Ikea begins online sale of PV residential module systems in Germany

On Wednesday Ikea will launch its photovoltaic “Solstrale” offer in Germany, with the date having been brought forward from February 1. Since October, Ikea has been testing the offer in German stores in Kaarst, Eching, Walldorf, Ulm and Freiburg.

“We are very satisfied with the demand so far and have been able to convince some Ikea visitors in the five stores of our offer,” said Sustainability Manager Christiane Scharnagl. The company was unable to report sales figures at pv magazine’s request, or to provide expectations about future sales.

The online offer will not differ from that available during the test phase. The Solstrale PV package is available from €4,730 and applies to a fully installed photovoltaic system without home storage. There is also a higher priced package available at Ikea.

The offers are available at ikea.com/solar, a spokeswoman for the company said. As a partner, the group continues to work with British solar company Solarcentury, which has set up a German subsidiary to implement Ikea orders. “We offer an integrated service from development to construction and operation,” said Dennis de Jong, CEO of Solarcentury Microgen (Germany).

In the five test stores, Ikea set up information points at entrances and exits as well as near the restaurant.

“We are delighted to hear from all of our five furniture stores that customers are very interested in our range of home solar systems,” said the Ikea spokeswoman. In addition, the Swedish furniture company will soon launch German marketing campaigns for its Solstrale offering.

Ikea already sells residential PV systems in Belgium, the U.K., Poland, the Netherlands and Switzerland.