Bricodepot solar kits - Things you should know before buying

Summer is approaching! As sunshine gets more, it could be a good choice to install solar kits in your home now to exploit solar energy, do good for the earth, and save money. In this article, we will provide a detailed analysis of Bricodepot solar kits to help you understand more about the brand and the industry.

Who is Brico Dépôt? 

Brico Dépôt is a chain of DIY and home improvement stores, headquartered in France. It operates across Europe with 135 stores in Belgium, 123 in France, 34 in Romania, 28 in Spain and 3 in Portugal. Household products are the core products that it sells. It provides products suitable for kitchens, bathrooms, terraces, etc. The sub-brands for Bricodepot are focused on home utilities as well, like cookware, wardrobe, sprinkler, etc. While it sells solar energy components, it is not a specialized solar company. Bricodepot it scores 2.2 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot  for its Spanish website.

Overview of Bricodepot solar kits 

Bricodepot solar kits target the residential solar market. It offers various types of Bricodepot solar kits, from higher capacity ones over 3000 W to lightweight panel kits and plug & play ones. We will only analyze the plug & play ones as Robinsun is an expert in plug & play solar kits. We also need to bear in mind that in Spain the legal limit to self-install a solar kit is 800 W. 

The brand is known for providing cost-efficient products, making solar options accessible to a wider range of customers. It usually includes the most essential components in the Bricodepot solar kits - solar panels, inverters, and cable. Yet, customers usually need to buy additional accessories to personalize their installations. Bricodepot solar kit offers the basic features to ensure it works properly. But advanced functions like real-time monitoring are missing. 

Bricodepot solar kits in detail

We checked the Spanish website of Bricodepot and found that it offers Bricodepot solar kits from other vendors like EET, Solarlab and others. But It also has kits with flexible solar panels that target a different customer segment and tend to produce very little. Our analysis will focus on 800 W plug & play solar kits from EET where we notice a lot of similarities to our Robinsun Performance kits.

Bricodepot solar kit EET’s LightMate kit series uses Maysun bifacial solar panels of 172 x 113 x 3 cm size. Maysun is a Chinese solar panel manufacturer offering average quality panels. The capacity for panels is 430 W which is the normal capacity that is most updated nowadays.

Bricodepot solar kit uses the Envertech EVT-400 microinverter model. The capacity is 400 W, fitting perfectly with its 430 W solar panels. It is a relatively good model with 15-year warranty and Wifi connection. However, both the outlook and the manufacturing quality is not as good as our choice of microinverter - Tsun. We tested the microinverter from Envertech but it turned out to be heavier and less durable in the long term. If you are interested in microinverters and want to learn more, check our previous blog on What is a Micro Inverter and how does it work for more information. 

Bricodepot solar kits also include a 5-meter cable and 2 mounts which are pretty nice. However, this solar panel, including many other Bricodepot solar kit models, are not waterproof or corrosion resistant, posing additional effort and security concerns for users. Theoretically, users need to move the Bricodepot solar kit inside when it rains, snows or other extreme weather happens. In some sense, this is quite absurd. Nobody can ensure that every time it rains, there are people at home and are able to move a fixed balcony solar kit inside. 

Bricodepot solar kit has one special option that is very innovative. Customers can install it on the balcony as the floor. It consists of 20 photovoltaic tiles measuring 36 x 36 x 4 cm, with a frame made of recycled plastic and covered with 10 mm tempered glass, making it resistant to pressure. This Bricodepot solar kit model is water and corrosion resistant. Yet, it is the product from other vendors and brands that you may want to reconsider when buying.

One thing to notice is that Bricodepot solar kits include EET products as components. As mentioned before, Bricodepot is not specialized in solar devices. Moreover, EET seems more focussed on batteries than solar kits. Thus, you may want to think twice before buying a Bricodepot solar kit as both the seller and partner are not professionals in the industry.

Another note for all buyers, the shipping time of Bricodepot solar kit ranges from 7 to 9 business days. And reviews from Trustpilot complain about the delivery time a lot. If you intend to use a solar kit as soon as possible, why not consider Robinsun plug & play solar kits designed for all places?

Conclusion

Although Bricodepot solar kit is said to be cost-efficient, it has a relatively similar, or even higher price as Robinsun solar kits. For example, the 400 W Bricodepot solar kit used in gardens that we introduced above cost 478 euros in Bricodepot. A similar garden kit, and also one of our best-sellers, from Robinsun cost 469 euros with fully-equipped components. You don’t need to buy more tools from DIY stores if you work with Robinsun! We cooperate with top-tier manufacturers to offer you the highest quality plug & play solar kits. And we deliver to your house for free if you are in mainland Spain, Portugal or Balearic Islands.

Apart from plug & play solar kits, we also have easily installable batteries that store your excess power and help you save more. Leave your email or contact us on WhatsApp for more information.