Are Leroy Merlin's new solar kits worth their money?

Recently the DIY chain Leroy Merlin has launched the sale of solar kits. At Robinsun we see this as a very positive sign, because it supports our initiative to extend the benefits of solar energy to the 65% of Spanish households that do not have their own roof on their house for the installation of larger photovoltaic panels.
Within Leroy Merlin's solar kit offers, there are mainly 2 types: residential (for your home) and for isolated houses (without power grid connection). Residential solar self-consumption kits are especially attractive during the months of greatest solar exposure, offering the opportunity to generate your own energy and reduce electricity costs.
Evaluating the quality of each component becomes a critical task when choosing the best solar kit for you, since quality is the determining factor in performance and durability. Taking into account that our specialty is residential kits, our experts have analyzed the kits offered by the chain and here we leave you some important observations to take into account when making the decision to purchase.

Rigid panel kits

As we do at Robinsun, also Leroy Merlin offers solar kits with rigid panels. They have 2 types of panels, in the 405 Wp and 450 Wp versions. We have looked for the technical sheets of the Taurus manufacturer on their website, but they do not publish them, unlike all respectable solar panel manufacturers. The 405 Wp panel weighs 21.8 kg, while the 450 Wp panel weighs 24.8 kg and is significantly longer.
These Leroy Merlin solar kits include a micro inverter from the Taurus brand, already mentioned above, and are very oversized for the power Wp of the panels. As with the flexible panel kits, the 1600 W micro inverter is outside the regulations and requires legalization by an authorized installer.
As for fixings for the kits, which is essential for panels of this size and weight, the Leroy Merlin solar kits do not offer any options. The only additional component is the cable to connect the micro inverter to a home outlet.
The various specifications can be seen in the following comparison table below.

Kit name	TAURUS RENOVABLES Kit Panel 450W Bf 1600W	TAURUS RENOVABLES Kit Panel 450W Bf 600W	TAURUS RENOVABLES Kit Panel 405W Bf 1600W	TAURUS RENOVABLES Kit Panel 405W Bf 600W	Performance 400	Performance 800
Kit brand	Leroy Merlin	Leroy Merlin	Leroy Merlin	Leroy Merlin	Robinsun	Robinsun
Panel brand	Taurus	Taurus	Taurus	Taurus	Longi	Longi
Power (Wp)	450	450	405	405	410	820
Number of panels	1	1	1	1	1	2
Power per panel (Wp)	450	450	405	405	410	410
Panel weight (kg)	24.5	24.5	21.8	21.8	20.8	20.8
Manufacturer warranty	3 years	3 years	3 years	3 years	25 years	25 years
Microinverter brand	Taurus	Taurus	Taurus	Taurus	Tsun	Tsun
Power (W)	1600	600	1600	600	400	800
WiFi connectivity	No	No	No	No	Si	Si
Manufacturer warranty	3 years	3 years	3 years	3 years	12 years	12 years
Mount included	No	No	No	No	3 options	3 options
Plug & Play	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Price (incl. VAT & transport)	€642	€499	€634	€489	€459	€799

At Robinsun we have plug & play solar kits with 400 W and 800 W rigid panels called Performance. The panels are from the Longi brand, a Tier 1 manufacturer (of the highest quality) and an output power of 410 Wp. We have chosen panels that weigh only 20.8 kg, so that they are easy to handle and install. Longi panels come with a very stylish black frame and have an efficiency of 21.0%. The manufacturer's warranty is 25 years.
The micro inverters in our Performance kits are always from the high-quality brand Tsun, which we have already talked about above. For the Performance kits we use 400 W and 800 W models, compliant with EU and Spanish regulations for self-installable plug & play solar kits (without the intervention of an authorized installer) that also connect directly to your home WiFi network (without requiring smart plug). The manufacturer's warranty on the micro inverter is 12 years. Because we know that we all have different tastes or needs, for our Performance kits we offer 3 types of fixings, 20, 60 or 90 degrees, and a kit without fixing if you want to assemble it on your own.

Conclusion

In short, Leroy Merlin solar kits are an option to produce your own solar energy for self-consumption at home. Not all of them qualify as “plug & play”, that is, self-installable without the need for the intervention of an authorized installer.
Considering that a solar kit is a long-term investment, which produces benefits for the environment (CO2 savings) and your pocket (savings on your electricity bill), it seems very important to us to pay attention to the quality of the components, select top brands quality, and that give long guarantees on their products, like those we offer on our Robinsun plug & play solar kits.
If measuring the production of your kit is something that interests you and you want reliable data, the option of connecting the micro inverter to your home's WiFi is an important functionality that Leroy Merlin solar kits do not have.
It must also be considered that a kit is more than the sum of panels and micro inverter. How to assemble the kit, safely and reliably with quality fixings, is a fundamental aspect. Take a look at the options we give you to see the quality at an excellent price that we offer you at Robinsun.
As for the prices of the kits, in the tables of our comparison you can see that the differences are significant. Leroy Merlin's kits are significantly more expensive as Robinsun kits.
Choose the kit you prefer for your home. The important thing is that you install it soon. Every day that passes you lose the opportunity to use your own solar energy, 100% decarbonized, to lend a hand to conserve our planet. And don't forget that with this you save money every month on your electricity bill.