The 800 W limit for plug-in solar explained

The 800 W limit for plug-in solar applies to the output of the inverter, not to the panels. It means that a plug-in kit may feed at most about 800 VA of alternating current into your home wiring at any moment. The panels behind the inverter can be rated higher; any power above the cap is simply not converted.

This distinction matters when you compare kits. A set advertised with 2 × 450 Wp panels and an 800 VA inverter will never deliver more than 800 W, but it will reach that cap more often and produce more over the year than a set with smaller panels.

Why there is a cap at all

A socket circuit in your home is protected by a fuse or circuit breaker in the consumer unit. That device only measures the current coming from the grid. If a plug-in kit feeds power into the same circuit at a socket, appliances on that circuit can draw the grid current plus the solar current. In the worst case, the cable carries more than the breaker allows without the breaker noticing.

At 800 VA and 230 V, a plug-in kit adds a current of about 3.5 A. Standards bodies and regulators set the cap at a level that typical socket circuits can absorb with a safety margin. That is why the limit is phrased as a maximum output, and why it is tied to the inverter.

The limit country by country

Country	Inverter limit	Panel limit	Connection	Checked
Great Britain	800 VA	reported as up to 2,000 W DC	13 A socket, rules since 27 Aug 2026	October 2026
Germany	800 VA	2,000 Wp (law); 960 Wp with a household plug under the product standard	Schuko or special energy socket	October 2026
Austria	800 W	see country page	network operator notification	October 2026
Switzerland	600 W	see country page	rules of the federal inspectorate	October 2026
Ireland	no specific plug-in regime confirmed	–	via the network operator	October 2026

Details, sources and registration steps are on the country pages for the UK and Ireland, Germany and Austria and Switzerland.

Great Britain

The legal basis is a statutory instrument published on legislation.gov.uk as SI 2026/848, together with an amendment to the wiring regulations (BS 7671). Plug-in solar became lawful through a 13 A socket from 27 August 2026. Reporting on the new rules describes the cap as 800 VA of AC output, with panels of up to 2,000 W behind the inverter, and notification under the network rules for small generators. Battery systems that import and export through a socket are reported to fall outside this first set of rules.

Germany

Germany raised its limit to 800 VA with the Solarpaket I in 2024 and allows up to 2,000 Wp of panel capacity. Registration is only in the Marktstammdatenregister run by the Federal Network Agency. The national product standard for plug-in solar devices, announced by the VDE for December 2025, adds detail: with an ordinary household plug, total panel power is limited to 960 Wp; with a special energy socket, 2,000 Wp are possible.

Panels above the cap: clipping explained

When panels could deliver more than the inverter accepts, the inverter limits its input and the excess is lost. This is called clipping. It only happens on bright days around midday. In the morning, in the evening, on cloudy days and in winter, larger panels push the output closer to the cap than smaller ones would.

Situation	Smaller panel set	Larger panel set
Sunny summer noon	below or at the cap	clipped at the cap
Morning, evening, cloudy	lower output	higher output
Winter	low	noticeably higher

How much extra this brings depends on orientation, tilt and shading. Our yield and payback calculator lets you test different panel ratings; the inverter cap is the ceiling for any single moment.

Watts, volt-amperes and the label on the box

Inverter data sheets usually state the rated AC output in VA. For a grid-tied microinverter running at close to unity power factor, VA and W are almost the same. A second figure to check is the maximum output current, which should be consistent with the cap. If a microinverter can be configured for several output levels, it must be set to the limit that applies in your country.

What the limit does not cover

• Batteries. In Germany, the product standard for plug-in solar devices does not cover systems with storage, and in Great Britain storage through a socket is reported to be outside the first set of rules. Battery products have their own requirements.
• Several kits. The limit is meant per household or connection.
• Fixed installations. Larger systems with their own circuit are a normal PV installation, with an installer and the full grid connection process.

Want the basics first? Start with how plug-in solar works.