What is Plug-in Solar?

Plug-in solar systems include three basic components:

A solar panel (either hard shell or flexible)
A microinverter
A standard household electrical plug

Combining these three aspects together into a plug-in solar kit makes it easier and cheaper for citizens to go solar. The solar energy captured by your solar panel gets converted into a useable form by the inverter, enabling the electricity to supply the various appliances in your home.

Plug-in solar is growing rapidly: there are an estimated 4-5 million plug-in solar PV systems already operating on homes and businesses across Europe.

In addition, the cost of solar panels has declined by 99% since the 1970s, making solar the cheapest way to produce electricity today.

With plug-in solar systems now available easily both online and in home hardware stores in a growing number of countries in the EU and around the world, millions more people are going to start adopting them in the years ahead.

As plug-in solar systems spread, it is important that systems are installed safely. This is one of the main reasons this website was created, to give you the information you need, and to help answer the questions you have.

Photo: Aleksandar Milenkov for Habitat Bulgaria, Sunrise project

Approximate Plug-in Solar Payback Time by Country*

Key assumptions and modelling parameters:

Total system cost: EUR 200
System size: 200W
Slope = 90° (balcony)
Azimuth 30°C (slightly offset from due south)
100% of electricity production consumed

Based on average residential retail prices by country: does not include country-specific or utility-specific time-of-use rates
Solar output calculations for each country are based on data from SolarGIS

Disclaimer:
*Please conduct your own calculations based on your actual electricity prices before making an investment decision. The calculations presented here meant to serve as high-level country averages and do not reflect the payback time of a specific project or installation. No liability is accepted for the accuracy of the results, or for investment decisions made on the basis of these results.