Editorial Policy

Solar Home Planner exists to help homeowners make informed decisions about residential solar energy—whether they’re evaluating a professional installation, designing a DIY system, or trying to understand the economics of solar in their specific region. Because solar energy decisions involve significant financial investment, electrical safety, and interaction with local permitting and utility systems, accuracy and transparency in our editorial work aren’t optional. A mistake in our guidance on electrical safety could put someone at risk. A misstatement about net metering policy in a specific state could lead to poor financial decisions. We take that responsibility seriously, which is why we’ve built our editorial standards around verification, expert oversight, and clear acknowledgment of our sources and limitations.

Our Editorial Team

Marcus Webb has worked in residential electrical systems for fifteen years—starting as a licensed electrician doing service work and system upgrades before narrowing his focus to solar and battery storage installations six years ago. In that time, he’s overseen residential solar projects across eight states, ranging from simple three-kilowatt rooftop arrays to complex hybrid systems combining solar, battery storage, and backup generators. He’s done the work himself: he’s climbed the roof to assess shading, troubleshot inverter configurations, pulled permits, sat through utility interconnection meetings, and dealt with the hundred small problems that come up when integrating solar into an aging electrical panel.

Marcus became lead editor of Solar Home Planner because he got tired of seeing homeowners make decisions based on incomplete or incorrect information. He saw people avoid solar because they’d been quoted a price that didn’t reflect current incentives. He saw others design systems that wouldn’t work with their local utility’s net metering rules. He saw DIY installers nearly electrocute themselves because they didn’t understand the voltage and amperage they were working with. His electrical license (Nevada, Colorado, and Arizona) remains current, and he maintains memberships in the Solar Energy Industries Association and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers to stay abreast of evolving codes and best practices.

His background means he knows what works and what doesn’t at the installation level. He knows which inverter brands have genuine reliability issues versus those that get criticism from installers who didn’t read the manual. He knows the difference between what electrical code requires and what contractors often cut corners on. He knows that solar economics are deeply regional—what makes financial sense in New Mexico doesn’t necessarily apply in Michigan. That practical experience informs how we evaluate sources and whether the guidance we publish is actually useful to the homeowners who read it.

How We Research

Every article on Solar Home Planner starts with a research question grounded in what homeowners actually ask us: How much will solar cost in my state? What permits do I actually need? Is a battery worth the money? Can I really do this myself? From there, we work outward to authoritative sources—government agencies first, then academic and peer-reviewed literature, then practitioner guidelines and real-world data.

For questions about solar incentives, we begin with DSIRE (the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency), which is maintained by NC State University and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. DSIRE is the reference standard for federal tax credits, state rebates, and utility incentive programs. We cross-check information against the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office website and, where relevant, the Database of State Energy Efficiency Policies (also DSIRE-related). For cost data, we analyze multiple sources: EnergySage’s annual solar cost and pricing reports (based on real quotes from their marketplace), NREL’s data on installed costs by region, and regional contractor surveys. We don’t cite cost figures from a single source—we look for convergence across independent datasets.

On technical questions—inverter specifications, battery chemistry, electrical safety, interconnection standards—we consult IEEE electrical standards (specifically IEEE 1547 on interconnection and IEEE 9001 on safety), the National Electrical Code (NEC) as published by the National Fire Protection Association, and NREL technical reports on system design and performance. When there’s a specific state or utility regulation involved, we review the actual regulatory document rather than relying on a vendor’s summary of it. This matters because vendors sometimes describe regulations in ways that support their product—not maliciously, but with selective emphasis. We read the source documents.

When we encounter conflicting claims—which happens regularly in solar because technology and policy are both evolving—we document the disagreement and explain the source of it. Sometimes conflicts emerge because different sources are using different assumptions (one assumes a battery cost from 2023, another uses 2024 prices). Sometimes it’s because research was conducted in different regions with different solar resources or utility structures. Our job is to make that clear rather than pretend there’s a single correct answer when there isn’t one yet.

Source Standards

We rely on five categories of authoritative sources for Solar Home Planner content:

U.S. Government Agencies and Programs. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office, and the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency are primary sources for technical information, cost data, and incentive structures. These sources fund their research independently and operate under federal scientific standards. Their data is updated regularly and publicly available for review.

Academic and Peer-Reviewed Literature. We cite published research on solar system performance, battery chemistry, degradation rates, and economic models. These articles have been scrutinized by other experts in the field before publication. A claim from a peer-reviewed journal carries more weight than the same claim from a blog post or vendor white paper.

Industry Standards and Professional Organizations. IEEE standards, the National Electrical Code, and guidelines published by the Solar Energy Industries Association establish the baseline for electrical safety, system interconnection, and installation practices. These standards evolve as technology and knowledge improve, and we track those updates.

Real-World Installer and Contractor Data. We value data collected by installers and contractors who work in the field daily. EnergySage’s pricing data, for instance, comes from actual quote requests and completed installations across the United States. Regional solar contractor associations often publish market reports. This data grounds our advice in what’s actually happening in homes and on rooftops, not just what theory suggests should happen.

State and Local Regulatory Documents. When we discuss permitting, interconnection procedures, or utility net metering rules, we read the actual regulations published by state Public Utility Commissions, local building departments, and individual utilities. These are the official rules that installers and homeowners need to follow.

