At Present Today, Germany has become the primary PV market worldwide after they revised the feed-in tariffs for the Renewable Energy Sources Act. Spain has become the biggest PV market after 2007 after it adopted the same feed-in tariff structure. Spain installed half of the PVs all over the globe, accounting for about 45%. Instead, check these different solar energy figures and statistics and see for yourself if whether solar energy is indeed everything that people are claiming it to be. Is Solar Energy Systems Financially Viable? One of the main things that people look at when it comes to alternative sources of energy is whether it is financially viable or not. Cheap and Easy People do not have to keep maintaining solar cells, because a panel can last about 30 years or more if well kept. Solar cells can also be made from very cheap materials. You can even construct the panels yourself. You can purchase ready-to-build solar cell panels over the internet. The materials will be delivered right to your doorstep in just a matter of days. However, in order for us to be able to understand and properly predict what the future holds for solar energy, we need to first take a step back and look at what solar energy is right now. Solar Energy Today Right now, solar energy is being used for a number of reasons. It is being widely used for certain purposes, such as providing your home with an alternative source for energy and electricity, thereby allowing you to greatly reduce the cost of your energy and electric consumption by a considerable margin. There is really nothing we can do to prevent being exposed to such background radiation other than to simply avoid sun exposure. However, if your home uses solar energy to power up your house, you might find it more difficult to do. Since solar energy technology harnesses the power of the sun by concentrating the sunlight, and using its energy to light up your home s light bulb, you could very well be irradiating your entire home, something which could cause skin cancer later on. Solar Hot Water Heater One of the more common uses of solar energy is for solar hot water heaters. Most homes in America actually have a hot water heater, which is probably why it accounts for about a quarter of the total energy consumption of a typical American home. Unfortunately, the U.S. government actually spends a lot of money on paying off the energy consumed by these hot water heaters, about $13 billion every year, possibly making it the single biggest energy consumer in your home or work place.