An allotment is the one place where small-scale solar makes almost unarguable sense. There is no mains supply, running one would cost thousands, and the times of year you actually want power — watering through a dry July, working into the light evenings of May — are precisely the months when a solar panel in Britain does its best work.
That last point deserves more attention than it usually gets. The standard complaint about UK solar is that output collapses in winter. On an allotment, that barely matters. Your plot in December needs almost nothing. The seasonal curve of solar generation and the seasonal curve of allotment activity happen to line up, which means a modest panel that would be hopeless as a home power supply is perfectly adequate here.
Check your tenancy before you buy anything
This is the step people skip, and it is the one that costs money.
Allotment sites are not governed by a single national rule. Most are run by a local council, some by self-managed associations under a council lease, and each sets its own conditions about what you may put on a plot. The National Allotment Society is the standard reference on the underlying law, but the document that binds you is your own tenancy agreement.
What varies between sites:
Whether structures are allowed at all. Many sites permit a shed or greenhouse; some permit neither. Where they are allowed, there are usually size limits and a requirement to ask permission first.
Whether installations must be removable. Several councils specify that structures be temporary or capable of being dismantled at the end of a tenancy. A panel bolted to a shed roof normally satisfies this; a ground-mounted frame set in concrete may not.
Whether the site has its own rules about equipment. Some sites have had problems with theft or with plots accumulating machinery, and have written rules in response.
None of this is difficult to resolve. Ask your site secretary whether a solar panel on your shed is acceptable, and whether anything needs to go in writing. It is a short conversation, and it is much cheaper than discovering the answer afterwards.
What solar can realistically run on a plot
Allotment electrical loads are small, intermittent, and forgiving — which is what makes this work.
Lighting. An LED shed light draws 3-5W. Even a very small system runs one for hours.
Charging. Phones, radios, and cordless tool batteries. A phone is 10-15Wh; a tool battery is more like 50-100Wh and is the largest routine load most plots have.
Water pumping. The genuinely useful one. A small 12V pump moving water from a butt or tank to where you need it draws roughly 20-60W while running, and only runs for minutes at a time. If you have ever carried watering cans across a site in August, this is the application that justifies the whole system. Our solar pond pump guide covers the pump side in more detail, and most of it transfers directly.
Security cameras. A small camera draws 3-6W but runs continuously, which makes it the load that actually sizes your battery rather than your panel. Continuous draw is harder on a small system than a big intermittent one.
What it will not do. Heating anything. A greenhouse heater, a kettle, or any resistive heating load is out of reach of a plot-sized system by an order of magnitude. If that is what you are after, you want a portable power station charged at home, not a fixed installation.
Sizing it honestly
For most plots:
50W panel, 20-30Ah battery. Lighting, charging, and a water pump used intermittently. This is enough for the majority of allotment holders and it is worth starting here.
100-150W panel, 50Ah battery. Add a security camera running continuously, or heavier tool charging, or you simply want margin for a run of grey days.
Above 200W. Rarely justified on a standard plot. If you find yourself sizing beyond this, check whether what you actually want is a portable power station you charge at home and carry down — often cheaper, more flexible, and it goes home with you at the end of the day.
Because the loads are small, the arithmetic that dominates home solar — self-consumption, payback period, export — mostly does not apply here. There is no bill being offset. The comparison is against having no power at all, or against running a petrol generator. If you do want to think about the numbers on a larger system, our payback calculator handles the home case.
100W Panel + 20Ah LiFePO₄ Battery Kit
This sits at the upper end of what most plots need, which is the point: it runs lighting, charging and a water pump comfortably through the season, and leaves enough headroom to add a camera later without replacing anything. Small enough to take home between visits.
amazon Check Price on Amazon →Theft is a design constraint, not a footnote
Solar equipment theft is a recognised and growing problem in the UK, and an allotment is by nature unattended for most of the week. This should shape what you buy before it shapes where you put it.
The two workable strategies:
Take it home. Portable panels and a portable battery, carried down and back each visit. Inconvenient, and completely effective. For plots visited a couple of times a week this is often the right answer, and it also sidesteps most tenancy questions about fixed structures. See our portable solar panels guide for what travels well.
Make it unattractive and awkward. Mount panels where they are not visible from paths, gates or boundaries. Use security fixings rather than standard screws. Keep the battery and controller inside a locked shed rather than outdoors. Mark everything with your postcode, which makes resale harder and recovery possible.
Ask your site secretary what has actually gone missing on your site. Some sites have a real problem and some have none at all, and there is no way to know which yours is from the outside.
Fixed or portable — the decision that shapes everything
Almost every other choice follows from this one.
Fixed suits plots with a secure shed, frequent visits, and a load like a security camera that needs to run when you are not there. It is tidier, always ready, and it is the only option if you want continuous power.
Portable suits plots without a shed, sites with a theft history, tenancies that restrict fixed structures, and anyone who would rather not leave several hundred pounds of equipment unattended. A portable power station and a folding panel cover most allotment needs and do other jobs the rest of the year — camping, power cuts, the shed at home.
If you are undecided, start portable. It costs you nothing in flexibility, tells you what you actually use, and you can always fix a system later once you know.
What about a battery?
You need one. A panel alone gives you power only while the sun is on it, which is no use for a light in the evening or a camera overnight.
For allotment-sized systems a small sealed lead-acid or LiFePO4 battery with a basic charge controller is all that is required — this is much simpler than the home battery storage question, where you are balancing tariffs and export. Here you are just storing a modest amount of energy for a few hours. Keep it inside the shed, out of the weather and out of sight.
Greenhouses, hens and lights
Some of the most useful solar kit on a plot needs no system at all. See our guides to solar power for greenhouses (vent openers, fans and drip watering), solar chicken coop doors and solar shed lights.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I put solar panels on my allotment?
Usually yes, but it depends on your tenancy agreement rather than on planning law. Allotment sites are run by councils or by self-managed associations, and each sets its own rules about structures. Many allow a shed or greenhouse with permission and size limits, and treat a panel mounted on an existing shed as part of that structure. Some require anything you install to be removable at the end of the tenancy. Ask your site secretary or check your tenancy conditions before buying anything - it is a two-minute question that can save you a wasted purchase.
What size solar panel do I need for an allotment shed?
Far less than most people expect, because allotment loads are small and intermittent. A 50W panel with a 20-30Ah battery will run LED lighting, charge phones and power tools, and drive a small water pump for a few hours a day through the growing season. Step up to 100-150W if you want to run a security camera continuously or charge larger tool batteries. Anything above 200W is usually more than a plot can use.
Do I need permission or a G98 notification for allotment solar?
No. G98 notification applies to equipment that connects to the mains grid, and an allotment system is off-grid by definition - it has no connection to feed back into. That removes the paperwork that applies to home plug-in solar. Your obligations are to your allotment tenancy, not to your network operator.
Will solar work on an allotment through winter?
Poorly, but it rarely matters. UK solar output in December is a fraction of June, and an allotment in December needs very little power. The seasonal shape of solar happens to match the seasonal shape of allotment activity almost exactly, which is why a small system that would be inadequate for a home works well on a plot.
How do I stop my solar panel being stolen from the allotment?
Treat it as the main design constraint rather than an afterthought. Solar equipment theft is a recognised problem in the UK, and an allotment is unattended for most of the week. The most effective approach is to make the kit not worth stealing or not visible - take portable panels and batteries home between visits, mount fixed panels out of sight of paths and boundaries, use security fixings rather than standard screws, and mark everything with your postcode. Speak to your site secretary too - many sites have a known history of what does and does not go missing.