Rules · France

Balcony solar panels in France: what the rules say

France has no legal power limit for balcony solar kits, but you must declare yours to Enedis before plugging it in, whatever its output. Plugging it into an ordinary socket clashes with the 2024 NF C 15-100 wiring standard, and you cannot sell surplus power from a kit.

Reviewed on 6 November 2026

Small balcony of a Parisian building with a solar panel on the floor

The essentials

Power limit: None in law. Recommended: 350 VA on a 1.5 mm² circuit and 900 VA on a 2.5 mm² circuit, per circuit
Paperwork: Declaration to Enedis required at any output: online, free, by accepting the CACSI, before plugging in
PlugUnder review: NF C 15-100 (2024) bans connecting a generator via a socket; selling kits is not banned
Surplus: No feeding in or selling: the CACSI commits you to zero export and EDF OA requires a qualified installer
Planning: Déclaration préalable at the town hall if the kit is fixed to the railing or façade
Renters and copropriété: Landlord’s written consent if you fix or alter anything; a residents’ vote if the railing or façade is affected
Subsidies and VAT: No prime à l’autoconsommation for kits; a standard kit pays 20 % VAT

We mark as “under review” anything we could not confirm in an official source.

No specific legal status and no wattage cap

We found no French law or regulation that defines a “kit solaire de balcon” or sets a 600 or 800 W maximum, as Germany does. Enedis, the company that runs the distribution grid, covers any fully self-consumed installation, with no power threshold ¹.

The only figures are recommendations in a March 2023 industry guide by SER and Enerplan (analysis by SGS, backed by ADEME, the public ecological transition agency): 350 VA on a 1.5 mm² circuit protected at 16 A and 900 VA on a 2.5 mm² circuit protected at 20 A. The limit applies per circuit, not per kit. It also recommends a 16 A socket protected by a 30 mA RCD ².

In its parliamentary answer of 26 May 2026, the government points to that guide for power thresholds but does not repeat the figures ³.

Declaring to Enedis: required even with zero export

Enedis requires every fully self-consumed installation to be declared “même sans injection, quel que soit son niveau de puissance”: even if nothing goes into the grid and whatever its output ¹. Some retail sites claim kits under 800 W are exempt; Enedis’s own page contradicts them.

You do it on the Enedis-Connect portal (connect-racco.enedis.fr): fill in the form, attach a Consuel certificate (Consuel is the body that inspects electrical installations) or an attestation sur l’honneur (a signed self-declaration), and accept the CACSI, the free zero-export self-consumption agreement. The kit is commissioned after you sign the CACSI ¹⁴. You need a limiting device unless your output is always below your consumption ⁴.

If your meter is not a Linky smart meter, it must be replaced with one. A battery that can power your home also counts as generation and must be declared ¹.

For a pre-assembled, compliant kit with no battery and no changes to your wiring, a self-declaration is in principle enough: Enedis allows a Consuel exemption for ready-assembled plug & play equipment. With a battery or a dedicated circuit, you need the Consuel ¹. The micro-inverter must have a certificate of conformity with NF EN 50549-1 ¹. A German-only certificate is not the French reference: DIN VDE V 0126-95 (applicable in Germany since 1 December 2025, Schuko plug, 800 VA) has no standing in France ⁵.

The plug: the NF C 15-100 grey areaUnder review

The 2024 version of the NF C 15-100 wiring standard, mandatory since 1 September 2025 for new installations, extensions and alterations, states in clause 551.7.2 that a generator “ne doit pas être connecté à un circuit terminal par le moyen d’un socle de prise ou d’une fiche”: it must not be connected to a circuit through a socket or plug ⁶.

The government confirmed this on 26 May 2026 (written question no. 10336), citing the risk of electric shock from the plug’s live pins and of cables overheating without the protective devices noticing. It also said kits are sold under the manufacturer’s responsibility, announced no exemption and did not ban their sale ³.

The industry reads it differently: Enerplan, quoted by UFC-Que Choisir, says plug & play kits are mobile and so in theory not covered ⁶. No authority has issued a final clarification, so this point remains unconfirmed. The cautious reading: buying and owning a kit is not banned, but plugging it into a socket on a new or altered fixed installation goes against the standard, and the government does not call it compliant.

Surplus: no export, no sale

By accepting the CACSI you commit to not exporting to the grid. Feeding in without any contract is not allowed ¹⁴. We found no published penalty specific to it.

The only legal way to export without being paid is a free transfer to Enedis (art. L315-5 of the Code de l’énergie; up to 3 kW under art. D315-10). It needs a grid-export access and operation contract (CAE) and a connection request, not the CACSI ⁷.

Selling surplus to EDF OA (obligation d’achat, the feed-in purchase scheme) requires a professionally qualified installer, a complete connection request and a 20-year contract. For applications from 5 June 2026, the only payment is a fixed tariff of 1.1 c€ per kWh exported ⁸. A plug-in kit does not fit: it is declared as zero-export and you install it yourself. photovoltaique.info describes it as a product for self-consumption only, “sans injection ni vente d’électricité” ⁹.

