A socket outside, done properly
IP55 or better, checked before we fit.
Read moreThe order we do things in
We look at the surface first, because that decides what is possible before anyone talks about a kit. Then the circuit and the socket, then the panel itself, then the operator's form.
The panel side rarely needs an electrician at all. The specification these devices are approved against is written for a one component device with its inverter already wired in, or a two component kit with the direct current joins made by hand. Neither counts as work on the house wiring.
Your kit or one from the register
Bought a kit already? Give us the make and model and we check it against the ENA Type Test Register, the platform manufacturers use to have a device assessed and confirmed compliant before it goes on sale. A device that is not listed has not been assessed, whatever the box says.
Prefer us to supply one? We only offer devices we have already checked against the register, and we take no commission from any manufacturer for doing it.
Mounting where the rules allow it
A plug-in installation usually relies on the permitted development right for small scale solar, and that right is conditional rather than automatic. Meet the projection limits, stay off a conservation area frontage, and keep clear of listed buildings and scheduled monuments, and no application is needed. Miss any of those and one is, and the government's own assessment says the fees can outweigh the kit itself.
What we will not say
We will not tell you a panel needs no permission and leave it at that, because the right has conditions. We tell you which side of them your house falls on before anyone is quoted a figure.
Timber walls, balconies and cladding
A change on 27 August 2026 took wood out of scope for this right altogether. Fix anything to a wooden wall, a wooden balcony or enclosure, or to timber cladding on any part of the house, and the permitted development route is closed to it, though the old rules remain usable as a fallback until 27 August 2027.
Where a house falls outside the right because of timber, we say so before anything is ordered, not after.
Questions about fitting
How long does the visit take?
It depends on whether a new socket is needed and where the panel is going. We give you a figure once we have seen the surface, not before.
Do you fit ground frames as well as wall mounts?
Yes. Open ground at 30 degrees makes almost as much as a roof pitch near Birmingham, and it is not affected by the timber exclusion since there is no wall or cladding involved.
What if my roof is the only option and it is not south facing?
We tell you what the figure looks like for your actual roof before you commit to anything, using the same PVGIS modelling behind the numbers on this site.
More on the fitting
On this page
- The order we do things in
- Your kit or one from the register
- Mounting where the rules allow it
- Timber walls, balconies and cladding
- Questions about fitting
Ask about your house
Send your postcode and tell us what the surface is. We reply by email.
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