As the temperatures drop, many of us will be longing for hot summer days while basking in the warm winter sun whenever we can. Another, less pleasant, reality of winter is the ever-looming possibility of load shedding. The good news is that with 2.5 more hours of sunshine a year than the majority installer of solar power, Europe, South Africa’s abundance of sun makes us ideal for solar energy. Here are five things to consider if you are thinking about going off the grid at home or work.