Editorial Policy

Primary sources first

For volatile facts, we prefer the organization that controls the information: manufacturers for product specifications and prices, the IRS or another government agency for federal programs, utilities for utility offers, permitting authorities for permit requirements, and the service provider for its own installation workflow. Secondary sources may help us find an issue, but they should not replace a current controlling source when one is available.

Sourced facts are not the same as planning estimates

Our calculator contains editorial budgeting allowances. We label them as assumptions and explain them on the Methodology page. We do not describe an editorial allowance as a government price, national median, guaranteed contractor quote, proprietary contractor database or local market fact.

Volatile facts get explicit attention

Prices, product specifications, incentive deadlines, rebates, provider deposits, service workflows and utility programs can change. When a page materially relies on one of those facts, we check the controlling source during a substantive update or when a credible correction indicates the source has changed. We avoid copying the same volatile number into unrelated pages when a contextual source link is enough.

No invented experience, people or data

We do not claim reader surveys, quote databases, installer interviews, hands-on testing, professional review panels, customer outcomes or personal installation experience unless that work actually occurred and can be documented. We do not invent authors, reviewers, credentials, years of experience or professional endorsements.

AI-assisted publishing

Automation and AI tools may assist with drafting, restructuring, consistency checks or research organization. AI output is not treated as a source. Any factual claim that depends on an external authority should be checked against an appropriate source, and AI assistance never justifies invented experience, citations, datasets, credentials, reviewers or freshness dates.

Meaningful updates only

A visible review/update date should change only when a page receives a substantive factual or editorial update—for example, a major rewrite, material correction, calculator-method change, consolidation, or meaningful primary-source refresh. We do not generate dates from URLs, randomize timestamps, or refresh dates because of punctuation, CSS, metadata-only edits or cosmetic maintenance.

Corrections

Readers can report a possible error at [email protected] or through the Contact page. We check the controlling source before changing a factual claim. When uncertainty remains, we qualify or remove the precision rather than inventing an answer.

Substantive corrections and update dates

If correcting an error materially changes what a reader should decide—such as an expired incentive, changed product specification or incorrect service workflow—the page's substantive update date may change to the date of that real correction. Small link, style or copy edits do not justify a new freshness date.

Commercial independence

References to Tesla, ChargePoint, Home Depot, Lowe's, Qmerit or other companies are editorial comparisons, not claims of affiliation. The current site does not represent those mentions as paid endorsements and does not sell installer leads. If a commercial relationship is added later, it should be disclosed clearly and should not change the factual standard used for the page.

Electrical safety

Our role is to help a homeowner understand options, prepare questions and compare professional scope. We do not publish step-by-step instructions for energized panels or high-voltage DIY wiring. The qualified electrician, equipment instructions and authority having jurisdiction determine the actual installation requirements.

What we intentionally avoid

• Guaranteed prices, rebates, timelines or code outcomes.
• Unverified local permit fees or pseudo-local price tables.
• Fake reviews, testimonials, ratings, credentials or reviewer boxes.
• Invented first-hand experience or proprietary datasets.
• Thin pages created only to capture a minor keyword variation.
• FAQ, review or other schema markup that is not supported by visible, useful content.
• Artificial freshness signals that do not correspond to a real substantive update.