Looking to price out solar systems for a self install. Thinking around 8-10kwH sized system for a new built 2500 sqft house on all electric. Not sure where to start looking at brands or how to compare quality. I found a local place that offers an 8 kwh system for 17k before rebates (self install). Does that sound about right? Property is 4 acres and had room to do ground mounted solar with perfect south facing, no shade problems. The house could also be oriented to provide south facing roof space, with ideal pitch.

If you got the space, ground mounted is the way to go. Advantages are:

• Easier to access
• Easier maintenance than climbing a roof
  
• No roof penetrations
• Adjustable to winter & summer solstice angles
• If you have roof leak issues then you have to remove the panels to access the bad portion of the roof
• Easier to clean
  

The only reason roof mounted is more popular is that most people lack the space for ground mounted. One needs a few acres of land for ground mounted panels.

As far as DIY goes. I am not sure how complicated a solar panel setup is but I am sure it's not for a beginner level of skill.

Newcomb- In terms of comparing brands, I have monitored data for three different brands in our small town, and the performance is very similar when normalized by rated power. See http://www.residentialenergylaboratory.com/comparison_of_pv_systems.html for details. Of course, if there are space restrictions, which there should not be in your case, then panel efficiency matters. Typically after doing all the tradeoffs, folks in the country often use ground mount, and the folks in the city use roof mount. Ground mounts usually add extra costs for the mounting compared to roof mounts. The cost quote looks reasonable.

A 8kwh system is one small 5-6 watt panel, if you're talking 8kwh per year.

I think the units you're looking are watts or kilowatts (units of power), not kwh (units of energy.) It's like talking about a 100 mile trip instead of a a 100mph trip.

An 8kw system in not super sunny parts of the US will deliver over 10,000 kwh/ per year. The amount you can get out of YOUR system in YOUR location can be ballparked readily using tools found here:

http://pvwatts.nrel.gov/

How much PV you need depends on how much power you think you'll be using.

Self installation of grid-tied PV has a lot of pitfalls, and the requirements vary by utility company and state. Off grid systems are another topic entirely.