The original (very generic) title):
Government to go “further and faster” in becoming energy secure
The Energy Secretary outlines measures to protect consumers and make Britain energy secure.
They are speaking of panels in the 800W range which you can just buy , mount in front of your balcony or on top of your carport, and plug into a wall socket.
These things are wildly popular in Germany. The do not generate a lot of power, but armotize in about three years and save real money. (Depending on how old the metering technology is, they can also make the power meter spin backwards, which I think is only fair considering how much households pay for kWh, compared to energy-hungry companies, which get most of the the massive cost savings from renewables but don’t pay for the necessary upgrade of the grid).
Since there are so many doubts here in this thread: They do work. We have millions installed here in Germany. They are not burning down houses. They are not electrocuting linemen. They can withstand storms and will not fall of your balcony if you’re not a total idiot. They are cheap as fuck and will totally pay for themselves. You do not need some fancy plug, a normal Schuko is fine. Not sure if your british plugs are like Schukos. You will totally save a lot of money.
The “not burning linemen” is simple to do. Inverters on solar panels will already automatically turn off if there’s no mains voltage detected, same can be implemented on plug in solar.
Our 3 pin mains plugs/sockets are superior to Schuko/Type F, you can’t for example just shove a screwdriver into the holes on the socket the live pin on the plug goes into.
Schuko are also available with shutters (and in some countries, it is mandatory. Surprisingly, Germany is not one of them.)
All the power sockets in my house are shuttered Schuko (i.e. you can’t ‘just shove a screwdriver into the holes’ - it requires simultaneous pressure on both pins to release the shutters.)