Before you buy
Eight checks from the specification, none of them the price.
Read thisOpen the box before you fit anything
The model number matches
Check it against the register entry you looked up before you bought. A different revision is a different record.
The plug is already fitted
A moulded plug to the BS 1363 series with a BS 1362 fuse link. You should not need to fit your own or use a generic lead.
The connectors are the manufacturer's own
Supplied with the kit, to BS EN 62852, as matching pairs from the same product family.
The markings are on the device
Rated current, how many may be connected per household circuit, and the instructions sign, ISO 7010-M002.
The instructions say the right things
They must prohibit extension leads and adaptors, and state that any circuit changes are qualified electrician work only.
There is no battery in the box
If storage arrived with it, the kit is outside the approved class regardless of what the listing said.
No battery in the box
This is worth checking twice. The specification leaves out plug-in battery systems and plug-in solar devices with storage built in. If the box you opened has a battery in it, the kit falls outside what was assessed, even if the panel and inverter on their own would have passed.
Telling your network operator
Once it is connected, you are asked to register the device with your distribution network operator: a short online form with your name, your email address and the address it was installed at. Not sure who yours is? Ring 105, free from anywhere in England, Scotland or Wales, and you will be put through to whoever runs the network on your street. This route applies in Great Britain; Northern Ireland sits on a different footing.
Tell your insurer
A compliant device's instructions are required to tell you to check your insurance. Make that call before the kit turns up, not once it is already on the wall.
Questions about delivery
The box is not marked with anything about extension leads. Is that a problem?
Yes. The specification requires that warning twice over, once on the device and once in the instructions. If neither carries it, that is worth raising with the trader before you fit anything.
Do I need an electrician to plug it in?
No. The specification is written for products intended for installation by ordinary people. What needs an electrician is anything that changes your fixed wiring, such as replacing an overcurrent protection device, or fitting a new outdoor socket.
What if I am not confident checking all this myself?
Send us what arrived, or a photograph of the markings, and we will tell you what we see against the specification.
Also worth reading before you buy
If it isn't compliant
What your rights are if the register does not back the listing up.
Read thisOn this page
- Open the box before you fit anything
- No battery in the box
- Telling your network operator
- Tell your insurer
- Questions about delivery
Looking at a kit right now?
Send us the make and model, or a link. We'll check it against the register.
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