Nine regions, nine operators, and one rule that changed.

England holds nine of the fourteen distribution licence areas, and it is the only nation whose planning guidance says anything at all about plug-in solar. Find your region below.

London

London Power Networks plc, part of UK Power Networks

Garden frame: 789kWh a year
South wall: 582kWh a year

South East

South Eastern Power Networks plc and Southern Electric Power Distribution plc, depending where you are

Garden frame: 890kWh a year
South wall: 645kWh a year

South West

National Grid Electricity Distribution (South West) plc

Garden frame: 816kWh a year
South wall: 594kWh a year

East of England

Eastern Power Networks plc, part of UK Power Networks

Garden frame: 795kWh a year
South wall: 594kWh a year

East Midlands

National Grid Electricity Distribution (East Midlands) plc

Garden frame: 754kWh a year
South wall: 564kWh a year

West Midlands

National Grid Electricity Distribution (West Midlands) plc

Garden frame: 746kWh a year
South wall: 555kWh a year

Yorkshire

Northern Powergrid (Yorkshire) plc

Garden frame: 729kWh a year
South wall: 550kWh a year

North East

Northern Powergrid (Northeast) plc

Garden frame: 727kWh a year
South wall: 558kWh a year

North West

Electricity North West Limited, but SP Manweb covers Merseyside and Cheshire

Garden frame: 684kWh a year
South wall: 505kWh a year

Generation from PVGIS for an 800 W device, unshaded, at one city per region. A garden frame at 30 degrees facing south, or a vertical south-facing wall.

The English rule nobody mentions

On 27 August 2026, the same day the product became legal, the permitted development right for solar equipment was updated. England is the only nation where the new guidance names plug-in solar directly.

Wooden surfaces are out

For houses and for blocks of flats alike, the updated right prohibits plug-in solar fixed to wooden walls, balconies and timber cladding. The product is advertised across the country as balcony solar, and a great many English balconies are timber or timber clad.

There is a twelve month transitional period running to 27 August 2027, during which either the old rules or the new ones may be followed. After that the choice disappears. The full English position is here.

Where to put it, on English numbers

Averaged across the nine English regions, this is what each mounting returns compared with an ideal pitched roof.

Where it goes	Share of ideal roof	Permitted?
Free-standing garden frame, 30 degrees south	99 per cent	Yes, within the usual limits
Vertical south-facing brick or rendered wall	74 per cent	Yes, up to 400 mm projection away from a highway
Vertical east or west wall	51 per cent	Yes, but half the output
Timber balcony or cladding	varies	No, excluded since 27 Aug 2026

The practical answer

A frame in the garden avoids the timber problem entirely and returns within about one per cent of what a perfect roof would. For most English homes it is both the simplest option and the best one.

Ask about your own address

A regional city is a starting point. Your actual postcode, aspect and shading decide it.

Give us a postcode and the surface you have in mind. We will confirm which operator covers you, run the generation figures for your actual location rather than a regional city, and tell you whether the planning rules cover your surface.