IKEA-ifying Solar: Why Plugging in a Solar Panel Will Soon Be as Simple as Assembling a Bookshelf.

The use of solar panels was a big thing. A roofing contractor, a structural survey, a four-figure bill, and months to wait. It can hardly be called an impulse buy on a Saturday afternoon.

That’s changing fast. In Europe, a silent revolution has been transforming solar power from a home-improvement project into a home appliance. The UK is only beginning to play catch-up, and the consequences of the effects on the way we design and engineer our energy systems are colossal.

The Ikea-ification

Solar is becoming a consumer pick. Flat-pack. Plug-in. No specialists required.

Rather than an actual rooftop system, consider purchasing two solar panels and a small inverter at your local high street store and attaching them to your balcony railing and plugging them in via a regular socket on the wall. Your pace is rather slow. Your electric bill is lowered. You didn’t need an engineer.

This is already mainstream in Germany, with more than a million households operating a Balkonkraftwerk, or balcony power station, producing up to 800 watts using one or two plug-in panels. IKEA is a seller of solar kits in European markets. Whenever Ikea makes a decision that something is a consumer product, it turn out to be one.

Why not in the UK?

UK safety regulations only recently allowed plug-in solar to be used technically. The issue was that it was unsafe to feed electricity back into a domestic circuit via a standard socket, not certified for installation.

However, that is changing. The UK government has also announced that plug-in solar systems will be legalised, which will set the country on track with Germany, the Netherlands, and others. When that occurs, the market will run swiftly. Retailers are already getting ready.

This is massive for tenants

Conventional solar locks out all the others that do not own their roofs — a massive amount of the population, especially those in flats and rental houses. Balcony solar addresses this virtually. No roof-owning was required, no rewiring, and no landlord struggles. You put up panels on your railing, plug in and make your own electricity. You carry them along with you.

It will not take the place of a complete rooftop system. However, to a person who has no other choice, reducing 20–30 per cent of daytime energy consumption through shaving is truly significant.

The bigger picture

Millions of people are now able to be a part of solar who have never had a chance to partake in it before, including renters, flat-dwellers, and everyone who has been locked out previously.

But with this market size, thoughtful design engineering gains relevance, rather than losing it. Finulent Solutions engineers the invisible layer that ensures solar systems, from single panels to complex installations, work safely and efficiently from the start.

As the front becomes less complex, the server must be more intelligent.