Solar Freaks

If I wanted to just supplement my AC power needs to my house with solar panels and not interested in selling power back to the electric Co., because I'm not generating enough, do I still need a “grid-tied” inverter? Is there another way of using batteries and connecting them to my electrical panel through an off-grid inverter that would work and be cheaper?
Forgive the basic question but I’m trying to get a picture of the entire design.