OP says he is not a beginner, not in electrical domain.
Handy Bob is inspiring and entertaining, these are merits, in my books. Useful info is scattered, er... thinly, throughout his blog.
Solar is just a DC source. If you know how battery charging and discharging works, you know half of what there is to know about solar. Main difference from 120V grid charger is that there is (usually) less wattage, no charging in night-time, and few% of charging when it rains (compared to clear sky). Clouds are OK.
Like people said, start with energy audit. Some are content with solar working only occasionally, they don't rely on it for boondocking and don't expect it to be main energy source.
200-300W on the roof is the minimum to get by, without running a generator. Having more wouldn't hurt, because on darker days 600W solar will work like 100-200W.
For air-con you will need generator.
Other than installing not enough solar wattage, the only big mistake that you could make is pairing 24V panels with PWM controller. 24V panels need MPPT controller.
Here is estimated solar harvest PER MONTH - enter your location, array size in KW (you can prorate it later for smaller wattage), tilt=0.
http://pvwatts.nrel.gov/. Divide by 31 to get KWH per day. Multiply by 1,000 and divide by 12.6V to get AH per day. This is for an average day, assuming no shade from trees.
Flat panel (tilt=0) in real life is tilted few degrees to shed water and debris, this usually comes natural when conforming to roof curve.
