Does plug-in solar apply to me?

Homeowners (owner-occupied)

The route is designed around you. If you own your home, the kit is yours, and you pay the electricity bill, everything on this site applies directly: check the device is compliant on the ENA register, install it per the instructions, and send a G98 notification to your electricity network within 28 days of plugging in.

You are also the person responsible for making sure the installation is safe. If anything beyond plugging in is involved — mounting at height, wiring, or an outdoor circuit — use a competent electrician.

Renters and flat-sharers

A plug-in kit that connects to a normal socket, without touching the fixed wiring, is generally treated like any other appliance — a fridge, a lamp, a heater. Tenants can typically use one without their landlord's written permission, because nothing is being done to the property's electrical installation.

Three practical notes:

• The wiring and meter belong to your landlord, and the G98 notification goes to the electricity network, not to your landlord. Nothing in the notification requires their sign-off.
• If you install anything with screws through walls, balcony mounts, or external cabling, that is likely a alteration to the property — check your tenancy agreement first.
• If you are in a flat with a shared landlord supply (some HMOs and student housing), you may not have your own MPAN — check your bill before buying anything.

The Ofgem decision that created the self-notification route explicitly flags insurance and property permissions as the consumer's responsibility to check. A two-line message to your landlord costs nothing and removes any doubt.

Landlords with kits on rental properties

A G98 notification covers one installation unit at one address. If you have kits on several properties, each one needs its own notification with that property's address and MPAN — there is no portfolio notification. Using the same contact email for all of them is fine; the network treats each notification separately.

If a tenant installed a kit without telling you, it is worth knowing: the notification legalises the connection for compliant devices, but the electrical installation responsibility for the property remains with whoever owns it. Ask to see the kit's ENA registration and install date so your records are complete.

Park homes and static caravans

If your park home or static caravan is your residence, connected to the mains network with its own meter and MPAN, the route works the same as a house: compliant device, your own circuit, G98 notification within 28 days to your electricity network.

The complication is resaland — pitch fees that include electricity resold by the site owner. If the site owner buys the electricity and resells it to you, you may not have your own MPAN or supplier, and the network notification route needs an MPAN. In that case, ask the site owner how they want generation notified; they hold the relationship with the network.

Boats and live-aboards

The Great Britain route is written around premises connected to the mains network. That puts boats in two very different situations:

• Moored with shore power and your own metered supply: you may be able to treat the mooring like a premises — but the MPAN belongs to the mooring, so talk to the marina first.
• Running your own battery/inverter system (no shore connection): you are outside this route entirely — there is no network connection to notify, and the rules that matter are the boat's own electrical standards (e.g. Boat Safety Scheme and your insurer's requirements).

There is no dedicated canal-boat carve-out in the current rules. If in doubt, email your regional electricity network — their contact details are in our network finder — and get their answer in writing.

Village halls, community buildings and allotments

The G98 route applies to microgeneration at premises— the rules do not limit it to homes. A kit on a village hall, scout hut, church or allotment shed with its own mains connection can be notified the same way, using the building's address and MPAN.

The catch is who is responsible. The building's electrical installation is legally the owner's or management committee's responsibility, not the individual who bought the kit. Before plugging anything in:

• Get the owner's or committee's written agreement — minutes of a meeting are ideal.
• Check the building's insurance covers generation equipment.
• Notify using the building's MPAN, and keep the acknowledgement with the hall's records.

For allotments, the same logic applies to a shed on a metered plot. If the allotment has no electricity supply at all, a standalone kit charging a battery — never back-feeding the network — is simply an off-grid appliance and nothing needs notifying.

A note for Welsh speakers

This site is currently English-only. The legal rules are identical across Wales, Scotland and England, but we recognise that matters for accessibility — we are a small free tool and Welsh-language support is on our roadmap. In the meantime, contact us if you need help following the forms in English; your electricity network can also supply bilingual support for the notification itself.

Frequently asked questions