Planning: déclaration préalable at the town hall

Art. R*421-17 a) of the Code de l’urbanisme requires a déclaration préalable (prior notice of works) for any work that changes the outside appearance of an existing building, with no exception for solar or balconies ¹⁰. Service-public asks for it for panels on a building ⁴.

If you fix the kit to the railing or façade, file the déclaration préalable with the mairie. If it just stands on the balcony floor, unfixed, no text settles the question: ask the town hall ¹⁰. The local plan (PLU) can add requirements ⁴.

Copropriété: railings and façades are usually sharedUnder review

In a copropriété (a building of jointly owned flats, governed by the law of 10 July 1965), the railing is usually a common part because it belongs to the façade. A panel standing on the floor, unfixed and not visible, would not need a vote, but the building rules can ban objects on balconies ¹¹¹².

The APER law (no. 2023-175 of 10 March 2023, art. 44) added to art. 24 II k the installation of photovoltaic equipment on roofs, façades and railings, approved by a simple majority of the general meeting (AG). That majority is meant for shared works: for an individual owner’s request, several sources apply art. 25 b, which needs an absolute majority ¹¹¹².

Which majority applies to an individual kit on a railing is unconfirmed: legal opinion is divided and the text has not been checked directly on Légifrance.

If you rent

Law no. 89-462 of 6 July 1989 (art. 7 f) says a tenant may not “transformer les locaux et équipements loués sans l’accord écrit du propriétaire”: alter the home without the landlord’s written consent ¹³.

A kit standing on the floor and plugged in is closer to a reversible fitting. If you need to drill, fix it to the railing or run cables, it can count as an alteration and you need written consent. The landlord can ask you to restore everything as it was ¹³.

France has no tenant’s right to balcony solar like Germany’s. Retail sites claiming the APER law lets you install up to 3 kVA without the landlord’s consent have no backing in legal sources.

Subsidies and VAT in 2026

The prime à l’autoconsommation (self-consumption bonus) was abolished for applications made from 5 June 2026, with no transition period. It never applied to plug-in kits anyway, because it was tied to the EDF OA sale contract ⁸⁹.

Since 1 October 2025, home installations up to 9 kWp can pay 5.5 % VAT if they meet every condition: modules with a carbon footprint below 530 kgCO₂e/kWp and limits on silver, lead and cadmium; an energy management system that continuously controls at least two uses (a simple timer does not count); and, according to photovoltaique.info, a certified or qualified installer ¹⁴¹⁵.

In practice, a standard kit with no certified management system or modules pays 20 % ¹⁴. If the project includes a battery, the whole quote is taxed at 20 % ⁴. We found no national subsidy aimed at kits.

Information, not legal advice

This sheet summarises French rules from public sources reviewed on 6 November 2026. It is general information, not legal or technical advice. balconsun.com is an independent site: it does not sell kits or represent any brand.

Rules and tariffs change. Before you install, check your case with Enedis, the town hall, your copropriété or your landlord, and with an electrician if your wiring needs work.

What is about to change

EU: on 8 July 2026 the European Commission published the draft delegated regulation revising the RfG network code (grid connection requirements for generators), with a public consultation until 25 August 2026. As of November 2026 there is no confirmation of final adoption, nor of whether it mentions 800 W or plug-in devices ¹⁶.
France has published no measure adopting an 800 W limit and no bill creating a right to balcony solar for tenants or flat owners.
NF C 15-100 and the plug: since the government’s answer of 26 May 2026 there has been no final clarification on mobile kits ³⁶.
5.5 % VAT on a kit bought without installation: photovoltaique.info says it “peut bénéficier du taux réduit” if the equipment meets every condition and is sold as an “offre unique” with the energy management system, but the interpretation is unclear ¹⁴.
Start date of the arrêté of 1 June 2026 (Journal officiel of 4 June): photovoltaique.info gives 5 June for new applications; other sources say 4 June. The Journal officiel text itself has not been checked ⁸.

Before you buy

Check that the micro-inverter has an NF EN 50549-1 certificate. Avoid kits with a battery if you want to skip the Consuel.
Declare the kit on connect-racco.enedis.fr before plugging it in, whatever its output: form, attestation sur l’honneur (or Consuel) and acceptance of the CACSI. If you add a second kit, declare the new total output.
Size the kit below your base load, or turn on the “zéro injection” mode or a limiter.
For the connection, the cautious option is a dedicated circuit installed by an electrician. At the very least, follow the 2023 guide: an earthed 16 A socket, a 30 mA RCD, no extension blocks, up to 350 VA on a 1.5 mm² circuit or 900 VA on a 2.5 mm² circuit.
If you fix it to the railing or façade, file a déclaration préalable with the mairie. If it stands on the floor, ask the town hall first.
In a copropriété, read the building rules and get an AG vote before installing if the railing or façade is affected. If you rent, get the landlord’s written consent and keep it. Tell your home insurer.

Sources

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