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Originally Posted by shbop

I installed my first system about 18 years ago. I went with Outback Solar. A lot depends on what you want to accomplish. My system is 'grid-tied', and I have battery back-up. Are you looking to hire someone, or are you considering doing things yourself? Do you want to run off-grid, or grid-tied? I think an important consideration should be how easy it is to get support for whatever you decide to install. Here in Hawaii the solar market is pretty saturated. Over the past 10 years solar contractors had a field day. With tax credits from the Feds and the State, these companies were raking it in. Today, many who got photovoltaic systems are now looking to add battery back-up. They have realized that when their utility is off-line, they're not making any electricity. It was far easier and cheaper to install without battery back-up, and it costs dearly to add it later. Some systems have to be completely re-desgned. The agreements with utility companies have also changed considerably. I'm grandfathered in, and get dollar for dollar. My utility buys my extra for what I pay them. Today, that type of agreement is not available. Check on what's available in your area, unless you've decided to go off-grid, in which case you don't care. I have panels made in Japan, and panels made it the USA. So far, I haven't had any problems with either. I try to keep them clean by washing them off once a year. Good luck with it! Batteries are the big consumable here. They are pricey. We haven't figured-out how to store electricity well, yet.

We manufacture a system to add batteries to a grid tied system. We also add a generator, making uut a Hybrid Solar Energy System. Everything is controlled by our energy management system.