There are few things to consider before getting a solar panel installation, namely size and inclination of your house roof, that nothing is blocking the sunlight from reaching the panels (trees, other buildings) and finally roof’s orientation.
Furthermore, cloudy weather should not be a problem, hence solar panels works even in the grey weather like in the UK.
Feed-in Tariff is something you should look into. It is a scheme that will pay you for every unit of electricity you will generate. You can get more information https://www.gov.uk/feed-in-tariffs
There are two type of solar panels. Grid-connected and off-the-grid solar systems. The former is better if you want to benefit from the Feed-in Tariff and also would like to access electricity during not only day time but night https://phenadip.com time as well. Off-the-grid systems are for cottages that doesn’t access to the national grid and has batteries to power the house.
When you are planning to get solar panels it is good to have an idea how many kilowatts you use in average. This will help your supplier to understand your cost and energy use. When you know your usage you can start thinking about what kind of panels you will need and how many of them.
Solar panels are expensive, however it is a long term investment, that should payback after around 8-10 years. You only need to check it once a year to make sure it operates how it should be and clean physical object from it, like leaves and other stuff. Solar panels should be working as minimum as 35 years.