I live in So Cal and just signed the contract with Solar City. Elon Musk is the founder of Solar City along with Tesla Motors.
So, if my numbers are right, the system pays for itself in 7 years. I figure even less because the cost of electricity goes up 7%/year. So that will be 13 more years of electricity afterwards with much lower costs. My present bill is $200/mo and projected bill will be $38. I'm paying $13,800 for the system and paying for it in full. Financing is available.
I will then have no bill from Solar City, and get a yearly bill from the electric company. When system gets installed, I'm also going to do a few things different in the house--unplug second refrig, and a few other things. So hopefully I can get my bill down to around $200/year instead of the current $200/mo. (But if I stay with the status quo, my bill will be $400/year.)
Even though I'm paying in full for the panels from Solar City, they will be removing them after 20 years. They explain that I'm buying a contract, not the panels. Whatever that means.
But I'm sure in the not to distant future, solar is going to be much better than it now is. It is fascinating that here's this ball 90 million miles away composed of helium and hydrogen and we can tap into it to create electricity to run our homes.
BTW, the solar panels don't directly run our electrical appliances. As the panels create electricity from the sun, it's fed through the lines via DC current, then converted to AC and then ties into the electrical grid. The meter keeps track of how much electricity the system is creating.
As far as increasing value of home, I can't see how new home owner wouldn't be happy with electrical bill of $20-$40/month, when most homeowners have bills between $200-$300/month. We also have tankless water heater and our gas bill is often under $10.
If you do purchase the Solar City product, tell them someone recommended you to Solar City and that person will get $400. Then you can work out a deal with that person and it will make your cost of the solar even cheaper.