This post was done in partnership with The Sweethome, a buyer's guide to the best things for your home. Read the full article with more details and background information here.

With solar power, there's no one-size-fits-all solution. Before deciding whether we could recommend any components for solar power, we spent weeks compiling statistics, wading through specifications, and getting expert input—and even so, the picks we make here represent only a starting point on the road to solar. Every installation needs to take into account electricity consumption, geographic location, roof orientation, local permits, and a host of other issues. This guide will help you get a rough idea of how much power you'll need, and then, in most cases, the first option you should consider is a grid-tied system made up of Suniva Optimus 335W monocrystalline solar panels paired with SolarEdge P400 power optimizers, plus a SolarEdge inverter at the heart of it all. Suniva panels are efficient, affordable, and backed by a reputable warranty from a company with manufacturing in the US. SolarEdge inverter components, meanwhile, combine the reliability and cost savings of a traditional string-inverter system with the placement flexibility and increased efficiency of microinverters.

In the past five years, solar panels have started to become a commodity item, with small technical differences that are immaterial to most homeowners. The Suniva panels, made at factories in Georgia and Michigan, come with a 10-year warranty and a 25-year power guarantee, though most other top-tier manufacturers offer the same warranty. The Suniva panels are right in the middle when it comes to efficiency rating—not so low as to require the extra space that cut-rate panels may need, but not so high that you're paying 50 percent more for engineering prestige you'll never notice. If you can find panels from a similarly reputable company with the same warranty and similar efficiency but a lower price tag, you'll probably be just as happy with them. But the Suniva panels should be the bar that you try to clear as you shop.

Engage the solar inverter

Every solar-power system requires a second component, called an inverter. These devices turn the direct current (DC) that the solar panels produce into alternating current (AC), which is what your home runs on. You can determine a good inverter by some of the same qualities you'll find in a good solar panel: reliability, warranty coverage, and cost. But the SolarEdge line of products sets itself apart with its hybrid nature, coupling the flexibility of a microinverter system with the reliability and affordability of a string inverter. Like a string of old Christmas lights, in which one bad bulb can ruin them all, solar panels wired into a string inverter can be hindered by one underperformer thanks to shade from an overgrown tree. SolarEdge power optimizers solve this problem: they're small boxes that mount to the back of each panel, monitoring each panel's performance, managing the output individually and increasing overall output. It also makes the central inverter proportionally cheaper and simpler, which probably helps to explain SolarEdge's reputation for reliability. Available at a price comparable to that of other top-quality string inverters, the SolarEdge inverters can chain together for increased output, and you can monitor them through a Web portal or smartphone app.

You don't have to be embarking on a DIY installation to use the info in this guide. Although the topic is a lot to digest, we think most homeowners can understand the basics of solar power and learn how to make the right choices. Solar isn't an impulse buy, and you don't need to have your whole system figured out today.

Who this is for

Not everyone who goes solar will need to shop for their own equipment. Our picks are intended for people who will buy and install their systems alone or with their own electrician or contractor. If you buy or lease your equipment from an installer, you may not have much choice in which equipment you get, but understanding our picks can help you evaluate quotes and proposals. For the most savings, your first choice should be purchasing a system outright in order to get the best return on investment, but we also discuss other options with lower up-front costs.

We cover a lot of the details of going solar throughout this guide, but the series of questions in this flowchart will help you figure out where you need to focus: