Is a residential photovoltaic system a cost effective investment for the homeowner?

The question "can a residential photovoltaic system provide all of the elements that would qualify it for consideration as a component of a retiree\´s investment portfolio" was raised during the 4^th World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion and again at the 33^rd IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference. In the analysis there was an assumption that as an individual reached the end of his or her working years the potential retiree would have cash, which would be available for purchase of the photovoltaic system. Thus the photovoltaic system could be viewed as a retirement investment vehicle. The figure of merit was therefore a comparison of the financial performance of a residential photovoltaic system with various stock and bond investments available to the general public. This comparison showed that the financial return on the investment in a residential photovoltaic system was comparable to the stock market investment fidelity investments FUSEX which is an indexed fund which follows the Standard & Poor 500 and a Franklin Templeton high yield fund FKINX which invests in stocks which pay high dividends and various corporate bonds and U.S. Treasury bonds. The question that was not addressed in this prior analysis is "Can an investment in a residential photovoltaic system generate adequate income to service debt on a system which requires the homeowner to borrow the funds necessary to purchase a system. This paper will address that question.