I'm diggin in the spurs now for a more robust plan than reliance on little 6-7k units! It will be done this summer...I will raise cain every day till it is done.
For most things those 6-7 KW units will be fine. T
IN fact my Full blown PV system doesn't generate more than that - its actually a lot of power. The big problem is the fuel to run them... The average house NOT in Teotwawki mode uses 15-20 KW-Hrs. If you charged batteries with the Generator - and used an inverter ( or converted to DC appliances.. (don't) ) you would run the generator 3-4 hrs a day and run off the batteries the rest of the time.. . Of course a good set of 48V batteries capable of providing 15KW hrs of power are going to run around 3 grand and last around 7-8 years. Then you need a charger and an inverter.. - probably around $4-6K -- and at that point you look into getting a Solar Inverter and just using it in "generator hook up" mode till you add PV panels down the road. One way or another it adds up fast.. and then there is batter maintenance to be done f its not being used.. you have to keep them charged and warm...
In a short term scenario, the generator with batts and inverter will be fine. The problem is long term for the fuel. PV panels of course can be used to get rid of that problem, but to equal the charging capacity of the generator , you need 4000 Watts of panels or so and that will run another $5000 .. But the PV panel prices have come down so much and as far as I know you still get the 30% tax break. So with cables, mounts and other balance of systems crap the total package would cost around $20K - and Uncle Sam pays for a third of it.. -its not that bad, and you don't have to add more than a single string of panels to qualify for the tax break and can add more panels later..