What the fitting involves
What the electrician looks at, what they fit, and what you're told afterwards, including the form your network operator needs within 28 days.
Read moreThe part that is on you
These kits are approved under wording built for “ordinary persons” to install and run, in the specification's own phrase. A single unit kit turns up ready to go, its inverter fitted and its direct current wiring already joined. A two part kit only asks you to connect the panel to the inverter yourself. Neither is electrical work on your house, and neither needs paperwork or a certificate.
An outdoor socket
The plug and socket can sit inside the house or outside it. Put them outside and the socket has to carry an IP55 rating or better, sealed against dust and able to take a jet of water. Very few houses already have one in the right spot, which makes this the most common paid job in the whole process.
A change to your circuit
Anything that touches the building's fixed wiring belongs to a professional electrician. The specification names replacing the overcurrent protection device on the final circuit directly, at BS 7671 Section 551.7.2, as work that can only be carried out by a qualified electrician.
A socket you are unsure about
You are told not to connect a device to a socket that is damaged or degraded, and to have an electrician inspect any socket whose condition or suitability you doubt. If the panel is not going somewhere new, checking the existing socket is worth doing before anything else.
Why extension leads are not allowed
The specification says it twice, once as a warning marked on the device and once again in the instructions: no extension cables, no multi-way adaptors, no RCD adaptors, no travel adaptors. A panel in a garden is exactly where people reach for one, which is why the outdoor socket gets fitted properly first.
Checking your insurance
The instructions that come with a compliant device must tell you to check with your insurer whether fitting one changes your cover. Ring them while the kit is still on order, not once it is already on the wall.
Above 960 watts of panels
A compliant device puts at most 800 VA into the mains, but the panels feeding it may total up to 2000 watts. Above 960 watts of panel capacity, the manufacturer has to advise a professional assessment of whether the installation suits your house.
Questions about the electrician's part
Who pays for the socket?
You settle that with the electrician directly, at whatever they quote you. Nothing passes through us in between, and no commission is added on top.
What if my balcony is timber?
Then the permitted development right does not cover it, and an electrician cannot make that lawful. That is why our first question asks what the surface is, before we send anyone your details.
How can I tell a kit has passed?
Search its make and model on the ENA Type Test Register. Nothing reaches the shelf lawfully until the maker has had it tested and holds written confirmation that it passed. No entry on the register means no testing has happened, whatever the box claims.
Before you get a quote
On this page
- What you can fit yourself
- An outdoor socket
- A change to your circuit
- A socket you are unsure about
- Why extension leads are not allowed
- Checking your insurance
- Questions about the electrician's part
Ready for a quote?
Four questions and a postcode. An electrician near you comes back with a price.
Start the four questions