Ikea is getting into the domestic solar power generation and storage market in the UK, with new solar panel and home storage battery system products. The products include panels that integrated with existing roofing solutions provided by Solarcentury, a UK solar power company, which includes a 25 year guarantee on the panels themselves, as well as s six-year warranty on installation and every aspect of the system hardware.
The installations cost more than your average self-assemble coffee table, with prices beginning at the equivalent of just under $4,000 U.S. The battery storage component can work with the solar panel offerings provided by Ikea and Solarcentury, but are also offered standalone as add-ons for existing home solar installations. Those batteries will help boost solar usage rates as a fraction of total energy consumption for UK home owners, Ikea says, allowing the average home equipped with solar power generation to achieve nearly 80 percent solar usage.
Ikea entering the solar power market puts it in company with dedicated providers like Tesla, which offers home solar generation and storage solutions through its acquired subsidiary SolarCity, and via its Tesla Powerwall home battery storage product.
Ikea may not be offering a DIY solar solution like it does with its furniture assembly, but it is trying to make the process uncomplicated, which is in keeping with its broader mission. The home furnishings retailer says it’ll provide potential customers with everything they need to go solar as quickly as possible including a free quotation, a home survey, quotation approval and final installation.
If this takes off, it seems likely Ikea will look to expand the model elsewhere. That could mean partnering with different providers in different regions, so this could end up being an opportunity for home solar market expansion much more broadly across the ecosystem if things pan out.
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