Regulators must act decisively in modernising outdated rules that are obstructing the installation of solar energy resilience in Irish homes, the Micro-Renewable Energy Federation (MREF) has claimed.

The organisation insisted that battery storage was no longer a luxury for Irish households and businesses.

Current Irish regulations restrict the use of automatic changeover switches for solar PV systems with battery backup, the industry body maintained.

This is forcing households and businesses to rely on outdated manual methods, or worse, go without essential backup during blackouts, the MREF chair Ciaran Kells said.

“These barriers are hindering the wider adoption of reliable solar backup systems and leaving homes and businesses vulnerable in emergencies,” he added.

“We are urging Safe Electric, the National Standards Authority of Ireland and the SEAI to immediately review and approve the safe use of automatic changeover switches,” Kells said.

“These switches are safely used across Europe and are critical to ensuring Irish homes can maintain power when the grid goes down," he pointed out.

MREF has also called on the Government to reinstate grant supports for home battery storage under the SEAI's solar PV scheme.

With the frequency and intensity of climatic events increasing, battery storage is no longer a luxury, but an absolute necessity for energy security, Kells maintained.

"We support Ireland’s renewable goals, but we must ensure the policies are fit for the real-world challenges that families, farms and businesses are facing," the MREF chair pointed out.

"The technologies we need already exist. The public wants them. Now, the regulations and grants must catch up," he said.