Should you do your own solar installation? This is like asking if should you build your own house or build your own porch or do any other major building related project on your own. There are many ways you can approach such projects.
You can do everything on your own, if you have the necessary skill set. Or, you can outsource the whole project to a professional. Or, you can procure certain components yourself and manage the workforce.
1) You can do everything on your own, if you have the necessary skill set. For a solar project, you will mainly need the skill set of an electrician and a roofer. And you will also need to familiarize yourself with all the relevant permitting and approval processes to interconnect your solar system to the grid. Having said that, some (e.g. ground mount) projects will not require to get on a roof, therefore will not require the roofing skill set.
2) Another approach would be to procure the main pieces of equipment on your own (i.e. the solar panels, the inverter and racking system) and then hire a solar installer to do all the labor (i.e. the design, permit package & paperwork, tax rebate paperwork, the installation, etc.)
3) Or you can simply buy a turnkey system from a solar installer.
As you can imagine, Option 1 will cost you the least but will require most of your time and Option 3 will cost you the most but will require the least amount of your personal time.
In our experience, most people will opt for Option 3. We see about 5-10% of home owners opting to go with the 2nd option.
And we see an even smaller percentage of folks (~1-3%) going with Option 1. Usually, folks who go with Option 1 are already professional contractors who are in the building or electrical trade. Once they do their first project on their own home, then they start providing installation services for their friends and communities.
If you have any questions on which of these options would be best for you, do not hesitate to CALL US.