are LG Neon panels worth more than other panels

julesc1

I have been quoted £12000 for a 4kw system using the Enphase micro inverters and LG Mono x Neon panels, against £6000 for a similar system using trinasolar 260w monoblack with solaredge 4000w inverter and power optimizer. Please could somebody advise whether there can legitimately be such a big difference in price and whether the LG system is worth so much more than other systems.

Martyn1981

Short answer, no, not worth it.

Longer answer, could be bordering on miss-selling.

The crucial fig is the kWp 'nameplate'. If you're comparing 4kWp to 4kWp then annual generation should be very similar.

Tiny caveat, some panels claim to operate more efficiently (than others) during low light levels. This may be true, I'm not arguing either way, but a small gain of say 10% when light levels are already low, perhaps 10 to 20% of nameplate, will only result in a very small gain. Nothing wrong with even a 1 or 2% gain, but not if it comes at a disproportionate cost.

[Edit - Oops! Hello and welcome.]

Mart.

JimLad

These are the exact panels we have in our system and it cost us 5750 fully installed.

EricMears

Martyn1981 wrote: »

Short answer, no, not worth it.

Longer answer : definitely no ! Ask salesman for evidence that they'll provide double the output of any other panel so that you can nominate them for Nobel prize for Physics


Don't bother ordering their snake oil either.

mac2008

Evidence to support the above:

http://www.naturalsparx.co.uk/product/2500638030/LG-Mono-X-Neon-G3-300W-Mono-PV-Module-Black

http://www.naturalsparx.co.uk/product/2500638032/Trina-Solar-260W-Triple-Black-Mono-PV-Module-Black-Frame

If you look at the datasheets, the LG's claim to be more efficient (18.3% vs. 16.2% for the Trina Solar's) but of course this does not make up for the ludicrous £6k price difference, given the LG's are about £100 more per panel.

I assume you're getting 4kW worth of panels - you might have one or two less of the LG as they are higher Wp as you are limited to 4kWp to obtain the highest FiT rate anyway.

Even if the installer just charged the difference in retail price (say £100 x 16 panels = £1,600) you may not ever recover that cost through greater generation.

Martyn1981

Just to clarify, panel efficiency doesn't mean that a higher efficiency panel will generate more power than a less efficient panel.

A 250Wp 18% efficient panel will generate the same as a 250Wp 16% efficient panel. The difference is that the 18% efficient panel will be a little smaller. Or if they are the same size, the higher efficiency panel will squeeze in more Wp.

So for a given Wp, lets say 4kWp of 15% efficient panels and 4kWp of 22% efficient panels, they should generate the same amount of leccy, but the 22% panels will occupy less roof space, but cost more.

The main benefit of higher efficiency panels is to obtain more Wp from any given roof, especially if space is limited, but this comes at a cost. Going the other way, thin-film panels such as those used by IKEA are even lower efficiency, take up much more space, but are even cheaper. So it goes both ways.

[Caveat, as in my first post. Some of the higher efficiency panels, especially those incorporating hybrid technology (I believe they also have thin-film PV on them too) is that they generate a bit better at low light levels as a bonus. I don't know if this is true, nor significant.]

Mart.

theboylard

julesc1 wrote: »

I have been quoted £12000 for a 4kw system using the Enphase micro inverters and LG Mono x Neon panels, against £6000 for a similar system using trinasolar 260w monoblack with solaredge 4000w inverter and power optimizer. Please could somebody advise whether there can legitimately be such a big difference in price and whether the LG system is worth so much more than other systems.

Shot in the dark - is this a Big Green Company quote?
Sounds like their premium kit.
It will also come with a voltage optimiser (which you have called a power optimiser), which if you read a couple of the more recent threads on here you will know that the general concensus appears to be they are an unhappy mix of snake oil and bullock droppings.

Overall BGC (and British Solar, but they are much worse) are probably around twice the going rate.
You'll be able to negotiate a lower price but in all honesty it's still way too much.

I mention the above as I was offered jobs with both British Solar and Big Green Company - turned them both down as I have a conscience and a brain.

Simply say no thanks and if you can provide some info, plenty of folk on here can offer alternatives that are recommended.

a) general location (first half of postcode ideal or part of town etc), and rough direction of roof - south facing, southwest, east/west etc.
b) approximate size - how many metres wide/high?
c) any shading on your roof - trees, chimney etc. You probably wouldn't notice until you actually look!!

julesc1

Company - PrettyGreenEnergy
BD6
Roof S/E
Quoted for 13 panels
Some shading on part of roof

Many thanks for your response

thenudeone

£12k is about double the competitive price for a 4KW system.

You might just break even by the time the Feed in tariff runs out in 20 years.

Time for a few more quotes.

julesc1

JimLad wrote: »

These are the exact panels we have in our system and it cost us 5750 fully installed.

Hi, like the look of this system, for info how many panels did you need for the 4kw system - i was told 13 but cant trust the sales guy :money:

theboylard

As Mart explained earlier, if you have the space, then normal panel sizes will do the same job for a lower install cost.

If it's chimney shading, you could do an Ed and remove the chimney!
Or may be split the install over both s/e and n/w rooves? You might lose a little generation over the winter months, but gain a lot more during the longer days.

As someone else asked, if you have the budget, then possibly look at a larger total kWp? You'll need a decent installer as they will work with the dno, but the FiT drop is only a penny/kWh, but the benefits could be mahoosive!

Off to work, laters!