LG solar panels: All you need to know about it

LG Electronics is a diversified group of South Korea and it is a global leader in consumer electronics that was started in the year 1958.

It established LG solar panels division in the year 2008 and began full-scale mass production of solar panels in 2010.

​In the year 2013, it launched its most successful and efficient solar panel series NeON (N-Type solar technology).

It has an in-house solar testing facility that is approved by major inspection authorities such as UL, TUV Rheinland, DVE, and Intertek.

It has its in-house manufacturing facility at Gumi, South Korea, and Huntsville, Alabama

Solar Panels series by LG

LG manufactures both mono facial and bifacial solar panels for its consumers under 4 main series:

Bifacial solar panels conduct electricity from both sides, leading to an increase in the power output.

Efficiency of LG solar panels

The LG solar panels are highly efficient.

Efficiency is the solar panel’s ability of converting sunlight into electricity.

Efficiency (%) = (Electricity Produced/Sunlight) x 100%

We see LG solar panels are efficient up to 22.1%.

Let us see the efficiency of solar modules under different series:

• R series: 20.3% to 22.1%
• NeON 2 (Monofacial) series: 19.8% to 21.4%
• NeON 2 (Bifacial) series: 19.3% to 20% with bi-faciality Coefficient of 75% +- 5%
• Mono X Plus series: 19.5% to 20.4%
• NeON H series (Bifacial) series: 19.5% to 19.8% with bi-faciality coefficient of 70% +- 5%

The temperature coefficient of power

The resistance of the solar cell increases with the increase in its cell temperature beyond 25 °C.

As a result, we get less current.

The solar panels behave differently with the same increase in temperature.

Some lose more power while others are less.

The power any solar panel will lose with the increase in the temperature is defined by the metrics Temperature Coefficient of Power.

Its units are %/°C and its value is written negative to represent the loss in the power.

The solar panel will lose less power when the temperature coefficient of power value is low.

And

more value means the panel will lose more.

For example, a temperature coefficient of -0.4%/°C means that the solar panel will lose 0.4% per degree rise in the temperature beyond 25 °C.

When the cell temperature is 45 °C.

The power loss (%) = (45 °C – 25 °C) x Temperature coefficient of power
The Power Loss (%) = 20 °C x -0.4 %/°C = – 8%

Let us look at the temperature coefficient of power of the LG series:

• NeON R series: -0.29%/°C to -0.30%/°C
• NeON 2 Series: -0.34%/°C to -0.36%/°C
• Mono X Plus: -0.365%/°C
• NeON H series: -0.33%/°C

Strength of LG solar panels

The solar panels will remain outside lifelong once they are installed.
They have to be strong enough to withstand the extreme weather conditions.
The Snow load rating (Front Load) and the wind load (rear load) rating represent the strength of the solar panels.
The high values indicate that the solar panels are strong.

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We can say that the LG solar panels are strong enough to bear harsh environmental conditions.

(*The industry average is 2400 Pa for snow and 2400 Pa for wind.)

LG solar panels warranty

When a buyer purchases the solar panel, the manufacturer ensures her/him in 2 ways by giving:

Product warranty: protects the panel from any manufacturing defect, premature wear, and tear, other environmental degradation before time. It is given in years.

Performance warranty: It ensures the buyer, her/his solar panel will produce a certain percentage of the Pmax even after 25 years. We get a performance warranty in years.

Let us look at the warranties of the LG solar panel series:
​
1) LG R series:
It offers product a warranty of 25 years and the performance warranty of 25 years in two ways:

2) LG NeON 2 Series:

• It offers 25 years of Product warranty and a performance warranty of 98% in the first year and thereafter -0.33% per year till 25th year.
• For its bifacial solar panels, the product warranty is 25 years and the performance warranty is 104.4% in the first year and then -0.35% per year till the 25th year under Standard Test Conditions when BiFi is 100

(By BiFi 100 means that 100 Watts/m² of solar radiations are available for the rear of the solar panel.)

