 7 answered. Your result appears here once all seven are done.

The socket and the circuit

A plug-in solar device pushes current into a circuit that was designed to take current out. That is permitted within the framework because the output is small and the device is a tested, complete product — but it only holds if the socket and circuit behind it are in good order.

Check before you buy

The socket you intend to use is in sound condition, correctly fitted and not loose, scorched, cracked or already heavily loaded.
Any outdoor socket was installed and certified by a qualified electrician for outdoor use, with an appropriate weatherproof enclosure.
The circuit has suitable modern residual-current protection — an RCD or RCBO at the consumer unit, not a plug-in adaptor.
The kit's own lead reaches the socket without strain, without being trapped in a door or window, and without any extension.
Nothing else about the connection path is substituted, lengthened, rewired or improvised by you.
There is no existing plug-in solar device at the property.

Things that are never acceptable

Hard rules
Do not	Why
Use an extension lead, reel, multiway adaptor or travel adaptor	These are not designed for a continuous generating source and introduce additional connections, heating and failure points in the path.
Use a plug-in RCD adaptor as your protection	Protection must be part of the fixed installation. A plug-in adaptor does not substitute for a properly protected circuit.
Change the plug, lead or connectors	The kit is certified as a complete matched product with its manufacturer-supplied BS 1363 fused plug. Altering the connection path voids that and the warranty.
Add panels, swap the inverter or combine two kits	It breaks the 800 VA framework limit and the one-device-per-household arrangement, and the combination is untested.
Wire the device into fixed wiring yourself	Work on fixed wiring is electrical installation work and belongs to a qualified electrician.
Run a lead through a window or door seal	It damages the seal, traps and abrades the cable, and is not an acceptable outdoor connection.

Mounting, wind and weather

A panel is heavy and presents a large flat face to the wind. Panels in our range weigh in the region of 27 kg each, and wind pressure rises sharply with height and exposure.

Mount it properly

Use only the mounting hardware supplied with your kit, in a position that hardware is intended for. Check that whatever you fix to — a railing, a wall, a flat roof, a frame — can carry both the static weight and the wind loading with margin. Ballasted or free-standing arrangements must be restrained so they cannot slide, tip or lift. If you cannot satisfy yourself that the structure is adequate, get a competent person to confirm it before installation, not after the first gale.

Weather and location

Panels and the microinverter are designed for outdoor use, but the connection must stay dry and accessible in accordance with the manual. Keep the device clear of standing water and snow build-up, do not bury the lead, and inspect the mounting and cable after severe weather.

Fire, cladding and escape routes

On flats and taller buildings, treat the building's own fire strategy as binding. Do not mount anything that obstructs an escape route, a means of access, ventilation or a fire-fighting opening, and do not attach to cladding or to an elevation where the building owner restricts fixings. Get the building owner's or managing agent's written approval — the practical route to that is set out in plug-in solar for renters and flats.

When to involve a qualified electrician

Call an electrician if

You need an outdoor socket, or you are unsure whether your existing outdoor socket was properly installed and certified.
You do not know whether the circuit has an RCD or RCBO, or the consumer unit looks old or unlabelled.
The socket you intend to use is loose, damaged, discoloured or already serving a heavy load.
The property has had unknown or DIY electrical work in the past.
You are choosing a kit with a larger DC array and want your existing wiring, socket and protection assessed first.
Anything about the manufacturer's instructions does not match what you can see at your property.

SocketPower supplies complete matched kits and does not carry out electrical installation work at customer properties. Your kit's manual is the authoritative instruction for its installation; what is supplied with each kit is listed on kit contents and setup.

Kit contents & setup G98 notification explained See the kits

Safety questions

Sources

Final Plug-in Solar Device Interim Product Specification(opens in a new tab) — DESNZ (PDF)
The Plugs and Sockets etc. (Amendment) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/848)(opens in a new tab) — legislation.gov.uk
Energy Networks Association — connecting small-scale generation (G98)(opens in a new tab) — Energy Networks Association

Keep reading

Editorial note · Last reviewed 13 August 2026

Written and reviewed by SocketPower, a trading name of Storm Renewables Ltd (SC802881). This guide is general information about plug-in solar in Great Britain, not electrical design advice for your property. Always follow the instructions supplied with your product and use a qualified electrician for any work on your fixed wiring.

Plug-in solar in Great Britain: the framework covers single-phase solar PV with a maximum inverter apparent output of 800 VA, and SocketPower devices are limited to 799 VA continuous AC output. Plug-in batteries and battery-integrated devices are outside the framework and are not sold by SocketPower. The current G98 arrangements allow one plug-in solar device per household, and network notification remains required — SocketPower handles the applicable notification for kits bought from us. This framework applies in Great Britain from 27 August 2026 and not in Northern Ireland. Always follow the instructions supplied with your product, check that your socket and circuit are suitable, never use extension leads, multiway adaptors, travel adaptors or plug-in RCD adaptors, and obtain any permissions you need before installing.