Are plug in batteries legal where you live? Country by country
Panels up to 800 VA are accepted in most of Europe. Batteries are a grey zone almost everywhere. What is confirmed, what is not, as of 8 November 2026.
The short answer
Plug in solar panels with an inverter up to 800 VA are now allowed in Germany, Austria, France, Belgium and, since 27 August 2026, in Great Britain. Switzerland still applies a limit of 600 W. Batteries are a different matter: no country gives grid connected plug in batteries a clear general permission yet. Belgium comes closest, because its official list names specific battery units.
A portable power station that is not connected to the grid is a different product. It plugs into your devices, not into the house circuit, and these rules do not apply to it.
Germany and Austria
In Germany the new product standard DIN VDE V 0126 95 covers inverters up to 800 VA. Batteries are outside it, and the standards committee plans a separate part. Registration is done in the Marktstammdatenregister within one month. Sources disagree on batteries: one reported ministry letter says a battery must be entered separately and reported to the grid operator, while ADAC says standard batteries up to 800 W do not need a report to the operator. The careful approach is to enter the battery as its own unit in the register and ask your grid operator.
In Austria small generators up to 800 W need no permit, but the grid operator must be informed at least two weeks before commissioning, and the inverter has to be on the operator's accepted list. There is no central register. We have not confirmed any 2026 change for batteries.
Great Britain
Statutory instrument 2026 848 has applied since 27 August 2026 (not in Northern Ireland). It sets a route for complete kits with a BS 1363 plug and an inverter up to 800 VA, registered through myplugin.solar within 28 days. Batteries are excluded from this route. The government has started a safety study on plug in batteries that runs until March 2028. Until then a battery in Great Britain needs a registered electrician, as a normal wired installation.
France, Belgium and Switzerland
In France every installation must be declared to Enedis, whatever the power, free of charge through Enedis Connect (CACSI, since 15 September 2025). We found no official power limit for plug in kits, and the market uses 800 W. In Belgium plug and play sets have been allowed since 17 April 2025. Only the inverter has to be on the Synergrid list, and that list currently names the Anker SOLIX Solarbank 2 E1600 Pro and Plus and the Solarbank 3 E2700 Pro at 800 VA. Registration rules differ by region, so check yours. In Switzerland the old rule still applies: at most 600 W AC per circuit, with a written notice to the grid operator before use. A federal report of February 2026 found no known damage or injuries from balcony systems and recommends a new guideline that would include small batteries, but nothing has changed yet.
What to do before you buy a battery
Ask your grid operator in writing whether your model is accepted and what you must report. Keep the answer. Check that the inverter is on the national list where one exists. Keep the total feed in at or below the limit of your country. And remember that rules are changing quickly: every rules page on this site shows the date it was last checked and what is still open.