I'm planning to help several friends with this very thing.

Too often solar companies want to "calculate" how much capacity you should buy. I've learned the hard way that you can't just buy what you want.

For instance, a family member likes having the shade of a tree. Several solar companies say they can't and won't install panels unless the tree gets cut. Forget about the fact that the shade means less A/C is needed in the summer and the extra power is needed more in the winter, when there are no leaves. They don't care.

So instead, it's easier to just install it myself.

Likewise, what if you want to buy all the panels you can afford and an inverter that can handle twice the number, then add more when you've got money? Not a single one of those solar "installers" will do that.

Single or pairs of panels with tie-in inverters are an excellent idea and neatly get around all of the things that "installers" refuse to do.