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Editorial policy
What we source, what we will not claim, and how to get something corrected.
The standard we hold ourselves to
Every claim on this site should be traceable to something a reader could check. That is the whole policy; the rest of this page is the detail. Where a claim rests on a manufacturer specification, a standards document or a published standard, the source is linked at the foot of the article.
What we claim, and what we do not
We do not claim hands-on laboratory testing. NovoltGear does not operate a test lab. Articles are written from published specifications, standards documentation, and reasoning about how hardware behaves under the conditions described. Where a claim would require a measurement we have not taken — a throughput figure, a measured runtime, a decibel reading — we describe the mechanism and cite the published figure instead of inventing a result.
Each article therefore says which of these it is resting on:
| Claim type | How it is presented |
|---|---|
| Published specification | Quoted as the manufacturer's figure, with "per manufacturer specification" where the number is theirs, and a link to the source. |
| Standards or regulation | Cited to the publishing body — aviation authority limits, USB-IF, Wi-Fi Alliance, JEDEC. |
| Mechanism or physical constraint | Explained as a mechanism ("a relay on the same radio spends airtime twice") rather than presented as a measured result. |
| Editorial judgement | Marked as our view, with the reasoning shown so a reader can disagree with the reasoning rather than only the conclusion. |
The four article formats
The formats are separated deliberately. A buying guide and a review answer different questions, and a site that blurs them ends up sounding like an advertisement.
- Buying guide. Starts from the reader's constraint — seating distance, room brightness, commute type, floor plan — and works toward the specification. Ends with what to skip.
- Review. Examines one product against its own published specification: what the numbers mean, where they are generous, and who should buy something else instead.
- Comparison. Two options, the real trade-off, and the circumstances that point to each. Where the honest answer is that a reader will not perceive the difference, that is what we say.
- How-to. Step by step, assuming no prior knowledge, with each step's purpose explained. Where a common instruction is wrong or out of date, we say so and give the alternative.
Independence
- We do not accept payment for placement, ranking, or a favourable verdict.
- We do not accept free products or samples in exchange for coverage.
- We do not publish sponsored posts, advertorials or guest link insertions.
- Affiliate relationships are labelled per the affiliate disclosure, and the labelling is generated from data rather than written by hand.
- Where a commission rate could plausibly explain an editorial choice, the choice has to be justified on the reader's terms — which is why every pick states who should buy something else.
Ratings and scores
This site publishes no star ratings, percentage scores or "out of ten" verdicts. A numeric score implies a documented, repeatable methodology — defined tests, controlled conditions, published results. Until NovoltGear has one, there will be no scores on it. The schema for articles on this site includes a rating field, and it is deliberately set to false on every article.
Prices
Prices in consumer electronics change weekly, and sometimes daily around promotional periods. No article on this site quotes a price as a fixed fact. Product links say "check current price" for exactly this reason, and any figure mentioned in prose is dated and described as subject to change.
Corrections
When something is wrong, we fix it and say that we did:
- The article is amended.
- The "last reviewed" date is updated.
- Where the change is substantive — a reversal, a specification change that alters the conclusion — a note describing the change is added.
- We do not delete an article to make a correction disappear.
Corrections are sent to [email protected] and are the first thing in the inbox to be handled. We do not amend a claim on assertion alone; if a claim is disputed without a source, we will say so.
Review cadence
Articles are reviewed periodically, and immediately when one of these triggers fires:
- A product is discontinued or superseded by a newer model.
- A specification the article relies on changes.
- A cited source changes or is removed.
- A reader reports an error.
- A link stops resolving.
The last site-wide review was 2026-10-04, and the current date is shown on every article as "last reviewed".
Images
Photographs on this site are sourced under permissive licences or produced for the site. Product photography is used for identification. Where an image requires attribution, the credit appears on the image itself. Category and product concept graphics are original vector artwork drawn for NovoltGear.
Accessibility and technical standards
The site is built to meet WCAG 2.2 AA for text contrast, keyboard operation and reduced-motion preferences. Where a brand colour could not meet the contrast threshold for text, a separate, darker variant of that colour is used for text and controls — the brighter tone is reserved for decoration, where contrast requirements do not apply. The site is served as static files and makes no third-party requests.