How we research

Our guides are built from published sources, not from our own product testing. We rely on manufacturer manuals and spec sheets, the makers' Australian product pages, and Australian government and industry sources. We don't hands-on test products unless a page says so plainly.

What we do instead is the maths. A runtime on this site is a sum: battery watt-hours, less conversion losses, divided by the appliance's watts. The sum is on the page, so you can redo it with your own gear and see where our assumptions sit.

Product specs

Battery capacity, AC output and surge ratings, solar input voltage and current limits, charging times, cycle ratings and operating temperatures come from the maker's Australian product page or user manual. When a maker's own pages disagree, we say so and use the more conservative figure. Every guide links them at the bottom.

Energy, solar and safety figures

Appliance energy use comes from Energy Rating labels and the makers' manuals. Sun hours come from Bureau of Meteorology long-term solar exposure averages, which our solar recharge calculator uses city by city. Safety advice comes from electricity networks like Energex, state fire services and health departments. Where we make an assumption, such as 85% inverter efficiency or panels delivering 70% of their rating, we say it's an assumption and let you change it in the calculators.

Checking before a page goes up

Before a guide is published, each number is checked against its linked source, and anything we can't back up comes out. Sources boxes show the month they were checked, and the "Updated" date moves when the content does.

What we don't do

We don't publish prices, invent reviews or quote people we haven't spoken to. We don't take payment from brands for coverage. And we don't give electrical installation advice: anything connected to house or caravan 230V wiring is for a licensed electrician.

If you think we've got something wrong, see our corrections policy. Our editorial policy covers the rest.