Over the past couple of weeks I've been installing my own off-grid solar PV system at home. Because it's not getting the Feed In Tariff (FIT), there was no need to get an approved installer, so a friend with roofing experience came to help me put the panels on the roof, and I did all the electrical work myself. There's a total of 280W of PV, combined with a 180Ah lead acid battery, a MPPT charge contoller and an inverter.
Although it would have been easier to pay someone to do it, I learned a lot while designing and building the system, and its very satisfying to be writing this blog from a computer running directly off the PV system, and if there's ever a power cut I'll be able to carry on largely as normal.
There's a lot more detail on my own blog, including lots of pictures:
