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Manchester Plug-In Solar

Made for Greater Manchester terraces

Solar for Manchester Terraces. Starts in Your Back Yard.

Most solar is built for a big sunny roof. Ours is built for the back of a terrace: panels on the house wall or a frame on the flags, plugged into an outdoor socket. You set it up, and your house uses the power first.

Two black solar panels on a low tilted frame in full sun on the flags of a red-brick Manchester terrace back yard with pots
Illustrative image
  • Plugs into an outdoor socket
  • No scaffolding, no installer

A busy family home could save around £180 a year*

Find my kit in five tapsCheck my yard's sun

*Our estimate for the Max 1260W kit in a busy four-person home (someone in all day, washing run in daylight, 70% of the power used at home), south-facing and unshaded, at the price cap rate of 26.32p per kWh. That's around £1,760 over 10 years and £3,430 over 20. See how we work it out.

Pick your terrace, we'll show you the kit

Swipe through and find the one that looks like your house.

A floor frame solar kit in full sun on the flags of a roomy Victorian terrace back yard with a bench and plants
Illustrative image
  • Two-up two-down

    Small yard, maybe 4m deep. The Compact 460W floor frame needs a sunny strip of about 1.9m.

    See the Compact 460W
  • Through terrace with an outrigger

    The outrigger's side wall is often the sunniest wall you've got. The Compact 515W or Duo 890W hybrid, depending on width.

    See the Back Wall Kit
  • Edwardian, longer yard

    Room for two panels side by side on the flags: the Duo 890W floor frame.

    See the Duo 890W
  • End terrace

    A gable with room to spare suits the Plus 1030W or the Max 1260W.

    See the End-Gable Kit

Or let the picker choose

What a yard kit could take off your bill

A busy family home with the Max 1260W could save around £180 a year*. Pick a kit and see yours.

Estimated bill saving

around £130 a year

Estimated generation
700 kWh a year
Used in your home
70%
Over 10 years
around £1,270
Over 20 years
around £2,490
Carbon saved
about 64kg a year
Range, 40–70% used
£75–£130
Unit rate
26.32p per kWh

An estimate, not a promise. It assumes a south-facing, unshaded spot at 30°, North West England, about 700 kWh a year from an 800W kit (Energy Saving Trust), 40–70% of it used at home, and the Ofgem price cap unit rate of 26.32p per kWh (1 Oct to 31 Dec 2026). Electricity you send to the grid isn't paid for. Your result will vary with location, shade and when you use electricity.

See this kit Open the full savings calculator

Boxed sizes listed so you can check your hallway

Terraced hallways can be narrow, with a tight turn into the back kitchen. Here's every box, so you can get the tape measure out before the van turns up.

KitBox sizeBox weight
Compact 460W floor frame1800 × 1180 × 180mm41kg
Duo 890W floor frame1800 × 1180 × 180mm74kg
Compact 515W hybrid1990 × 1165 × 130mm45.5kg
Duo 890W hybrid1750 × 1165 × 240mm74.5kg
Plus 1030W hybrid1990 × 1165 × 240mm81kg
Max 1260W hybrid2410 × 1165 × 240mm96kg

From the maker's datasheets. Have two people ready for the carry, and check the box will make any turns on the way to the yard.

A weatherproof outdoor socket on a sunny brick yard wall of a house, with a solar panel frame standing on the flags nearby
Illustrative image

Five minutes with a torch and a tape

Before you order: socket, RCD and permission

Nearly everything you need to check takes five minutes. Do it before you order and the day the box arrives is the easy bit.

  • A weatherproof outdoor socket within the kit's 4m lead, with no extension leads
  • Modern RCD protection in the fuse box (an electrician can check)
  • A yes in writing if you rent or you're leasehold
  • Register free at myplugin.solar before first use

Questions folk ask

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Questions folk ask before they order

Does solar work in Manchester? It's always raining.

It does. Panels run on daylight, not heat, and our savings estimate starts from the Energy Saving Trust's figure for North West England. The long summer days do the heavy lifting, and the rain gives the panels a free wash.

Can it go on my yard wall?

No. On a terrace the yard's back and side walls are usually the boundary with the entry or next door, and boundary walls are off limits. A wall of your own house is fine after a professional assessment, or use a floor frame on the flags.

Do I need an electrician?

Not to set it up, if you've already got a weatherproof outdoor socket within 4m and modern RCD protection. If you haven't, or you've an older fuse box, an electrician can fit or check them. Kits over 960W should have a professional check of the electrics either way.

Who do I have to tell?

Register the kit free at myplugin.solar before you first use it. That lets Electricity North West, the network operator for Greater Manchester, know it's there. Tell your home insurer too.

I rent my terrace. Can I have one?

Ask your landlord first and get the yes in writing. They can say no. If they're happy, a floor frame kit means nothing gets drilled into their house.