Electrical bodies warn on plug-in solar safety

ECA, Electrical Safety First, the Institution of Engineering and Technology, NICEIC, and SELECT have warned that plug-in solar PV units should not enter the UK mass market until a full safety and technical framework is in place.

The joint position supports wider access to clean energy but states that public safety must come first in any rollout. The organisations want product assurance, competence requirements, system resilience, and regulatory clarity established before consumer adoption accelerates.

Plug-in solar PV units differ from conventional appliances because they feed power into an electrical installation rather than only drawing power from it. That creates bi-directional power flow in circuits that may not have been designed, inspected, or maintained for generation connections.

Residual current protection is one of the main technical concerns. The organisations highlight circumstances in which a source connected on the load side of an RCD or RCBO could affect expected operation. Amendment 3:2024 to BS 7671:2024 addresses the issue, and the joint statement calls for the requirement to be considered carefully before plug-in systems are normalised.

Older housing stock adds further risk. More than half of UK homes are over a century old, and many properties may have wiring that is damaged, deteriorated, modified, or unsuitable for additional generation connections. Adding a plug-in solar PV unit without a proper electrical assessment is described as unwise and contrary to existing British Standards, including clause 5 of BS 1363-1.

Product standards are also unresolved. The organisations warn that plug-in solar products could reach retail channels before a robust UK standard is embedded, increasing the risk of inconsistent quality, unclear compliance requirements, and unsafe imports. Accessories such as flattened cables intended to pass under doors or through openings are identified as examples of practices that could create insulation damage, overheating, and fire risk.

Network visibility remains a major operational issue. Solar PV installations and EV charge points are normally notified to the local Distribution Network Operator because cumulative generation and demand can affect local network capacity and stability. If plug-in solar becomes an off-the-shelf product without a clear notification route, DNOs may lose visibility of generation being added to low-voltage networks.

Small assets become material when they are deployed at scale. Domestic batteries, EV chargers, heat pumps, and solar PV are already changing local network profiles, with firm batteries proposed for constrained substations as one route to managing local pressure. Plug-in generation adds another layer, particularly where multiple properties are connected to the same feeder or shared building supply.

Liability and insurance questions remain unresolved. If a fire or fault is linked to a self-installed plug-in solar unit, there may be uncertainty over cover where the product was not declared, the installation was unsuitable, or connection requirements were not followed. Landlords, leaseholders, insurers, and emergency services could inherit risks created by low-friction product adoption.

Daisy-chaining presents another practical hazard. Extension leads, adaptors, multiple devices on the same circuit, trailing cables, balcony fixings, and improvised connections can increase overheating, trip, fall, and falling-object risks. In high-rise buildings, those risks become more complex because electrical, fire, and building-safety requirements overlap.

The joint statement calls for clear product standards, competent installation pathways, robust enforcement, consumer guidance, and a mechanism to protect householders and the electricity distribution network. Wider access to small-scale solar can support decarbonisation, but only where electrical safety, installation competence, and network operation are built into the market from the start.