“Here comes the sun” will take on new meaning for British IKEA shoppers, who will soon be able to buy solar panels as part of that store’s efforts to tap into the renewable energy market.
The solar panels were tested in one London store, which
sold at least one system every day, Reuters said. With that considered a success, IKEA will sell the panels at all 17 British stores in the next 10 months.
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The significant shift from Swedish-style furniture is part of the company’s focus on
making green energy available to everyone, ABC News reported.
A 3.36 kilowatt photovoltaic system sells for about $9,200 in Britain, and there’s even a finance package that will help customers pay it off over time, ABC said.
Installation is a little more complicated than the instructions that come with IKEA’s furniture. Working with Hanergy, a Chinese company, customers will use a simulation at the store to determine the best way to install their panels. A nine-step installation process is “straightforward” and personalized, ABC said.
“We know that our customers want to live more sustainably and we hope working with Hanergy to make solar panels affordable and easily available helps them do just that,” the company said in a statement.
IKEA shows its commitment to renewable energy in its own designs, adding solar panels to the roofs of California stores in 2011.
The eight stores and one distribution center used about 20,000 panels, a company release said. The panels are on many of the company’s stores today.
U.S. customers can already purchase solar panels at stores like Lowe’s and Home Depot, but it’s
not always easy to find them in other countries, The Huffington Post said.
IKEA also said it plans to extend solar panels sales to other countries.
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