Payback period depends on your kit size, your electricity tariff, how much you self-consume, and whether you add a battery. As a general guide:

400W balcony kit (no battery) — £299: Generates around 300–380 kWh/year in the UK. At 25p/kWh self-consumed, that's £75–£95/year saved. Payback: 3–4 years.

800W garden kit + 2.5 kWh battery — £699: Generation rises to 600–750 kWh/year. With improved self-consumption from the battery, savings of £180–£240/year are realistic. Payback: 3–4 years.

1200W rooftop kit + 5 kWh battery — £999: At 25p/kWh and high self-consumption, savings of £280–£360/year. Payback: 3–4 years.

A micro-inverter is a small, panel-level device that converts DC solar power to AC mains power. Traditional solar systems use one large "string inverter" for the whole array — if one panel underperforms (shade, dirt, a passing cloud), it drags down the output of every other panel.

Micro-inverters work independently per panel, so each one operates at its own peak. In the UK's frequently overcast or partially shaded conditions, this makes a meaningful real-world difference — typically 5–25% more energy generation compared to a string system of the same capacity.

All kits in our range include an integrated micro-inverter rated to UK grid standards (230V / 50Hz / G98).

Yes — solar panels generate power from daylight, not direct sunshine. Even on a heavily overcast UK day, panels typically produce 10–25% of their rated output. On a bright but cloudy day, output can reach 50–80%.

The panels we stock use monocrystalline silicon with high-efficiency cells rated for low-irradiance performance — specifically selected because UK annual irradiance averages around 1,000–1,200 kWh/m², lower than southern Europe but still economically viable at current energy prices.

Lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4, or LFP) is a type of lithium battery chemistry chosen specifically for its safety and longevity. Unlike older lithium-ion chemistries (NMC or NCA) used in laptops and early EVs, LFP cells are chemically stable at high temperatures — they don't enter "thermal runaway" (the chain reaction that causes lithium battery fires) under normal fault conditions.

For a battery you're putting in your home and leaving plugged in 24/7, this matters considerably. LFP also delivers more charge cycles — typically 6,000+ — compared to 1,000–2,000 for NMC. That translates to a battery that still holds over 80% of its original capacity after a decade of daily use.

Yes. Plug-and-play solar systems are legal in the UK under Engineering Recommendation G98, which governs the connection of small-scale generators (up to 3.68kW single-phase) to the distribution network. For systems below 800W, many installers operate under a simplified self-notification process — in some cases, no formal notification is required at all.

Our kits are designed to comply with G98 from the outset. Every micro-inverter includes automatic anti-islanding protection, which shuts the system off instantly if the grid goes down — a legal requirement that protects engineers working on power lines.

It depends on the size of your system. Under G98, systems up to 3.68kW require notification to your DNO — but this is a notification, not an application for approval. You inform them after installation, not before. They don't get a veto.

For very small systems under 800W, the regulatory position is less clear-cut and many households proceed without formal notification, treating the inverter like a plug-in appliance. We recommend notifying in all cases for peace of mind — and we help you do it as part of our onboarding process.

Your DNO is the company that owns the power lines in your area (e.g. UK Power Networks, Northern Powergrid, Western Power Distribution). It's different from your energy supplier.

"Islanding" is when a solar system keeps generating power even after the grid has gone down. This is dangerous because engineers working to restore power on the line might not know the line is still live — creating a risk of electrocution.

Anti-islanding protection is a circuit in every compliant inverter that detects a grid outage within milliseconds and shuts the system down automatically. It's a legal requirement under G98 and BS EN 62116.

All inverters in our range include certified anti-islanding protection. The system restarts automatically when grid power is restored — you don't need to do anything.

Yes, and in fact a smart meter makes the system work better. A SMETS2 smart meter (the current standard in UK homes) records both import and export in half-hour intervals. When your solar panel generates more than you're using at that moment, the surplus is logged as an export — and if you're registered with the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG), your energy supplier will pay you for it.

If you add a home battery (like the Zendure SolarFlow or Marstek Venus), you can store that surplus instead of exporting it, using it later when the panels aren't generating. A smart energy monitor like the Everhome EcoTracker lets the battery know in real time exactly how much power your home is drawing, so it can discharge precisely what's needed — no waste, no over-export.

A kilowatt-hour (kWh) is a unit of energy — one kilowatt of power used for one hour. To put it in everyday terms: boiling a kettle uses roughly 0.1 kWh. Running a fridge for a day uses about 0.5–1 kWh. A typical UK household uses 8–12 kWh per day in total.

For a plug-and-play setup, the question is how much of your evening demand you want to cover from solar stored during the day. A 2.5 kWh battery (like the Marstek B2500) would cover a typical household from roughly 6pm to 10pm. A 5 kWh battery extends that through most of the night. Pair two units and you're covering most of a household's off-peak needs.

For safety reasons, standard grid-tied inverters (including most plug-and-play units) shut down automatically when the grid goes down — this is the anti-islanding protection described above. So a basic plug-and-play solar kit will not power your home during a blackout.

