Canie...I think the solar shingles ain't cheap. Each one has to be separately wired, and there are devices that this wiring gets plugged into. Whether it would be economic for someone in a situation like yours over a 20 year period would depend on what rebates/benefits you get from state/Feds/Power company, as well as the future cost of electricity. You would want "net metering", where your meter would run backwards when you produce more than you use. It probably makes economic sense for power companies to do this in an area where peak power demand is during hot sunny days, which would be the case in southern California. It is probably very expensive for companies to have the extra capacity needed to cover these peak times, when that capacity might only be needed a couple weeks a year, and only part of the day. So, having a million houses reduce their energy consumption in the afternoon while sun is still high would help. I suppose the problem would be at 6 PM when people are cooking and watching TV, it is still hot, and the sun angle is too low to make power.

O/T: where we live housing is really inexpensive but getting work done on a house is not. We had a contractor-dude by to look a building some steps outside and the estimate was really expensive. We don't know how much yet for failed garage foundation (we knew about this when we bought). What with other work (staining siding and porch), if we do solar, the total could be just a bit less than a whole small house in this area. I should do the parts I am capable of; It would save a lot more $ than what I earn, but I am having enough trouble getting things, like the Palos Verdes papers, completed. Right now, I'm doing really mindless, monotonous stuff that a trained monkey or a grad student could do much faster (that was a joke, grad students). I think I can start on the papers tomorrow.
Chris