Once again the UK plays catchup with our immediate neighbours with the imminent (so we’re told) arrival of plug-in solar panels. Could this moment also represent an arty challenge?

This is timely, of course, given the extraordinary disruption to energy stability and pricing around the world after history’s most unnecessary war (which still rages). So what are ‘plug-in’ solar panels? These are solar panels you can simply plugin to any power socket in your own to produce reverse electricity. Until now solar panels, wheverer they were installed in and around your home, needed to be plumbed directly into your electricity meter, and that required a qualified/certified electrician. The UK strictly control who can open up your power supply and attach things to it (this seems rather wise), But with plug-in panels you simply plug them into any 13A socket and they will start your meter spinning backwards (well OK most meters don’t spin these days but you get the analogy).

Already popular in Spain and Germany (where they are known as balkonkraftwerk which roughly translates as ‘balcony power plant’) we eagerly await promised government action to amend UK regulations (the G98 distribution code and BS7671 wiring code if you’re interested in the marginalia) so that these panels – up to 800W worth – can be used here in the UK. 800W is not going to power your home for the day, but it could certainly help reduce your overall energy costs.

If the promises hold up, retailers should be able to offer these devices this summer. And you can pretty much guarantee that what is on offer will be black and oblong – not exactly an aesthetic addition to your home. If a new market is opening up here in the UK it feels like an opportunity for a disruptor to team up with a few artists to create something unique that will be sold as decoration as well as a utility. Artists like the ones who worked with the Art & Energy Collective to produce a series of experimental solar artworks. They developed techniques for extending the visual look of solar panels – sometimes quite radically so. As new technologies come on stream and, for example, coloured solar panels become readily available this feels ripe for creative development.

You can read more about Art & Energy’s work in this area at https://www.artandenergy.org/whatwedo/solarartworks. They are a partner in this publication. The image above is courtesy of the lovely folk at Art & Energy.

We want to hear more about projects like this, or perhaps you’re ready to leap into action with a business proposition to produce fantastical and beautiful balkonkraftwerk? We’d love to hear from as we develop the content for On a day like today… one of our publications for 2026. We have an open call with a deadline of May 7. https://artearthbooks.com/a-day-like-today/

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This bolg referenced this piece at inews. https://inews.co.uk/opinion/plug-in-solar-panels-change-whole-country-4319204