$200 sounds like a rudimentary solar hot water system. He probably has you buying a couple rolls of black irrigation pipe, some plumbing parts and a little pump.
It might actually work if you live where water doesn't freeze.
In my shopping I have found PV collectors for around $3 a watt which is half what they were a few years ago.
(Japanese brand, probably made in China)
An off grid inverter is some hundreds of dollars, depending on size. I didn't see a grid tie inverter but I really wasn't looking since you need to buy a certified "system" to do that and there is significant cost to simply getting your product certified. I also think that in a rapidly developing world, the certified system might be obsolete by the time it gets through the process. That is probably good if you are a consumer but does not encourage innovation.
