How to read the plates
Each question below carries a plate. A solid ink plate marked Settled means the answer is already fixed in law or in published guidance. A split plate marked Part settled means part of the answer exists and part doesn’t. An open outline marked Open means nobody has answered it yet, anywhere we can find.
All eight, in order
Settled
SETTLED
Is a plug-in solar device legal to make and sell here?
Yes. The regulations that created the product came into force on 27 August 2026 and apply across the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland is named in them, not left out.
Who answers this: Answered by the UK government.
SI 2026/848, regulations 1 and 2.
Settled
SETTLED
What limits does the device itself have to meet?
The same ones as the rest of the UK: 800 VA, one device per household, up to four panels wired through one inverter, sold with a plug already fitted. Those numbers are the same in Belfast as they are in Bristol.
Who answers this: Answered by DESNZ.
Set out in DESNZ’s own interim specification for the device, version 2.0.
Open
OPEN
Can you connect one to the network the way a house in England can?
Not yet, as a matter of law. The rule that lets Great Britain connect these devices safely is a separate part of the same regulations, and it was written for England and Wales and Scotland only.
Who answers this: Not yet answered.
It would need DESNZ to extend that rule here, or write a Northern Ireland version of it.
Partsettled
PART SETTLED
Which engineering standard covers the connection here?
Northern Ireland already has its own version, G98/NI, run by NIE Networks. But the specification that sets the device’s limits says applying it here is “subject to further consideration and may require amendment.” That is the government’s own wording.
Who answers this: Partly answered.
NIE Networks and DESNZ would need to finish the work between them.
Open
OPEN
Is there a form to tell your network operator once one is fitted?
Great Britain’s network operators are getting a short online form for this, taking your name, email and address within 28 days of fitting. Nothing equivalent has been published for Northern Ireland.
Who answers this: Not yet answered.
That would be for NIE Networks to publish.
Open
OPEN
Does planning guidance here say anything about plug-in solar?
No. Northern Ireland’s own planning guidance gives no thresholds, says nothing about flats or balconies, and does not mention plug-in solar as a category at all.
Who answers this: Not yet answered.
That sits with the Department for Infrastructure and your local divisional planning office.
Open
OPEN
Did Northern Ireland’s different arrangements get looked at during the consultation?
Questions about the Windsor Framework were recorded in the government’s own response to the consultation on these rules. They were written down. They were not answered.
Who answers this: Not yet answered.
That is a question for DESNZ and the UK government.
Open
OPEN
When will this be sorted out?
No date has been given anywhere we can find. The government has said only that applying the specification to Northern Ireland is subject to further consideration.
Who answers this: Not yet answered.
No timetable has been published.
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