PLUG-IN gadgets that can knock up to £110 a year from your energy bills are landing in high street shops for the first time from TODAY.
Households will now be able to purchase plug-in solar panels after the Government changed the rules that previously banned them.
Plug-in solar panels can cut your energy bills by reducing how much energy you draw from the grid Credit: Alamy
Argos will be the first retailer to sell the gadgets in the UK from today Credit: Getty – Contributor
The panels, which can be hung on balconies or fences and plugged directly into sockets, can slash your energy bills by reducing the amount of energy you draw from the grid.
They are mainly aimed at helping renters, leaseholds who live in flats, and homes that can’t install rooftop solar panels to save on their bills.
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Argos will be the first to start selling the devices from Thursday, August 27, and other major retailers including Amazon, Currys, B&Q, Screwfix and Wickes are expected to follow in the coming weeks and months.
The exact price of the panels is not yet known, but ministers expect them to go down in price to around £400-£600 as more retailers sell them and more models come onto the market.
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Households should then be able to recoup this cost over a few years with savings of up to £110 annually on their bills, the Department for Energy and Net Zero (DESNZ) said.
Each kit produces up to 800W of power, which is enough to provide up to 20% of an average home’s electricity use when the sun is shining, according to officials.
It comes after it was announced on Wednesday that energy bills are set to rise to a three-year high this winter.
Energy bills for a typical household will be £1,723 a year from October – an increase of around £5 a month – under regulator Ofgem’s price cap.
Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh said: “Plug-in solar is a simple, affordable way for households to take control of their energy bills and start saving straight away.
“From this summer, we’re giving more families the ability to power their homes with clean homegrown energy.”
Plug-in solar panels were previously banned in the UK over safety and wiring standards.
But ministers say the legal change follows rigorous, independent safety testing and compliant panels are safe and compatible with UK wiring.
Households may still need to get consent from landlords, building owners, councils, freeholders or even planning permission or listed building consent before getting the gadgets.
People who buy the solar panels will also be asked to register their kits after purchase to help grid operator balance demand for energy.
