Solar panels are as cheap as they have ever been, so it is a good time to buy them. A good battery to buy is the 6 volt golf cart kind. They are built to charge/discharge many times. Don't skimp on the charge controller, don't buy a cheap $30 chinese one, get a Moringstar or better. And buy a pure sine wave inverter, the modified sine wave ones will run lights, but they will cause motors to run hot.
Good advice for those wanting a PV (Photo-Voltaic) system. I had a nice system set up that ran the ceiling fans and my ham radio station. When my wife lived out west, they lived completely off-grid. I have a cousin who has a chest freezer and his water supply completely on solar power (he lives here in Florida also). With all those success stories, I have still decided not to set up the system again (we had to take it down when we added on to the house). I have all the panels, a couple of charge controllers and inverters, and a battery monitor (a must-have), yet they will probably remain in storage. The reason? Batteries are a major weak link in the system. Even with the best of care, they have a limited life-span, and they probably won't be available after things fall apart. And before you ask - No, a PV system will not work without batteries as a buffer. Been there, done that. The power fluctuates wildly and any good quality charge controller or inverter will shut down once the input voltage gets out of spec. There has to be a battery bank in the system to act as a buffer. Batteries are there for TWO purposes - storage for night and when the sun isn't shining and when a temporary load exceeds the panel output, AND to act as a buffer to even out the power going into the inverter.
I might decide to try it again some time just for the fun of it (when the addition was built, it was built specifically for a PV system with roof mounted panels), but it would not be a major part of my prep planning. My thinking at this point is that I would rather focus on how things will work with no electricity rather than just prolong things with a very limited use of electricity until the batteries die. I have generators and fuel to give me a very short term bridge to get there (and to use power tools while there is fuel available). That's just my thinking and it may not fit your situation; however, I hope you'll consider the possibility. It's a matter of setting priorities.
