LG 315 vs LG 365 Panels

[ziggyziggy]

I have to offers for panel arrays of similar DC wattage.

22 x LG 365 panels
26 x LG 315 panels

The cost of the 365 setup is about $3000 cheaper. Is there any reason why the higher wattage panels end up being cheaper? I was told the panels are cheap per watt but not sure if thats true. I searched all over and cannot find any pricing for the 365s. They could be too new? Thanks in advance.

[DanKegel]

http://www.lg.com/us/commercial/sola...lg-LG365N2W-B3 72 cell, 18.6% efficient
http://www.lg.com/us/commercial/sola...lg-LG315N1C-G4 60 cell, 19.2% efficient

The 72 cell one may be cheaper per watt because it's bigger, bulkier, less efficient, and higher voltage (so not compatible with enphase)?
Check your roof to make sure the bigger panels will fit, and check your microinverters/optimizers if any to make sure they don't mind the higher voltage, otherwise go with the cheaper option.

[ziggyziggy]

Either setup witll use SolarEdge inverters and optimizers instread of micros. In this case, does it make sense to save $3000 and go with the cheaper panels?

[J.P.M.]

http://www.lg.com/us/commercial/sola...lg-LG365N2W-B3 72 cell, 18.6% efficient
http://www.lg.com/us/commercial/sola...lg-LG315N1C-G4 60 cell, 19.2% efficient

The 72 cell one may be cheaper per watt because it's bigger, bulkier, less efficient, and higher voltage (so not compatible with enphase)?
Check your roof to make sure the bigger panels will fit, and check your microinverters/optimizers if any to make sure they don't mind the higher voltage, otherwise go with the cheaper option.

Some of the reason the job w/ the 72 cell panels is less/STC Watt probably has to do with fewer panels and thus less wiring and labor. Imagine the larger panel being an LG 300 w/12 more cells, 72 vs. 60 and the same STC eff. as the LG 300 . Look for an LG 380 -385 soon w/ 72 cells and the same STC eff. as the 315.

[ziggyziggy]

Should I be worried that the 365 panels are of lower quality? Also, they are silver framed vs black for the 315s.

[DanKegel]

Offhand, I wouldn't worry. LG is LG. The datasheets I linked to say the newer ones have higher "front load" and "back load" by about 2x, but the old ones are probably fine.

[foo1bar]

LG 365's are 72 cell - so they take up more roof area than LG 315's (about 20% more roof per panel because they're 72 cell vs. 60)

If there were LG 305W, 60-cell panels, they would take the same amount of room (for same amount of power) as LG 365s.

The 365 and 315 are I think the same quality from a durability perspective.
It's just that the 315 is using slightly higher performance / more efficient silicon.
It could be that silicon needed more/different processing (and therefore is more expensive per wafer to make)
Or it could be that out of 1000 wafers they get 20 that are 19% efficient, but 200 that are 18% or more. So they price the wafers to reflect the demand/supply and that reflects in the price of the module.

If you're OK with the look and the roof area needed, I see no reason to not use the cheaper per watt panels.

[silversaver]

same manufacture, cheaper the better. Solar is just like a washing machine, does top load for front load bothering you?