SolarWorld vs LG

[Solarfordummy]

Well at least in my case LG is 300W while the SolarWorld is 285W. Anyhow I am now @ 3.39/W for LG 300s for 22 panels, 6.6kW system with 6kW SolarEdge.

Would you please PM me your installer contact info. Thank you so much.

[solar_newbie]

Oh so the LG cost more than the Solar World, interesting.

SW 280 mono black costs more than SW285 mono. It really looks black on the whole surface.
Example per watt
Sw280 black : 1.41
Lg 310 black : 1.37
SW 285 silver : 1.12

[marccbr]

outie, are you in San Diego? If so can you pm me the installer name for your system?

[outie]

Oh so the LG cost more than the Solar World, interesting.

Well at least in my case LG is 300W while the SolarWorld is 285W. Anyhow I am now @ 3.39/W for LG 300s for 22 panels, 6.6kW system with 6kW SolarEdge.

[albert436]

Oh so the LG cost more than the Solar World, interesting.

[J.P.M.]

Gut check time:

LG, Solar world and most reasonably made and quality controlled panels including Sunpower are close to being a commodity, with a lot of the difference being appearance. These days, most quality stuff is fit for purpose.

Any golf ball can damage any panel if hit the right (wrong) way. Living on a golf course makes ball strikes a fact of life.

The quality of the vendor, including their experience, integrity and communication skills are more important than the lowest initial price. However, $0.30/Watt might be a bit much.

[thejq]

I've read through this thread a couple of times but at the moment don't remember one thing.

What's the relative cost per watt of LG vs. SolarWorld panels, generally speaking.?

Check http://www.civicsolar.com/ or http://www.wholesalesolar.com/ , but generally about $0.3/W.

[albert436]

I've read through this thread a couple of times but at the moment don't remember one thing.

What's the relative cost per watt of LG vs. SolarWorld panels, generally speaking.?

[outie]

Got it. I will make sure they use the correct inverter.

[gvl]

Hi everyone. I am now down to decide between LG 300 and Solarworld 275. As of 2015 what do you recommend? The price between them is $3.6/W for LG and $3.39/W for SolarWorld for a 5.7kW system. I might actually increase that to a 6.6kW system.

Inverter is SolarEdge 5kW Inverter with Optimizers.

I think SolarWorld makes better panel and LG is more likely to stay in business. So... it's a tough call.

The local solar installer said all the SolarWorld panels they installed were good and if there were issues, the warranty claims went smoothly. My only concern is if they will stay in business for the duration of my panels.

Thanks in advance!

Not an answer to your actual question, but a 5kW Inverter with a 6.6kW array will be maxed out or close and you won't be able add panels to it in the future if that is even a consideration. Should you decide to go with micro-inverters instead of SolarEdge SW275s will not be clipping with Enphase M250s, but LG300s will.

[outie]

Hi everyone. I am now down to decide between LG 300 and Solarworld 275. As of 2015 what do you recommend? The price between them is $3.6/W for LG and $3.39/W for SolarWorld for a 5.7kW system. I might actually increase that to a 6.6kW system.

Inverter is SolarEdge 5kW Inverter with Optimizers.

I think SolarWorld makes better panel and LG is more likely to stay in business. So... it's a tough call.

The local solar installer said all the SolarWorld panels they installed were good and if there were issues, the warranty claims went smoothly. My only concern is if they will stay in business for the duration of my panels.

Thanks in advance!

[Kev]

What sub did you drive?

(USS Thomas A. Edison SSBN 610 Blue)

[chr2002ca]

Hypothetical question -- if you didn't live near a golf course/baseballfield/etc., would you still think it worthwhile to install Solarworld rather than LG?

Just curious.

I wouldn't be bothering with this at all if that was the case and would stick with the LG's that are there.

[J.P.M.]

FWIW I'd agree with that. There's no demonstration that Solarworld is more impact resistant than LG. There's a Youtub video of bike riding on Solarworld panels, but bike's tire is soft. Without knowing if it will help, I'm not sure if it's wise to change them blindly (esp if it costs lots of $$$). Alternatively I'd consider a layer of Plexiglass which is commonly used in areas with high impact on top of your solar panels. I'm not sure how easy it is to install, but it's a surer way to protect your panels without sacrificing too much sunlight.

Seems to me that most utube stuff is about as useful and believable in terms of representing reality as porno.

I'd avoid another solid layer of solid material over the array. It may, on first thought, appear to have advantages, and for impact resistance, it probably does. However, further thought may bring to mind other not so nice and troublesome consequences.

Off the top of my head, a few of the drawbacks might be:

- Unless there is a fair distance, say 10-15 cm. or so, panel temps. will be higher, impacting performance and probably service life.

- Attaching such covers may very well void the warranty.

- If attached directly to the array and stood off some distance, the dead load and dynamic (wind, seismic) loads will increase meaning a check and possible roof/support structure modification. A building permit may be required.

- Solar resource availability will decrease by at least several % at the beginning due to transmittace losses and unless it's glass, probably increase as the material ages. This is true for most plastics.

- If stood off some distance, say that 10 - 15 cm., there will be two surface to foul - the panel glazing and the protective cover, meaning things will nominally foul 2X as quickly and in the limit 2X as much. Also, have fun trying to clean the panel glazing.

I lived on the 12th fairway near the green @ Castle Creek (for any locals who know where that is) for several years. One of other homes on that fairway was about 150 yds. downrange from, and to the right of, the tee box. The owner of that home needed to take the rather extreme measure of constructing a plexiglass wall down one of the walkway on the tee side of the home for property and personal protection. The wall was regularly cracked in a very visual way on a regular basis by ball strikes and regularly removed before the house went on the market. As I recall, that house went through more owners than other, adjacent homes.

[thejq]

That's nice and academic, but mostly and probably absolutely useless for the OP's situation. I live about 100 ft. +/- from a tee box and sympathize. I could certainly be wrong, but I'm not sure a wholesale replacement of one panel to the will result in noticeably fewer failures due to ball strikes. Tough call.

FWIW I'd agree with that. There's no demonstration that Solarworld is more impact resistant than LG. There's a Youtub video of bike riding on Solarworld panels, but bike's tire is soft. Without knowing if it will help, I'm not sure if it's wise to change them blindly (esp if it costs lots of $$$). Alternatively I'd consider a layer of Plexiglass which is commonly used in areas with high impact on top of your solar panels. I'm not sure how easy it is to install, but it's a surer way to protect your panels without sacrificing too much sunlight.