John Pepper 🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇱🇻🇪🇺 🇺🇦

@Tedisiek @robert_cubitt They don’t work without grid electricity, they trip. Simple.

@robert_cubitt I’d think at this stage anything questioning the government is far from stupid, I’d call backfeeding electricity into a house during a powercut with the breaker off. Unwise rather than stupid 🤔

These plug in solar panels…. Aren’t they a disaster waiting to happen? I mean on a few occasions when we bought this house and had power cuts I did use a suicide cable to power a circuit from a generator. But since learnt it was incredibly stupid. What’s the difference here? Feeding power back into a plug socket albeit from solar. @MotoNutJob Couldn’t this make your job more dangerous of there are undeclared panels plugged in feeding a circuit you otherwise thought to be isolated? I’m not an electrician but on the surface it doesn’t seem like a valid solution.

@mattwridley NO! There is insufficient UK gas to set the market price! good grief how do you not know this!!

Which is exactly why home produced gas would be much cheaper. Liquefying the stuff and transporting it is very expensive. Good grief, do people not know this?

@toadmeister Climate is complex (ice sheets, oceans, circulation all matter) - CO₂ is not the only factor But CO₂ remains a key driver of long-term warming. This claim is bollocks.

New evidence from Antarctica ice cores showing no link between CO2 and temperature over the last three million years has stumped Net Zero activists, says Chris Morrison. dailysceptic.org/2026/03/25/sho…

@TrentTelenko What that Toby Young lies?

This isn't a surprise.

@Cell6six6 @robhawkes Based on a cost of c £650. But all tentative at the moment. Any need to pay someone £100-£150 impacts payback significantly. Insurance considerations I hadn’t thought of - for plug in solutions not sure if that would be a factor but I don’t know. I prefer to be optimistic

5 years payback? Meh, sounds reasonable on paper… but based on what exactly? Optimistic solar production forecasts? And how much is a proper setup actually going to cost you? Definitely not a £400 special from Temu. For plug-in solar (balcony or portable kits), there are still important considerations. Getting it done safely usually means calling in an electrician which adds real expense. Then there’s insurance. Will your home insurer even cover it if something goes wrong?

Genuinely excited about the plug-in solar news in the UK, I'll absolutely be doing this! I've wanted solar for ages but I have a weird roof so the idea of experimenting with something simple in the garden / garage to start with is very appealing 👀

@TheBarrenNorth @jobsagudgeon @robhawkes Why do I have to worry about voltage. I have no idea. Is there a reason?

@johnkpepper @jobsagudgeon @robhawkes I posted you what I was responding to, for fuck’s sake. Go away. Idiot.

@ShaunCraze @robhawkes Alternatively you have a flat roof and a 5 year payback. Pays your money and take you choice. big benefits here I think.

@robhawkes It will be terrible if not installed correctly. Panels will be dangling out of flat windows, low warranty, no battery either, potentialy dangerous when connected to outdated electrical circuits. No major positives really.

@theonlywayisD @robhawkes Hoping I can bring it inside and down to an existing plug. Even paying a sparky £100 takes a year off payback, so ideal if you can manage yourself.

@robhawkes Best and most recommended ( YouTube etc ) systems I have found are from Ecoflow, planning to get some in the next couple of months. It’s just trying to find an electrician to fit an outside plug that’s the biggest issue!

@Mr___JJ @robhawkes I think you can but payback probably not great.

What they should do is explain if it will be compatible with small solar generators like this as if you start using plug in solar it would smart to be able to plug in the solar via a small battery storage device (this one for example would be about £800 with a deal and could store 2KWh).

@Cell6six6 @robhawkes Already calculated a rough payback of approx 5 years and that is assuming no price rises so no, you are wrong.

@robhawkes Don't worry, you'll be wasting your money and will be very dissapointed.

@TheBarrenNorth @jobsagudgeon @robhawkes So you just made it up for engagement and then don’t engage, bye

@johnkpepper @jobsagudgeon @robhawkes Sigh. Goodbye.

@TheBarrenNorth @jobsagudgeon @robhawkes He’s not the OP. Same question. Please tell me why I have to worry about voltage here.

@johnkpepper @jobsagudgeon @robhawkes

@RSPCA_Bookshop @robhawkes They don’t normally export to the grid - they CAN but they don’t have to. I have just costed up an install and I do think I would be exporting. If you are just plugging something in no one will have to sign if off.

@johnkpepper @robhawkes Plug In Solar - How Does it Work | Plug In Solar share.google/jssY4P7zyPYTue… (who sell the kits) imply that a qualified electrician has to sign off the installation. I think they mentioned the consumer unit because that's the point where your home connects to the grid

@TheBarrenNorth @jobsagudgeon @robhawkes No they didn’t. Voltage is handled automatically why are we bothering about it?

@johnkpepper @jobsagudgeon @robhawkes The OP commented about the DC voltage....

@TheBarrenNorth @jobsagudgeon @robhawkes Why am I to worry about voltage?

@jobsagudgeon @johnkpepper @robhawkes Solar panels produce around 30v to 50v DC.

@jobsagudgeon @robhawkes Literally you do just “slap it in”. You literally plug it in.

@johnkpepper @robhawkes You can't just slap it in there you're still playing with 240v AC which will give you a tickle but depending on the voltage of the DC side could take a big bite and stop your heart Also smoke, lots of smoke

@RSPCA_Bookshop @robhawkes Why? It’s not going near your consumer unit is it? Just plug it in avoiding long extension leads. I think.

@johnkpepper @robhawkes I'm not sure it is because it looks as though you do need a qualified electrician to modify your consumer unit (& possibly to fit the plug socket & run a cable back to the unit). I guess if any electrician can do the fitting it probably does make it cheaper

@ChartsClimate @LoftusSteve We do maths over here so obviously your sums are complete bollocks.

@LoftusSteve Do the math A 100W unit retails for $700-1000 Using a 13% cap factor, you can generate about 114 KWh a year. At a $0.25/KWh rate you “save” $29 a year That is a 25-35 year payback!! It’s a ripoff in every sense of the word - preying on those who don’t understand this stuff

Super. I'm all for more free market options. But for context, those half a million plug in solar panels in Germany provided 0.2% of all electricity last year.

@latimeralder It’s no shock whatsoever, now look back 20 years and project forward 20.

Where does Britain get its energy from? 39% from oil 32% from gas 10% from wind and a few odds and sods. This may come as a shock to renewables fans. Be gentle with them. It upsets their world view