3) LG Mono X Plus Series:

• The product warranty is 15 years and the performance warranty is 97.5% in the first year then degrades at -0.4% per year till the 25th year.

4) LG NeON H series:

• Product warranty of 25 years and performance warranty is 105.4% in the first year, thereafter reducing at -0.35% per year till the 25th year 

Price of LG solar panels

The per watt price of mono-facial LG solar panels is $0.95 to $1.2 per watt.

Units produced by 5 kW solar power system

The units produced depend on many factors.

When I consider the following parameters:

• Sunlight: 5 – 6 Peak Sun Hours per day
• Average Cell temperature: 45 °C
• Temperature coefficient of Power: -0.29%/°C
• Temperature loss: 5.8%
• Panel Degradation: 98.5%, thereafter reducing at -0.25% till 25th year

The 5-kW system will produce 20 to 22 units per day.

Pros of LG solar panels

• Excellent Technology: Its Monocrystalline/N-type solar panels are immune to the LID effect. The Half cell technology reduces heat losses, provides structural strength, and minimizes shading loss. The bifacial technology-based solar panels produce more power in the same space than the traditional solar panels of comparable sizes.

• Reputed Brand: The LG solar panels come under the flagship of LG electronics that was established in 1958 with a total sale of USD 56.4 billion in 2020. The brand is durable, reliable, and trustworthy.

• Great Product warranty: LG offers 25 years of the product warranty on their solar panels. It means you need not worry about any product-related failure, if any, of the solar panels, the company will take care of it. Also, it has a wide network across the globe, the servicing of the product should not be an issue.

• Good Strength: The LG solar panels can withstand extreme weather conditions due to their high values of snow load and wing load ratings.

• High Efficiency: The highest efficiency of the LG solar module is 22.1% that is the second-highest after SunPower with 22.2%.

• Low Temperature Coefficient of Power: The LG solar panels perform well under hot climatic conditions due to their low-temperature coefficient of power,

Cons of LG solar panels

• High Price: The LG solar panels lie on the higher side of the price bracket.

• The Rear load rating is 3000 Pa: The wind load rating of its Mono X Plus series and H-series panels is 3000 Pascals. It is still higher than the industry average of 2400 pascals. I wish I could see this equal to 4000 Pa as it has for its other models.

• The Product Warranty in its Mono X Plus series is 15 years whereas you find it 25 years in its other models.

• The Performance Degradation in the Mono X Plus series modules is more than its other models.

Verdict

LG solar panel is a reputed, durable, and trustworthy brand it is suitable for:

• People who want to use solar electricity without compromising on the quality of the product.
• Those who want to go solar but have space constraints.
• People looking for a strong product to perform well in harsh weather conditions.
• Persons living in a hot climate who are looking for solar panels produce more power even at high temperatures.

My ratings are:

• Efficiency: 4.8/5
• Product Warranty: 4.9/5
• Performance Warranty: 4.8/5
• Strength: 4.85
• Price: 3.8/5
• Temperature Coefficient: 4.8/5
• Brand: 4.8/5
• Overall Rating: 4.7/5

Basis of my rating

I quantify the given parameters with reference to the best value available in the market.

For example, if I want to quantify the efficiency of the solar panel on a scale of 5.

I use the following formula:

• Efficiency rating = (Efficiency of the panel in consideration/Highest efficiency of the panel) x 5

​Assuming, the efficiency of the solar panel in consideration is 20% and the highest efficiency available in the market is 22%.

The Efficiency rating = (20%/22%) x 5 = 4.5

Please let me know your experience with LG solar panels and share that in the comment section.

Profitability with LG solar panels

Before going solar, it is a good practice to know the right design and the profitability of the solar power system.

My solar feasibility spreadsheet will let you size, design, and find the financial feasibility of the complete system within minutes.