A plug-in solar device has to be on an official register, and confirmed compliant, before anyone can put it on the market. That is checkable in about a minute, and it settles more than any price comparison will.
Six questions. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Is it on the ENA Type Test Register, marked Compliant?
This is the only check that is not a matter of opinion. A device must be registered and confirmed compliant before it can be placed on the market. Search the register by manufacturer or model.
Does the inverter output 800 VA or less?
The specification caps apparent power supplied to the mains at 800 VA, and maximum current at 3.5 A. A listing quoting a higher output is describing something else.
Is the total panel capacity 2000 W or less?
Panels and output are different numbers. Up to 2000 W of panels may feed an 800 VA inverter. Above 960 W the manufacturer must advise you to get your wiring assessed.
Is it free of any bundled battery?
The specification does not apply to plug-in battery systems, or to plug-in solar integrated with a battery. Storage in the box takes the whole product out of scope, whatever the listing says.
Does it come with its own moulded plug and cables?
AC plugs must be to the BS 1363 series with BS 1362 fuse links. Every DC connector must meet BS EN 62852, come from the manufacturer, and be paired with its own kind from a single product family.
Does the seller avoid suggesting an extension lead or adaptor?
Extension cables, multi-way adaptors, RCD adaptors and travel adaptors are all prohibited. A listing that shows one in a photograph, or suggests one, has not read the specification.
Your verdict appears here.
Because the honest version of one would be very short, and the dishonest version is everywhere already.
Sites across the UK are publishing counts of approved kits. We have seen 40, 41, 47 and 52 quoted in the same week, alongside prices and rankings. None of those numbers appears anywhere on this site, because we did not gather them, and a number you cannot check is worth nothing.
What we do instead is name a device only when we have opened its record on the register and read it. Everything else on this site is the method, so you can do the same check yourself on any kit, including ones that do not exist yet.
One device record read in full, on 13 September 2026. It is on the register page, with the fields we read and what they mean. When we verify more, they go there too.
Every figure here is from the Interim Product Specification Version 2.0. If a listing contradicts one of these, the listing is wrong.
| What | Limit | Why it catches people out |
|---|---|---|
| Apparent power to the mains | 800 VA | The instrument separately sets 800 W of rated AC output. Different quantity, same ballpark, often conflated. |
| Maximum current | 3.5 A | Rarely quoted in listings at all. |
| Total panel capacity | 2000 W | Panels can be more than double the inverter output, so a big panel number is not a red flag on its own. |
| Assessment threshold | 960 W | Cross that line and the manufacturer owes you a recommendation to get the wiring assessed. Almost no listing carries one. |
| Devices per household | One | Comes from the connection rules, not the product spec. Buying two does not double anything. |
| Batteries | Excluded | A bundled battery puts the kit outside the approved class entirely. |
| Extension leads and adaptors | Prohibited | Extension cables, multi-way adaptors, RCD adaptors and travel adaptors are all out. |
If a listing is ambiguous, that is usually deliberate. Send it to us and we will tell you what it does and does not say.
Paste the link or tell us the manufacturer and model. We will look it up on the register, read it against the specification, and tell you plainly what we find, including when we cannot verify something. We do not sell kit and we take no commission from anyone who does.