Why batteries stay excluded from plug-in solar
Respondents asked for battery-integrated products to be included. The government declined, and said why: these raise additional technical and regulatory considerations which have not been assessed as part of this work. That is a holding position, not a permanent one — and the wording tells you what would have to change.
Excluded, deliberately, and the reasoning is on the record.
Respondents to the consultation argued that plug-in solar with integrated storage should be included, provided the power conversion equipment complies with the IPS and the battery complies with applicable storage standards.
The government’s answer: “Battery-integrated products remain outside the scope of the IPS and the regulatory amendments” — because the current workstream is intended to establish a controlled framework “informed by the available evidence and safety assessment”, and battery products “raise additional technical and regulatory considerations which have not been assessed as part of this work”.
It also said it “will continue to develop evidence relating to battery-integrated products” — which is a holding position rather than a closed door.
What was asked, and what was answered
The consultation drew a clear request. Respondents argued that:
- battery-integrated systems should be in scope where the power conversion equipment complies with the IPS and the battery complies with applicable battery storage standards
- excluding them “may limit consumer benefits”
- and it creates “misalignment with products already available in other market[s]”
That last point is the substantive one: integrated products exist elsewhere, and a UK framework that excludes them leaves a gap between what is available and what is permitted.
The government noted the comments and declined, on the reasoning quoted above.
The stated ground is not that batteries are unsafe. It is that the additional technical and regulatory considerations have not been assessed as part of this work.
That is a scope statement about a first framework, and it tells you what would have to change: an assessment. Which is what “continue to develop evidence” describes.
It is why we treat this as a live item on the timeline rather than a settled exclusion.
The boundary is deliberate
The framework is specific to plug-in solar devices. The government response records that the terminology refers specifically to plug-in solar devices without storage batteries, that the framework “does not extend to other plug-in technologies, such as plug-in batteries”, and that respondents raised concern the amendment “could be misinterpreted as applying to plug-in batteries or other” technologies.
So the line was drawn on purpose and then defended when tested. That is worth knowing, because it means a product marketed as a plug-in battery is outside this framework entirely rather than being covered by implication.
Why it matters to a household
The exclusion is not a technicality — it goes to whether the device is worth having.
An 800 W device generates in daylight. Without storage, everything depends on self-consumption: a unit you use is worth your import rate, and a unit you export from a plug-in device earns nothing, because a self-installed kit cannot claim SEG.
A battery would move generation into the evening, when household demand peaks. Its absence means plug-in solar suits people who are at home during the day far better than people who are not — which is the honest framing throughout our calculator and what 800 W can run.
What to watch
Any reassessment of scope. The commitment to continue developing evidence is the hook.
Movement on standards. Respondents proposed compliance with applicable battery storage standards alongside the IPS. If a mechanism for that emerges, it is the likely route.
Products marketed as compliant with storage. Treat with caution. A device with integrated storage is outside the IPS as it stands, whatever the listing says.
We track changes on the regulatory timeline, dated, and log corrections publicly when we get something wrong.
Sources
- Plug-in solar: government response (July 2026)
- Plug-in Solar Device Interim Product Specification, version 2
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Sorry to hear that. What was the problem?