How much can you really save with plug-in solar? I've crunched the numbers next to my EcoFlow Stream Ultra X — and it's not as sunny it sounds

Plug-in solar is no longer a grey area.

Kits under 800VA are now legal to buy and connect to a standard socket; no installer required.

The government has been promising this since March.

Now it is finally here.

But legal does not mean simple.

The market has split into three very different products, sold under one loose banner.

Solar-only kits that plug straight into a socket — these are then ones that have just been made legal.

Then there are battery-only power stations that store grid electricity for later, which still need professional installation.

Lastly, there are solar-plus-battery systems that do both.

Each behaves differently.

Each saves a different amount.

And, crucially, only the first one is actually covered by the new rules.

I started my solar journey about a year ago, initially with batteries and now branching into solar panels.

But with the advent of new rules and new products, the market is opening up for those who want to turn a modest investment into a reduction in every electricity bill merely by deploying a few solar panels and connecting them to a wall socket.