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Is Britain's Plug-In Solar Revolution Really Just Months Away? (bylinetimes.com)

submitted 8 hours ago by okwithmydecay@leminal.space to c/unitedkingdom@feddit.uk

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[–] Valmond@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

Any Germans here? I heard balcony solar (that you just plug in an outgoing socket) is everywhere in Germany.

[–] Zombie@feddit.uk 6 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago) (2 children)

Germany doesn't use ring mains wiring and their housing stock is considerably more modern than the UK's. So they have more reliable insulation and more modern breaker systems.

That's not to say it's not possible here. It is. It's just the UK needs to take a more cautious approach because we have a greater risk of safety issues due to the way our homes are wired and the overall greater age of components.

All this to say, I hope for the roll out soon, but comparing our situation to Germany doesn't help much because our situation is more complex and will likely involve sparkies in a greater way than Germany needs to. Modern homes or those with up to date circuitry may be fine, but Victorian/Georgian homes will likely need somebody to give the place a look over first.

[–] yuumei@feddit.uk 2 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

I see this argument a lot, but are you sure? Let's assume the cables are using 2.5mm^2 which is around 1950's installation "standards", in the worst case that's 13A derated. Is that not enough for 800W of power? Now, I'm not saying that a standard 3-pin plug couldn't cause fire issues, or a bad connection, but that's true for any 3-pin plug with an 800W load. And this completely bypasses the RCD issue because even 800*2 W would still not be enough to cause any fire issues.

I'd be more worried about the plug being used, rather than the current situation.

[–] Zombie@feddit.uk 1 points 2 hours ago

Don't take my word for it. This is what the Institution of Engineering and Technology has to say:

Suitability of home wiring: Many installations - especially those that have not been professionally inspected for years - may contain worn components, unverified DIY alterations, or protective devices that cannot safely manage electricity being fed back into the system.

Older RCDs may not work correctly with plugin generation: An RCD (Residual Current Device) is the safety switch that cuts the power if there’s a fault - for example, if someone cuts through a lawnmower cable it protects you against electric shock. But some older RCDs were never designed for electricity flowing back into the circuit, as can happen with plug-in solar. This can stop the RCD from tripping when it should, meaning it may not protect you during a fault. Households should check with a competent electrician whether their RCDs are suitable before plugging in any energy generation equipment.

Compliance with Wiring Regulations: BS 7671 (the IET Wiring Regulations) sets out how electrical installations should be designed, built and verified. These regulations do not determine what consumers may plug in, placing responsibility on households to ensure that their wiring is fit for purpose before introducing any form of local generation.

Risk of overload or back feed: Plug-in solar can create scenarios where parts of a circuit carry more current than intended, even if the circuit breaker appears to operate normally.

Safe disconnection: Until appropriate standards are finalised, it is not guaranteed how different plug-in solar units will behave when more than one is connected, or how reliably they will disconnect during a power cut, posing a safety risk.

https://www.theiet.org/media/press-releases/press-releases-2026/press-releases-2026-january-march/24-march-2026-iet-urges-households-to-check-electrical-safety-before-using-plug-in-solar-products

[–] Valmond@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 3 hours ago

That's kind of wild, a bit like when we redid our wiring in our -58 apartment, it was similar, two "legs" and you just grounded from it through an appliance, apparently... One leg for the kitchen, one for the rest of the rooms...

Now it's like one leg for every thing(+ loads of breakers), like the fridge has its own cable and so on. I wonder how that works if you inject electricity into one of them...