What you describe is what I put in. Technically it’s a solar generator. I have 4 panels total 400 watts @ 12 volts and 8 122 Amp Hr. deep cycle batteries. A charge controller to keep from overcharging and 120 volt invertor that can run up to 3000 watts of 120 volt devices. No grid tie. During full sunlight when batteries are charged I hook items usually TV/Dish/computers to the invertor to use the solar that’s not needed to charge the batteries. Using common voltage displays I can monitor solar and battery voltages to know what I can hookup for how long. At night the 900 amp hour storage can run a lot until the sun the next day. You still are on the grid, but can offload what the batteries can deliver. How much you want to save depends on number of panels and battery capacity . Utility companies are starting to charge grid feed solar customers a fee to grid tie to cover their infrastructure costs. A 4 panel 8 battery system costs about $1,000 to $1,500 to put together, not tens of thousands.
Point out to your co-op how solar helps them during peak times, like the summer afternoons. They don’t have to build infrastructure, because you did it for them. Make a little noise.
Just looking to do a stealth camping/other van build which would need to run small fridge, lighting, 12v devices, etc.
I sort of have a basic understanding of the PWM vs. MPPT(higher amps vs. higher volts)when it comes to wiring size/length, efficiency, limitations...that said, am I better off wiring all 5 panels in series into the MPPT(or should I ask, can it be done safely), or series/parallel or just parallel through the PWM for this small solar/vehicle setup?