However, some battery systems in our range — specifically the Marstek Venus E and Zendure SolarFlow 2400 AC — include a backup output socket that switches over in milliseconds (20ms or less) during a power cut, independent of the grid. Devices plugged into this socket continue running on battery power through the outage.

Time-of-use (TOU) tariffs — like Octopus Go, Agile, or EDF's GoElectric — charge different rates for electricity at different times of day. Overnight rates are often 7–15p/kWh, compared to 24–28p during peak hours (typically 4–9pm).

Our battery systems can be programmed to charge automatically during cheap overnight windows and discharge during expensive peak periods — even without any solar panels at all. For households on an Agile or dynamic tariff, the Eniris SmartgridOne controller takes this further, making charge/discharge decisions in real time based on half-hourly spot prices, weather forecasts, and your household's consumption patterns.

In a well-optimised TOU setup, savings of £200–£400/year are achievable from the battery alone, on top of any solar generation savings.

For systems up to 800W, a standard 13A UK socket (BS 1363) is sufficient for getting started. The inverter draws no more than a standard appliance when operating, and no dedicated circuit is required.

For larger or battery systems (above 800W output), connecting to a dedicated 16A or 32A circuit via an RCBO (residual current breaker with overcurrent) significantly improves performance and safety, and is required to unlock the full rated power of the system. This is a straightforward job for any qualified electrician and typically costs £100–£200.

All products in our range carry the certifications required to be legally placed on the UK market:

UKCA marking — the UK's post-Brexit equivalent of CE marking, confirming conformity with UK safety, health, and environmental requirements. Required for all electrical products sold in Great Britain since January 2023.

CE marking — the EU conformity mark, still recognised and accepted in Northern Ireland and as evidence of standards compliance in Great Britain.

G98 compliance — all inverters are certified under Engineering Recommendation G98 for connection to the UK distribution network at under 3.68kW.

IEC 62109 / IEC 62116 — international safety standards for PV inverters and anti-islanding protection respectively, both required under G98.

Yes, with LFP chemistry batteries (which all our systems use). LFP cells do not produce toxic or flammable off-gassing under normal operation and have a stable electrochemical structure that resists thermal runaway — the failure mode behind most lithium battery fire incidents, which typically occur in NMC or NCA batteries under abuse conditions.

The Marstek Venus E and Zendure SolarFlow battery modules are both IP65-rated (dust-tight and jet-water resistant), operate across a wide temperature range (–20°C to +55°C), and include multi-layer battery management systems (BMS) that monitor cell voltage, temperature, and current in real time, shutting the system down if any parameter goes outside safe limits.

They are designed and certified for indoor domestic installation — living rooms, utility rooms, garages, and hallways are all appropriate locations.

No — since February 2024, the UK government extended its 0% VAT relief to include standalone battery storage systems, making batteries eligible for zero VAT whether purchased alongside solar panels or independently as a retrofit.

Solar panels and their associated equipment (mounting hardware, inverters, cables) have carried 0% VAT since April 2022. This relief applies to residential installations and is set to remain in place until March 2027, after which the standard 20% rate would reapply unless extended.

The Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) is a UK government scheme that requires larger energy suppliers to offer a tariff for electricity you export to the grid from a solar installation. Unlike the old Feed-in Tariff (which ended in 2019), SEG rates are set by suppliers rather than the government and vary considerably — currently ranging from around 4p to 15p/kWh depending on your supplier and tariff.

To qualify, your installation must be under 5MW, use a certified MCS (Microgeneration Certification Scheme) product, and be metered by a SMETS2 smart meter. Plug-and-play solar panels using certified micro-inverters and UKCA/CE-marked equipment generally qualify, but you must notify your supplier and apply for a SEG tariff — it doesn't happen automatically.

Self-consumption is the proportion of your solar generation that you use directly in your home, rather than exporting to the grid. It's the single most important metric for calculating your actual savings.

Here's why: in 2025, importing electricity costs around 24–28p/kWh. Exporting surplus under the Smart Export Guarantee typically earns 4–15p/kWh. Every unit you self-consume is therefore worth 2–7x more than every unit you export. The goal of a battery is to maximise self-consumption — storing what you'd otherwise waste and using it when the sun isn't shining.

Without a battery, a typical balcony kit might achieve 30–50% self-consumption. With a correctly sized battery, that rises to 70–90%.

Solar panels contain photovoltaic (PV) cells made from silicon. When sunlight hits them, it knocks electrons loose, creating a flow of direct current (DC) electricity. On its own, DC power can't run your kettle — your home runs on alternating current (AC) at 230V/50Hz.

That's where the micro-inverter comes in. Built into every plug-and-play kit, it converts the panel's DC output into 230V AC electricity in real time. Plug the inverter into a standard socket, and the power flows straight onto your home's circuit — your appliances draw from it first, before pulling anything from the grid. Your meter effectively runs slower (or backwards on a smart meter with SEG enabled).