IKEA aims to enable its customers to produce energy from sunlight for their own needs. From 28 April 2017, photovoltaic systems will be available at all IKEA stores in Poland. This is a new comprehensive programme – it begins with learning about individual needs of customers, and is followed up by designing the optimal solution and closes with installation and monitoring of the system.

On the basis of its many years of experience in building a low carbon economy and using renewable energy sources, IKEA has developed a cost-effective and affordable financial model for producing clean energy for homes and their residents. IKEA, in collaboration with an experienced partner, GEO Solar, will help customers to estimate the profits and costs in order to audit the system and install it, as well as to support the connection to  electrical grid and to keep the monitoring on an ongoing basis. Contrary to the majority of investments in building, refurbishing and furnishing the house, the photovoltaic (PV) systems are self-financing, and after a relatively short time it generates profits.

At IKEA we want to have a positive impact on people and the planet, so we engage in the sustainable development. Last year in February, IKEA achieved ‘energy independence’ in Poland i.e. by its own wind power plants. By introducing a turnkey solution for home production of renewable energy into our assortment, we would like to enable Poles to lead more sustainable life at home. Photovoltaic panels are an investment which do not only generate energy but it also allow to get savings, says Anna Pawlak-Kuliga, CEO of IKEA Retail in Poland.

Using one’s own renewable energy sources allows to become a so-called prosumer, i.e. a person who both consumes and produces energy. The surplus of generated electricity is transmitted to the power grid and can be collected at the ratio of 1:0.8 kWh. IKEA experts emphasize that low temperatures and intensity of radiation typical for Polish winters do not translate into the lack of energy production by the photovoltaic panels at that time. Average annual solar irradiance in Poland is about 1000 kWh/m2, and it is distributed throughout the country in a relatively even manner.

At IKEA, for years we have been guided by the idea of sustainable development. By implementing the People & Planet Positive strategy, we make sure that practical solutions for the environment and climate change are applied both in our operations and also at our clients' homes. What is important is that up to a quarter of the energy produced in the world is consumed at home, Anna Pawlak-Kuliga adds.

In 2016, IKEA in Poland sold more than 8 million products to help lead a sustainable home life – in other words, to combine savings with environmentally friendly solutions. Photovoltaic solar panels are another product in IKEA's portfolio.