On hot sunny days like this when we are running the air conditioner pretty much all day my thoughts turn to solar power.  I was wondering what the break even time was for solar, using numbers (below) for Austin, TX electricity and raw panels, retail price.  I realize there are (possibly large) installation costs and other support hardware, but just as a stake in the ground for a number.  I was surprised that at the top tier the payback was less than two years.