Whether you're thinking more about the environment or you just wish to reduce the cost of your electricity bill, more people are exploring the option of having solar panels fitted. This is an interesting option and one that the government is currently supporting wholeheartedly, which benefits those who can afford them. With technology coming on in leaps and bounds, taking advantage of solar technology is becoming more of a realistic option for several people but there are some important issues to consider first.

The typical solar panel system will cost around twelve thousand pounds, which is a sizeable amount of money. This is a long term investment and as with any investment of this size, it shouldn't be taken lightly and a large amount of research should be undertaken before committing to anything. Obviously, not everyone will have these funds available to them but there are other schemes that involve solar power companies. However, if you are fortunate enough to have the money available, investing in a system may be a worthwhile venture.

The biggest advantage for investing in a system is the government initiative that was introduced in 2010. They decided to replace grants with feed-in tariff payments; this means that you will be paid for all of the energy that you produce including the energy that you personally consume. Depending on the size of your system, you can earn around a thousand pounds from the government. This is evidently a large incentive for purchasing solar panels, however despite the government claiming that the scheme will run for 25 years, there is a slight chance that they may choose to change policy sometime in the future. With this in mind, you should prepare yourself for the possibility of the scheme changing, which will make recouping the outlay a much longer process.

In addition to the payments you will receive from the government, you stand to save an average of £70 from your annual electricity bill. It may not sound a great deal but over time it will add up and with the price of electricity increasing year on year, these savings will increase accordingly.

In terms of maintenance, for a completely new system that is correctly installed, very little upkeep is needed except for the replacing of the inverter, which is expected to last 25 years. The solar panel market seems to be one that is expected to grow in the coming years and evidently, if you have the necessary sum of money available, you should consider investing in solar panels and in the future.