LG Electronics’ latest commercial solar panel can reach an efficiency of 21.4%.

LG-solar

It is the LG370N1C-N5, styled a ‘premium’ product by the company – an n-type monocrystalline panel producing 370W max from its 1.7 x 1m surface (irradiance 1,000W/m2, 25°C, 1.5AM).

Open-circuit under the same illumination it delivers 41.8V, and short-circuit the figure is 10.92A. Maximum power is achieved at 35.8V 10.34A. Up to 19 panels can be strung in series without straying from the panel’s 1kV rating.

Inside, there are 60 individual cells (6 x 10), each with bus bars on the rear rather than the front to increase the area available for absorption – technology branded Neon R Prime by LG. The final panel is 40mm thick and weigh 18kg.

As the same time as promoting the new panel, LG revealed that it is modernising its Korean production lines in Gumi by the end of 2020.

“Within the new line, the company is planning to produce a new panel with an output of over 400W during the first quarter of 2021,” according to LG. “For this, LG will rely on ‘paving technology’ which once again improves performance with minimal cell spacing. These innovations will help bring new products to market with an improved design and even greater reliability.”

Last year, the company introduced a solar roof that can be built into electric and hybrid vehicles as a range extender – “The energy produced by the solution enabled a mileage of around 1,300km per year for a medium-sized vehicle”, it said.

Also last year, it delivered a 3MW system (~7,500 solar panels) to the Moorebank Logistics Park in Sydney, Australia, predicted to produce 4.8GWh/year.