It’s complicated for sure. Instead of one inverter to turn it into 110v, each of my panels has its own inverter. If one dies, I still have power from the others.
Only thing I’m missing is a battery sort of fail-safe. But, truthfully, my wife and I play ~ 3 games of chess every day. And have four hurricane lamps for light. Entertainment won’t be a problem.
We are gonna see a design for our backyard tomorrow to get rid of a lot of grass. We decided to bring in some pros. Less watering, and less mowing, xeriscape. So a win win.
In retirement (unless your dollar budget is tight) always choose simplicity over complications. Always choose near zero maintenance over high maintenance. Regardless of whether you expect to DIY [whatever] or hire it out.
You (any you) may not need simplicity yet, but it’ll sneak up on you.
A couple weeks ago I was able to leave for a week’s vacation on 12 hours notice. 8 hours of which I spent sleeping. Because everything is carefully simplified. To me at least, that freedom is a luxury I savor every day whether at home or not.
We are gonna xeriscape about half our yard. Less water (an issue in Colorado and lots of other places) And less mowing for me.
We actually hired a designer for this. I used to be in the irrigation business, but I don’t want to get down in the mud anymore. I’m a bit old for that. It will also be nice to have input from a third party.
You are right that solar is more complicated, but there is no maintenance, at least so far. It just does it’s job. I watch the numbers every day because I’m a nerd. And it’s frankly kinda fun.
I was meaning to cheer your decision to xeriscape, not meaning to boo your solar. Once installed, the solar ought to be zero complexity for a long time.
Sorry to have given the wrong impression.
Stickin’ it to The Man is always fun. Yaay for that!