Editorial Guidelines
Why we’re different
Three commitments that decide everything else on the site.
1. Vision
A world where homeowners can verify any solar product spec in 60 seconds — without trusting a salesperson, an installer’s quote, or a manufacturer’s marketing page. SolarSpec Hub exists to be that reference layer.
2. Mission
Maintain a comprehensive, dated, source-verified database of every PV module, inverter, battery, and charge controller actively sold in the US — and present that data in plain English with every spec link traceable to its origin datasheet.
Tagline: Every solar panel, every spec, updated daily.
3. Independence
SolarSpec Hub does not accept money from any manufacturer, installer, distributor, financing company, or insurer covered on the site. This applies to:
- No affiliate links or referral commissions on product purchases
- No sponsored rankings, paid placements, or “premium listings”
- No lead-gen handoffs to installers
- No co-marketing arrangements with brand pages
Revenue comes from display advertising served programmatically. Our editorial team has no visibility into which advertisers appear on which pages, and ad revenue cannot influence rankings.
How we work
What goes in a spec table, and what AI is — and isn’t — allowed to do.
4. Accuracy
Our project rule: “Better to omit a parameter than to publish a wrong one.”
- Every spec value must trace to a primary source — the manufacturer’s PDF datasheet or a recognized certification body (CEC, NREL, IEC, UL, PVEL Kiwa).
- When a manufacturer datasheet URL returns 404, the product is flagged “unverified” in the database. We never silently replace dead URLs with marketing pages.
- When manufacturer marketing pages conflict with the technical datasheet, the datasheet wins.
- Conflicting figures across sources are documented in the page’s footnote, not averaged.
5. AI Use Disclosure
This site uses AI extensively. We disclose how, because most sites don’t.
- What AI does: Cross-references datasheets, flags inconsistencies between marketing and spec pages, drafts structured spec tables, suggests comparison narratives.
- What AI does not do: Publish unverified analytical claims, generate fake product entries, write final recommendations, set rankings, or assign scores.
- Human verification: Every analytical claim and final recommendation is verified by Jianlin personally before publication.
We audit ourselves. Patina is our in-house AI-farm detection tool. It scans SolarSpec Hub monthly across 5 dimensions (CTA clarity, section rhythm, source density, image authenticity, copy authenticity) and produces a public score.
Current Patina score: C 78.5 / 100 (updated 2026-05-26). See the live scorecard on our methodology page.
Accountability
How we stay honest, and how to flag us if we slip.
6. Conflict of Interest
SolarSpec Hub has no commercial relationship with any solar equipment manufacturer, US installer, or solar financing entity. This is verified through the following commitments:
- No founder or contributor holds equity, advisory, or consulting positions with covered manufacturers.
- No undisclosed gifts, hardware loans, or trips from brands featured on the site.
- Display advertising is programmatic only — we cannot and do not negotiate brand-specific ad placements.
- If a conflict ever arises (e.g., we begin selling installation services), it will be disclosed in this section before any ranking is published.
7. Corrections
If you find a spec error, broken datasheet link, outdated price range, or any factual inaccuracy:
- Email: jianlin@solarspechub.com with the page URL, the affected field, the correct value, and the source URL.
- GitHub issue: Public corrections welcome on our methodology repo (link surfaces on the methodology page).
Verified corrections are applied within 48 business hours. Page footers always show the last-verified date so you can see when a spec was last checked.
This editorial policy was last reviewed and updated on 2026-05-27.