We do not rely on:

  • Press releases from solar manufacturers or installers, even when factual, because they’re written with marketing intent and often omit limitations or competing options
  • Unverified claims in blog posts or forums, even if they’re authored by people with solar experience, because there’s no editorial gatekeeping or fact-checking process
  • Sponsored research or white papers published by manufacturers without clear, prominent disclosure of that sponsorship
  • Generic cost estimates that don’t account for regional variation (e.g., “solar costs between $2.50 and $3.50 per watt” without breaking down what that actually means in specific states)
  • Anecdotal reports from single installations without broader context (one person’s experience with a particular inverter isn’t evidence of a systematic problem or reliability standard)

Accuracy and Fact-Checking

Every claim in a Solar Home Planner article is traced back to a source. If we state that the federal Investment Tax Credit is currently 30%, we know exactly where that figure comes from—in this case, the IRS and the U.S. Department of Energy websites that both publish that rate. If we explain how net metering works in California, we’re reading actual Title 24 regulations and PUC decisions, not relying on a summary we found elsewhere. Numbers, percentages, and specific technical specifications are checked against original sources before publication.

When our sources conflict—which is not uncommon in a rapidly evolving field—we do several things. First, we investigate why they differ. Is one source older? Are they using different assumptions or measuring different things? Are they looking at different regions? We document that conflict in the article so readers understand the disagreement is real, not a research error on our part. We typically weight the most recent, most authoritative source—a 2024 NREL analysis of battery costs, for instance, supersedes a 2021 study—but we acknowledge when emerging research contradicts what has been the standard understanding. That honesty is more valuable than false certainty.

Statistics and figures are particularly important to us because people make significant financial decisions based on them. When an article cites the average cost of a solar installation in Texas, we’re not using a single data point or a vendor’s marketing claim. We’re looking at EnergySage’s regional data, NREL’s installed cost reports, and regional contractor surveys to establish a range and explain the variation. If we say that solar panels degrade at about 0.5% per year, we’re citing the NREL research that established that figure. Readers deserve to know where the numbers come from so they can evaluate whether those sources apply to their specific situation.

Keeping Content Current

Solar energy is a field where both policy and technology change frequently. Tax incentives expire or are renewed. Utility net metering programs are revised. New battery chemistries emerge. Permitting requirements get updated. Content that was accurate in 2024 might be outdated by mid-2025. We manage this through a structured review cycle.

Every article on Solar Home Planner shows a “last reviewed” date. We conduct annual reviews of our entire content library to check for outdated information, expired incentives, changed regulations, and new research that might affect the guidance we offer. If we find that an article needs updating, we update it and change the reviewed date. We also monitor major announcements from the DOE, NREL, SEIA, and state utility commissions for changes significant enough to warrant immediate updates outside our annual cycle. When federal tax credit rules change, we update relevant articles within days, not months. When a state’s net metering policy shifts, we prioritize updating that content. These aren’t just date updates—we actually revise the content to reflect current conditions.

This matters in solar specifically because the economics are time-sensitive. An article about the financial case for solar that uses outdated incentive levels, equipment costs, or electricity rates will steer people toward poor decisions. Homeowners reading about what permits they need don’t have time to discover later that their local rules changed. Staying current isn’t a nice-to-have for Solar Home Planner; it’s fundamental to the value we provide.

Corrections Policy

We aim for accuracy from the start, but we’re not infallible. If you find an error—a wrong number, a misstatement of policy, an outdated regulation, a technical explanation that’s incorrect—we want to know. Please report it to contact@solarhomeplanner.com with a link to the article, the specific claim that’s wrong, and what the correct information is (with a source if you have one).

We investigate reported errors within 48 hours. If the error is confirmed, we correct it within 7 days. For minor corrections (a typo, a single outdated figure), we fix it silently. For significant factual errors that could affect someone’s decision, we add a correction note at the top of the article explaining what was wrong, when it was corrected, and what the correct information is. This transparency helps readers know that we take accuracy seriously and that we correct mistakes when they’re found.

Editorial Independence

Solar Home Planner earns revenue through two sources: Amazon affiliate links and display advertising. We’re transparent about this because it matters to our credibility.

The affiliate links are straightforward: when we recommend a product—say, a particular type of battery monitor or an electrical safety tool—and you click through and buy it on Amazon, we receive a small commission. We disclose affiliate relationships clearly, and importantly, they don’t determine what we recommend. We recommend products because we think they’re genuinely useful for the specific purpose we’re discussing, not because they pay commissions. If a product doesn’t work well for the application, we don’t recommend it, even if it’s eligible for affiliate commission. Our long-term credibility is worth far more than short-term affiliate revenue.

Display advertising works similarly: we host ads from relevant companies (solar equipment manufacturers, electrical supply retailers, utility companies). These companies pay to advertise on our site. That revenue helps us pay Marcus, fund research, and keep the site running. But advertising placement and presence of an ad on our site has nothing to do with the editorial content of our articles. An inverter manufacturer could advertise on Solar Home Planner without appearing in our article comparing inverter types—and in fact, that’s common. We don’t let advertisers influence our editorial judgment, and we don’t mention them in articles just because they advertise with us.

We don’t publish sponsored content, accept paid placements for specific products or companies, or allow manufacturers to fund our reviews in exchange for favorable coverage. We don’t write articles at a company’s request, and we don’t let companies review articles for approval before publication. Our editorial decisions are made on the basis of research merit and usefulness to our readers, period.

What We Don’t Do

We don’t provide system design or engineering for specific homes. If you want to know whether solar makes sense for you, whether your roof has enough southern exposure, or what size system you need, you need to talk to a local installer who can assess