The Dualsun Preasy solar kit / Illustration: Dualsun, modified by RE.
The ready-to-plug (or plug and play) solar kit market is booming. This is a pack containing one or more solar panels with everything you need to easily produce electricity, by plugging the installation into a simple domestic outlet. If you want to get started, it is not easy to navigate the diverse offering offered by the different manufacturers. To make your investment profitable as quickly as possible, it is preferable to find the kit that allows you to pay the peak watt (Wc) as cheaply as possible. Here we take an overview of the market with the criteria of kits comprising one or two panels, with ground fixings and the option of production monitoring, without storage. The calculations are given excluding promotions, but taking into account delivery costs which can considerably increase the bill.
Here is the overview of the cheapest ready-to-plug solar stations per watt-peak. Small clarification, this classification does not take into account the solar panel offered by Lidl, given that it is no longer available on the brand’s website.
Cheapest Single Panel Solar Kits
1 – Electro-Dépôt WE: from 1.10 to 1.17 €/Wp
Électro-Dépôt is known for selling household appliances at low prices, in stores that resemble warehouses. The brand also sells a solar kit and beats the competition on price. Composed of a panel with a power of 410 watts (W), the kit is also composed of a base for installing the panel on the ground or on the wall with an adjustable inclination between 15° and 35°, a cable 3 meters and a microinverter. Assembly instructions are provided to assemble the kit.
The kit can be delivered to your home for 30 euros or collected directly from the store, by checking availability beforehand on the website. It is sold for 449.99 euros, or 1.10 euros/Wp if the customer comes to collect their kit directly in store. In the event of delivery, the offer remains very attractive with a cost price of 1.17 euros/Wp.
2 – Beem Energy On: €1.37/Wc
Solar specialist Beem Energy has just released a new solar station, the Beem On. Composed of a 460 Wp bifacial panel, a microinverter and all the connections. Note that three inclinations of the panel are possible, in order to maximize production depending on the seasons.
The Beem On is delivered on a pallet, already assembled and installed on its base. Simply plug in the microinverter and plug everything into a household outlet. The kit includes a 10 meter cable, a much longer length than that offered by its competitors. This kit is sold for 629 euros and shipping costs are free, which makes this model particularly competitive with an amount of 1.37 euros/Wp.
3 – My 1 panel solar kit: between €1.41 and €1.47/Wp
The online brand Mon Kit Solaire offers a kit including 1 430 Wc panel with ground fixings and inclination to choose from. In fact, the buyer must choose their fixings, either with an inclination of 15° or 30°, whereas other kits offer several possible inclinations with the same base. Here, with the 30° bindings, the kit costs 540 euros while it costs 516 euros with an inclination of only 15°, less optimal in mid-season.
In addition to the panel and its base, the kit includes a set of screws, a microinverter and a 5 meter cable with mains socket. Tutorials and assembly instructions are available to help the buyer. It is also possible to contact a site contact for advice on assembly.
You will still have to count on delivery costs of 90 euros. Thus, the total cost is 1.47 euros/Wp with the inclination at 30° and 1.41 euros/Wp with the inclination at 15°. You can lower the bill if you live near Lille and are able to collect your order from the warehouse for free.
4 – Solarcoop Base: €1.42/Wc
The cooperative company Solarcoop offers a solar kit with a panel manufactured either by the company Voltec or by Dualsun. It is the model offered by Dualsun which is the most interesting. This is a 425 Wp bifacial panel. The kit also includes the base with a 30° inclination, the microinverter with 5 meters of cable as well as the connected socket.
The set is sold for 540 euros to which must be added 63 euros of shipping costs which are clearly displayed on the product description page, which is not always the case for other brands. The total cost of the kit therefore comes to 603 euros, or 1.42 euros/Wp.
The cheapest two-panel solar kits
It is possible to invest in a kit including two panels, allowing you to increase your production. Two options are available to you: either you can purchase a kit of two panels directly, or you can start with a kit with one panel and then purchase an extension. Almost all brands offer this possibility of extension.
After carrying out several simulations, we realized that it was more financially interesting to immediately choose a two-panel kit rather than proceeding step by step and adding an extension to a one-panel kit. Here are the 4 cheapest kits with two panels on the market currently.
1 – Mater France 860 Wc: €0.71/Wc
Mater France offers a set of two bifacial panels to place on the ground or on a wall. The site does not clearly specify the possible inclination with the base. It does not seem possible to easily vary the inclination, as with other brands. The total power of the installation is 860 W. With the cost of the floor support, the total is sold for 611 euros.
The pack includes the microinverter as well as a 3 meter cable. Please note that delivery is free. This kit is therefore sold at a very attractive price which amounts to 0.71 euros/Wp.
2 – Up Watt: €0.89/Wc
The Up Watt online site, solar specialist, offers a kit of 2 Longi Solar Back Contact Technology panels with a total power of 850 Wp with ground fixings for a fixed inclination of 30°. The microinverter has a 5 meter cable. Everything costs 759.90 euros, or 0.89 euros/Wp, because delivery is free.
3 – Oscaro OPower Mini: €1.07/Wp
The OPower Mini kit is made up of two bifacial panels with a power of 880 Wp for an amount of 790 euros. The pack contains the two panels, the microinverter as well as the support and a 5 meter cable. The inclination of the panels is fixed, but the site does not give any indication of the degree of the angle. The offer seems interesting, but it must be tempered, because the shipping costs are particularly high: 149 euros. This significantly increases the total bill. The whole remains interesting at 1.07 euros/Wp.
4 – My 2-panel solar kit: from €1.11/Wc
The Mon Kit Solaire online site offers numerous plug and play solar kits. By comparing the packs including two panels, we realize that it is possible to purchase a kit with fixings included or a kit with optional fixings. In any case, the length of the microinverter cable is 5 meters. Small downside, it is more expensive to buy a kit with fixings included rather than choosing a kit without fixings, which can be added as an option.
Indeed, a kit with fixings included on the ground comprising two panels with a total power of 860 Wp costs 902 euros (excluding promotions). The base to be placed on the ground offers a fixed inclination of 15°. With delivery at 129 euros, this amounts to a cost of 1.20 euros/Wp. However, the kit of two panels with a total power identical to 860 Wp with optional floor fixings with 15° inclination costs 825 euros (with fixings and excluding promotions). The price rises to 878 euros if you opt for the 30° inclination. With shipping costs at 129 euros, we obtain the whole thing at 1.11 euros/Wp in the first case and 1.17 euros/Wp in the second case. If you choose an inclination of 15°, it is better to opt for the kit with the optional fixings, it is cheaper (1.11 euros/Wp instead of 1.20 euros/Wp).
After this overview of the market, here are some tips to follow before choosing a plug and play kit. First of all, we must be wary of overly tempting offers which are often explained by the absence of a base allowing the panels to be installed on the ground. It is essential to carefully check the contents of the kit and in particular the length of the cable which allows the installation to be connected to a domestic socket. Then, do not forget to check the amount of shipping costs before confirming the order, as they can considerably increase the bill.
