First and foremost is penetrating only at rafters (wood roof). You need to install proper waterproofing and flashing at each penetration.

You can remove solar from a roof and re-install. The smart move is to replace the roof the same year you are installing solar.

The panels are supposed to be good for 20 years. Most of the time, the panels will last longer, but they do degrade over time. I am seeing that a lot of the inverter equipment out there is not lasting 20 years. A lot of it is barely lasting 5 years.

So I might be missing something here, are "ya'll" saying that if the power goes out, there is no switch that removes the house from the grid and allows the house to be powered by the solar panels?

Even if you had an automatic disconnect, the solar panels were not designed to provide off-grid power.

In a deregulated market, net metering is a bit more complex than here in Monopoly land😀

I think net metering is ridiculous from the utility stand point.

New roof for sure if you ask me. I am working on a whole house remodel now and we are having the local company do the install. WE did all the regular electrical work including the car chargers. We decided to have a new roof put on for the project. I know there are solar companies advertises on solar installation and roof install all in one shebang.

I have always thought of using only solar to run my AC during the summer. That is a complete off grid system that's not tied into the grid so I don't have to deal with Socal Edison but that's not gonna happen. The bulk of my elec power usage during sunmmer is from running AC from late April to Nov. Ideally, The AC system is not tied to the the grid at all but I need that to run the fan of the blower during the winter for heat.

I've said this before on solar threads. I didn't feel it was worth it for me to bother with buying panels, hardware, the electronics, etc. and finding somebody to install the whole thing. I'm old enough I don't care to attempt the installation myself. Plus I wanted to get in on the net metering program, and it was at something like 94% completion when I decided I'd better get with it & install solar. Additionally I'd always intended to install a solar system since the house is electric except for the tankless water heaters(which heat using propane). So my system is a 7.75Kw system costing $27K (at the time) which comes out to $18.9K with the 30% credit. I'm coming up on my third true up date in May. If I remember correctly, my annual cost for electricity was around $4K+/yr. Since installation I haven't paid them a penny and sold back a Megawatt each year sofar (at 2 to 4 cents per Kwh at their price for wholesale power). So I figure I'm coming up on around $12K savings on my $18.9K investment, and that's break even at around five to six years. My system should continue saving me money, and even if I have to replace panels and components sometime in the future I'll be far ahead. I have a 10Kw backup generator w a transfer panel for some circuits, but only once have we been without power for more than a few hours. I'm glad I went for it.

Taking the plunge Tuesday. 10kw (32 panel) system getting installed on the back roof. (The HOA is happy). Duke Power is writing me a check for $6k at the end of the year plus the 30% Federal tax credit and my roof is almost directly South facing. It all adds up to a ~8 year break-even. Financing rates are still reasonable and if you believe the claim that it adds 2% to 3% to the value of your house, I'll be above water in 5 to 6 years. I just want to see the meter running "backwards". :)

What is a fair price for solar?

brp914 said 5KW for ~ $18k ($3.6/watt)
Marv said 7.75Kw for $27K ($3.48/watt)

tdw, what are you paying for your 10kw system?
Based on the above 2 data points.... $35k?

It all depends on where you are.

In Houston, a 5kW grid-tied system is around $15K, $25-30K for a 10kW system.

At this point, the materials are less than 50% of the price of a system, with the actual solar panels less than 20% of the cost.

I paid $2.97/watt at the end of 2016 for my system. $3/watt was pretty much the standard around here at the time, so service, install time, etc was the deciding factor.

Consider warranty. The above quote guarantees operation for 25 yrs. As Redbeard says, inverters may be good for 10. They are several thousand $. Then there are microinverters or optimizers, and charge controllers if you get a battery.

Prices are negotiable, and the above quote came a price match guarantee. For information on pricing check energysage.com

Only the solar panels have a long warranty, and not typically 25 years. 20 is the norm. Inverters are 2-5 years, batteries usually have no warranty, since life is application specific. Our generators have a 4-6 year warranty, depending on the model and "deals" going on at the time of sale.

This is what keeps me from converting. I want my house to be able to use solar w/out the grid.

Don't understand this comment. What characteristic makes a panel grid-tied vs off grid?

I'm no expert, but I believe what James might be referring to is the power output of the panels. They don't put out a constant 120/240 volts and the voltage they do put out is moderated by the inverters. I imagine you could put the right number of panels in series to produce 120 volts, but even that would change with the incidence of the sun as it passes over during the day. But like I say, I'm not that knowledgeable about it.

I’ve not done any electrical or electronic stuff in years so I may be FOS, but I think this can be mitigated by using battery storage and a transfer switch.

Have the solar panels charge the batteries and use them to power the house. Transfer switch to isolate - in the same way as you’d isolate a generator. The question would be cost. I’m thinking you’d be at $50k instead of $30 for 8kw, and battery life would become a consideration.

As - if I understand the above - would inverter life.

No way $50k. 8kw with Li battery should be low $30s, and mid $20s with Pb. But you need twice the capacity with Pb since they can only go down 50% or you'll lose them. Even then, batteries are for a few 30A circuits - not for A/C. Think fridge, LED lights, TV, PC, and of course PARF.

The inverter

There are battery based solutions that use the grid and solar panels. They are more expensive.