British Gas starts free competition to win £500 plug-in solar panels — as Argos beats Amazon and Currys to stock the UK's first kits

Plug-in solar kits are now appearing for sale in the UK British Gas is also running a competition to win £500 kits You could save up to £110 a year with one of these kits The plug-in solar revolution is now underway in the UK , after portable, mains-connecting solar kits became legal — and if you're keen to get involved quickly, British Gas is running a competition to give away 30 of these kits for free.

The competition is for a plug-in unit worth around £500.

All you need to do is register your interest in buying a kit on the company's website before the September 16, and the winners will be picked out by the 30th.

"We want to help more people take that first step, which is why we're giving 30 households the chance to win a plug-in solar unit," says British Gas Commercial Director John Evans.

"For us, it’s about giving people more choice and control over how they generate and use their energy." If you're completely new to the tech, it allows you to set up solar panels on balconies and in back gardens, and plug them directly into the mains to offset some electricity costs.

Official estimates suggest you could save up to £110 a year, depending on how much sunshine there is in your part of the country.

Now in stock The balcony is one place you can fix your panels (Image credit: Getty Images / Astrid860) When it comes to products you can buy rather than win, Argos have been the quickest out of the blocks from what we've seen, and are already stocking options from UKSOL that will set you back from £599 for a 515W setup.

Remember you can go up to 2000W with one kit under the UK regulations.

It looks as though other UK retailers won't be far behind.

Amazon's UK & Ireland Country Manager John Boumphrey says "we're looking forward to helping customers benefit from this technology", while Currys director Michelle Gorringe-Smith says that the store is working "to make these products available to UK households as soon as possible".

David Wood, CEO at Wickes, says kits will be available online "in the coming weeks".

"Making energy-saving technologies easier to access will be an important part of helping people reduce their energy bills and supporting the transition to a lower-carbon future." If you like the idea of free electricity (minus the up-front cost, of course), there are a few rules and regulations to know about before you get started: our guide to everything you need to know answers the most important questions.