[familyop]

"The big PV hidden animal, is that they degrade.

Have they made improvements on that?"

Improvements weren't needed for longevity. Modules (them thar electric kind of solar panels) are good for about 25 years on average for the purpose of assessing costs. Other improvements have been made (improvements by Kyocera being good examples).

Other components, like controllers and inverters should be capable of accepting more current than required by the installed system. That way, the chances of failure are much lower (less heat). And that said, I haven't had any failures in those components. All of the necessary breakers and other protection should be installed with the system.

Batteries don't last so long, but some batteries are much better than others if well charged every cycle with a great controller. The most cost-effective batteries that I know of for small systems are Crown lead-acid batteries (among the thickest plates).

Learn safety procedures for electrical installations, though. Installing solar-electric power can be hazardous without a good knowledge of the NEC and safety steps on the job.

[DoughtyOne]

I may have revealed my ignorance on these systems, in that it was my take the solar cells do degrade. You may be talking about something a bit different here.

I appreciate you addressing the issues though. I do have an understanding that the set-up could be dangerous if you don’t know what you are doing.

[palmer]

I use AGM batteries to store my solar. They are expensive, but last a long time if you don't discharge them continuously. I don't since my solar is for low power incidentals (low power computers like the Raspberry Pi, the internet, the weather station and recorder, etc) I switch the fridge to solar/battery when the power fails but that is not very often.

I do not tie my solar to the grid in any way nor have any plans to.