Plug-in solar panels are now on sale at Argos and Screwfix

• Plug-in solar panels are now available to buy at Argos and Screwfix
• The cheapest is £599, the most expensive is £999
• Other retailers are set to follow

Argos and Screwfix are currently the only two retailers selling plug-in solar panels, and you can buy them for as little as £599.

Plug-in solar panels became fully legal in the UK on 27 August. Plug-in solar panels UK shoppers wanted are now fully available, with Argos and Screwfix winning the race to offer them to customers.

Which plug-in solar panels can I buy at Argos?

UKSol is currently the only manufacturer whose plug-in solar panels are available to buy. The manufacturer is also at this time the first company in the UK to achieve regulatory compliance to sell plug-in solar panels.

These are the plug-in solar panels available to buy at Argos:

• UKSOL 515w Pro Compact Plug In Solar Panel With Hybrid Mount Bundle – £599
• UKSOL 460w Pro Compact Plug In Solar Panel With Ground Mount Bundle – £849
• UKSOL 890w Pro Duo Plug In Solar Panel With Hybrid Mount Bundle – £849
• UKSOL 1030w Pro Plus Plug In Solar Panel With Hybrid Mount Bundle – £899
• UKSOL 1260w Pro Max Plug In Solar Panel With Ground Mount Bundle – £989
• UKSOL 890w Pro Duo Plug In Solar Panel With Ground Mount Bundle – £999

And these are the plug-in solar panels available to buy at Screwfix:

• Powerxpress 800w Bifacial Plug In Solar Power Kit With 2x 460w Solar Panels and 800w Micro Inverter – £669

Why were the plug-in solar panels made legal in the UK?

Because of rising energy bills and the US-Iran war, which caused wholesale gas prices to balloon and forced the Energy Price Cap to jump two quarters in a row.

The government announced after the war began at the end of February that it would make plug-in solar panels legal, updating electricity safety laws to do so.

In doing so it is aiming to replicate the success enjoyed by billpayers in Germany, where energy costs have plummeted since it made it easier for people who live in flats to install them.

Last week we reported how Octopus Energy had become the first major energy provider to offer plug-in solar panels; the UK’s biggest energy company now includes them with its Nook battery package.

Other big retailers, including B&Q, Currys, Wickes and others, are also planning to offer plug-in solar panels.

Plug-in solar panels can cut energy bills by hundreds of pounds a year, and when they’re combined with conventional rooftop panels and a battery, households can become energy independent.

Written By

Maximilian Schwerdtfeger Deputy editor

Max joined The Eco Experts as content manager in February 2024 and became deputy editor in 2025. He has written about sustainability issues across numerous industries, including maritime, supply chain, finance, mining, and retail. He has also written extensively for consumer titles like City AM, The Morning Star, and The Daily Express.

He has represented The Eco Experts on national television several times, including the BBC’s Sunday Morning Live and ITV Tonight .

In 2020, he covered in detail the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) legislation on sulphur emissions and its effects on the global container shipping market as online editor of Port Technology International.

He also explored the initiatives major container ports and terminals have launched in order to ship vital goods across the world without polluting the environment.

Since then, he has reported heavily on the impact made by environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices on the supply chain of minerals, with a particular focus on rare earth mining in Africa.

As part of this, in 2022 Max visited mines and ports in Angola to hone in on the challenges being faced by one of the world’s biggest producers of rare earth minerals.

His most recent sustainability-related work came much closer to home, as he investigated the eco-challenges faced by independent retailers in the UK, specifically looking at how they can cut emissions and continue to thrive.

Max lives in South London and is an avid reader of books on modern history. He has also recently learned to play the game Mahjong and takes every opportunity to do so. He is also yet to find a sport he doesn’t enjoy watching.

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