And there might come a day when it makes sense in places like Europe,the northern two-thirds of the US and Japan/South Korea.But that day hasn't come.
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Actually it has come. Germany is one of the largest markets for Solar Electric panels. Solar electricity does very well in Alaska. The farther north you go the higher the angle of the panel and they run much better, efficiently that is, in cold weather.
I know a little about the subject, I have 36, 325W panels on my roof. They produce in the neighborhood of 12KW. By the time I dump that into my rather large batteries I'm only getting about 10KW but everyone has loss problems that we can't do much about. I average 5-6 hours of full output per day, that is 50-60KW going into my battery. My average usage including electric freezer, refrigerator, A/C and a bunch of lighting and computers is only about 40KW per day, so I let the grid be my backup first. If the grid fails, there is no sun and my battery is used much more than a week I then have to use my backup generator which will charge the battery at 16KW per hour. I would then have to use the generator every other day for a few hours until the sun comes back out. The truth is that even on cloudy days the cells produce quite a bit of power.
Do I recommend Solar electric? I do but only conditionally. If you purchase the components yourself and can do the work yourself you save a fortune. Solar installers are making a killing on pretty simple work. There are certain times of the years that most equipment providers are slow, that is the fall. People getting ready to spend money on Christmas and cold weather don't make people think of spending on equipment that must be mounted outside, so , the dealers offer sales and packages to help you want to spend. Take advantage of it. October is likely the best month to buy. Also realize that if you spend $30000 the government (this year anyway) will give you $10000 of it back. If your electric bill is $250 a month that is less than a 7 year payback. You can do a great deal with $30K if you are wise and careful.
Buy more than you think you will need, there are losses you won't anticipate. If the grid goes down here we won't notice it even in the hot summer.
Replace heavy electrical loads with more energy efficient loads. For heat consider a high efficiency heat pump, perhaps a heat pump water heater. Use ONLY L.E.D. lighting and replace your old refrigerator and freezer with high efficiency models.
Since I have a 1 floor 3000 sqft house with breezeway and large garage I had plenty of roof in the right direction, not everybody does but roof placement is the easiest and cheapest installation.
I have learned a great deal on this project, it has been fun. I read and read and read before I jumped in, I highly recommend anyone considering solar do that, know what you are doing before you start.