Why Britain is blocking the cheap DIY solar boom already sweeping Europe (aff)

Plug and Play solar energy might be blossoming into a booming industry but, in the UK, these money-saving DIY solar kits are struggling to get off the ground - because of legislation that's getting in the way.

However, that didn't stop portable power specialist Bluetti inviting me to a glitzy launch of its new "plug and play" solar systems, which are set to become a huge seller in mainland Europe.

The issue in the UK, unlike other European countries, is we're not allowed to buy a microinverter - the bit that converts solar energy to household-friendly power - and just plug it into the mains. You can in Germany, one of the biggest markets for balcony solar, and you can in many other countries, but not here.

It adds another barrier to entry for British buyers, because an electrician needs to wire the microinverter into your electrical circuit, and that can be costly.

And it was a topic Bluetti's bosses seemed disconcertingly vague about at their international launch, in the swanky Gustave Suite in Paris's iconic Eiffel Tower. Experts, dealers, and business partners from around the world attended, but they were all from countries that already embrace plug-in power. As one of the only UK journalists there, I couldn't help feeling like a bit of a poor relation.

I did have an interesting conversation with a savvy UK expert who reminded me that our supermarkets are chomping at the bit to offer "£400" solar kits, including a microinverter and panels, and you can bet they're piling pressure on the government to get the red tape hacked away before the sun vanishes for the autumn and everyone loses interest.

But even though Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has been discussing the change in regulations since March, there's still no clear pathway to plug-in solar in Britain.

And I'm not sure how bothered Bluetti really is. Because this is a company that knows how to make seriously clever tech that shakes up sectors and becomes the hot product in its key market. And, as great as the new solar tech is, the UK just isn't a key market. Yet.

But as a hopeful glimpse into our future, let me talk you through it. At the core of Bluetti's new system is the Balco 260, a smart white box that contains the inverter and a battery. You buy this bundled in with solar panels, and fit the solar panels to a roof, a fence, or even just stand them up in your garden. Then, in theory, you just plug it in to your mains socket (at least, when we're allowed to) and on a sunny day, most items in your house will be powered by the sun.

A trick AI system can decide when to pump electricity into your house and when to charge the battery, and the system is expandable, so it can grow with your requirements or your budget.

UK pricing hasn't been announced yet (funnily enough), but looking at EU prices it'll be a little way north of £1,000 for a basic setup, which brings it in line with similar systems from the likes of EcoFlow.

But unfortunately it's all a bit academic because, although the kits are on sale now in some countries, shipping won't start in the UK for... Well, we just don't know.

DIY solar systems are quickly becoming a huge deal. Germany, for example, is peppered with them. And the more households that have them, the less reliant we are on the grid, the more energy we're storing in our individual batteries, and the less we rely on fossil fuel.

The individual savings they offer aren't vast, small systems might only generate a few pounds worth of electricity per day, and that's only when the sun shines at the height of summer - but every little helps.

And ultimately some recent global happenings are serving up a brutal reminder that the UK needs to become more self-sufficient. Helping companies to make home-based solar power affordable should absolutely be a priority.

And when that day finally comes, Bluetti will be ready to go. Let's just hope the day arrives before our lucky neighbours on the continent wipe out all the stock.