Thanks very much for your response, it is helpful to get audiophile's take on this. The efficiency of the new panels even compared to a few years ago is really amazing. I'd guess that an appropriate set of panels will cost me around $10K, more or less, and with my average monthly electricity bill of $100, the install might not pencil out, but I am I am a green-leaning guy so I still might do it.
Perhaps my concern about the integration of solar panels is a non-issue, which is your experience bears out and I hope other chime in with their take. Thanks again for your response. Whitestix