Swedish furniture and home decor giant, IKEA, has installed 250,000 solar panels on their stores across the world. Now, they are making solar panels available to the public.

Solar panels at IKEA

IKEA has decided to start selling residential solar panels, but at the moment, they are only available in the United Kingdom.

The solar panels are produced by Hanergy in China. For a standard, black 3.36 kilowatt system for a semi-detached home, it will cost just over $9,200. That price includes design services, installation, in-store consultation, and a maintenance and energy monitoring service.

$9,200 may seem like a lot, but when a retailer as large as IKEA is offering all these other services at the same time, it is a turning point for the renewable energy source. Sure, it’s already possible to go out and get solar panels for your home, but IKEA is creating an affordable environment where you can purchase, become informed, and monitor your solar panel system. More people will likely opt for solar energy as a source for electricity if it can be purchased in the same place they buy their other home supplies.

According to IKEA’s Chief Sustainability Officer, Steve Howard, the solar panel system should pay for itself in about seven years (for your average Great Britain home).

The solar panels are currently available in IKEA’s Southampton store in Great Britain, but they have plans to sell the solar panel systems in other stores across the country, and then in other countries if the demand is there.

Hopefully, IKEA starts offering the solar panel systems in Canada. Would you consider powering your home with solar energy if it was readily available at your local IKEA?

Feature image from the Daily Herald