solar panels

[earsup]

Solar panels...I find the info a bit confusing..does anyone have any and is it worth it now....for comparison, my friend in Durham paid 10k 15 years ago...has free electric worth £1000 a year and receives appx £400 a year from the electric co, so seems he got a really good deal as panels have paid for themselves as no electric bills and now makes money from it...any opinions..??
I need to know: installation cost. If you get free electric all year. How much money you get back from electric companies. I have had info which suggests its all a con now and not worth doing it. thanks.

We are also hoping to get solar panels soon, we use EON so we looked on their website for a price for them to supply & fit. it works out at about £10,000 for 20 panels & a storage battery (to suit our needs).
We have also made enquiries to a independent company very local to where we live (Lincs) we could get 18 panels & a storage battery from them for £8,000. So now we are weighing up the pros & cons, between the 2 companies, checking reviews on different panel/battery types to make sure we get the best possible system for our money. Solar has come a long way in the last few years & it is going to play a major role in the future as we all move from gas, coal & oil to electric. I recently read a report that all existing gas/oil boilers are to be gone by 3035.