A plug-in solar panel tells you what it just did. It has no idea what's coming. Here's every Sun Hours feature that closes that gap — including several we've just shipped.
A plug-in solar panel is brilliant at one thing: turning sunlight into electricity. It has no idea what's coming in three hours, tomorrow, or whether today's even worth bothering with the washing.
That's the gap. And it matters more here than it does for a big rooftop array. Most plug-in kits aren't metered for export — there's no cheque waiting for the energy you don't use. Whatever you don't use the moment it's generated, you've mostly just given away. Timing isn't a nice-to-have. It's the whole return on your investment.
We built Sun Hours because a panel without a forecast is only half a product. Here's the other half.
Works with whatever you actually bought
Hoymiles, Deye, Envertech, Marstek, APsystems, Growatt, Solis, or something we've genuinely never heard of. Doesn't matter. Sun Hours never touches your inverter. Tell Sol your postcode and the best day your panels have ever had, and you've got a personalised forecast in under a minute.
Smart Appliance Timer
The one that actually earns its keep. With no export payment, running the dishwasher in your solar peak instead of at 7pm isn't a small optimisation — it's the difference between free electricity and electricity you paid for. Tell it what you're running, it tells you when.
Energy Flow Planner — new
A growing number of plug-in kits now come with a small battery bolted on. Fair question: is it actually earning its keep? Energy Flow Planner models your day — what you'll use straight from the panel, what the battery catches, what gets exported, what you still have to buy — so you can finally answer that properly. Free to use.
Bill Savings — new
Turns "I think this is saving me money" into an actual number, in pounds, from your own tariff.
Day Quality Meter & Weekly Outlook — new
A six-segment bar tells you at a glance whether today's a big-laundry day or a leave-it day. Switch on Weekly Outlook and, every Sunday evening, Sol tells you which day next week is worth planning around.
Travel Mode
Plug-in panels move. Campervan, garden, a weekend at your mum's. One tap and your forecast follows. One tap back and it's home.
Free. Properly free.
The forecast costs nothing, forever — no account, no card. Want the rest — appliance timer, energy flow, savings tracking, and everything we build next? Pro is a one-off payment or a monthly subscription, whichever you'd rather.
Your panel does the generating. Let Sun Hours do the thinking.
The forecast is free. Forever.
Sun Hours turns your plug-in solar kit into a system that tells you what's coming, not just what happened — forecast, appliance timing, energy flow, and real savings. Free to start on Android and iOS.