IMPARTIAL NEWS + INTELLIGENT DEBATE
Account
Retailers are working with the government to allow the panels, which are popular in Germany and Spain, to be allowed to plug in to domestic sockets
Major retailers, including Sainsbury’s and Currys, are planning to sell plug-in solar panels after the Government said they will be on sale in UK stores “within months”.
Regulations currently prohibit the panels from being plugged into a circuit connected to the grid – including household sockets.
But major retailers including Iceland and Lidl are working with the Government and Ofgem to update the rules and allow the panels to be connected to domestic sockets.
The i Paper understands that both Lidl and Iceland have not confirmed plans to sell the panels, but intend to do so when the regulations are updated.
This paper can also reveal that Sainsbury’s – which owns brands such as Argos – and Currys are also planning to sell the panels if the guidance is updated.
Sainsbury’s is currently reviewing sources for the panels, The i Paper understands, while Currys is also exploring options to add to its solar range.
When approached by The i Paper, John Lewis did not rule out selling the plug-in panels, but said no official plans had been made.
“We are constantly reviewing our ranges to make sure we stock what our customers want to buy,” a John Lewis spokesperson said, adding that there are “no plans at the present time” to sell the panels.
The Government has said it is already working with retailers like Lidl and Amazon, alongside manufacturers such as EcoFlow, to bring plug-in solar to the UK market.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has promised that the solar panels will be available in shops “within months”, while EcoFlow has said it hopes people will be able to use them this summer.
The panels cost roughly £400 and could cut around £100 off household bills each year. That means the devices’ purchase cost could be covered within about four years by the savings they generate, with any additional electricity they produce being effectively free.
To function, the panels could be plugged into household sockets and installed in outdoor areas such as balconies, rooftops, gardens, and external walls.
Ministers are working with Energy Networks Association, Distribution Network Operators (the organisations that own and control the electricity distribution network), and the regulator Ofgem.
Specifically, it will update the “G98 distribution code and wiring regulations BS 7671” to allow UK households to connect <800W plug-in solar panels to domestic mains sockets – without the need for an electrician and with tailored safety standards.
As more suppliers join the market, the price of the panels is expected to drop further, according to Gareth Simkins, a spokesperson for Solar Energy UK, which represents more than 400 companies in the energy sector.
“The Government clearly expects plug-in solar arrays to become a mass-market consumer product, which is exactly what has happened in countries such as the Netherlands and Germany,” he told The i Paper.
“If a good number of major retailers start selling them, that should certainly push down their cost.”
The German Solar Association has estimated that more than one million plug-in solar installations have so far been made across Germany.
In the UK, Simkins said companies represented by Solar Energy have reported thousands of inquiries by customers interested in solar panels as energy prices began rising after the Iran war broke out.
“It’s not unreasonable to think that we’re going to see thousands of these installed in the coming months and years,” he added.
In November 2025, the number of certified solar panel installations surpassed 203,125 – the previous annual record set in 2011, according to the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS).
The MCS, which tracks renewable energy installations, said the figure brought the total number of certified solar panels installed in the UK to about 1,850,000.
Frankie Mayo, senior analyst at the global energy think-tank Ember, said: “Domestic-scale solar installations, completely subsidy-free, hit record levels at the end of last year. This will only accelerate the rate of home-upgrades across the country.
“Once you’ve got solar, electric vehicles and heat pumps become so much more attractive too. The electro-tech revolution is coming to every UK household now.”
Impartial news + intelligent debate
All rights reserved. © 2026 Associated Newspapers Limited.

source