What SentryVolt is
SentryVolt is planning software for one question: what should I actually do to power, protect and improve my home, and how much should it cost?
Solar, batteries, generators, heating and cooling, and your electrical panel all affect each other. Most of the advice a homeowner gets comes from someone selling one of those things. SentryVolt puts them in one place, compares them on the same terms, and shows its work.
What SentryVolt is not
It is not a contractor, an installer, a lender or a utility, and it is not a lead form. Using the tools does not put you on a call list. Your answers are stored in your own browser, not sent to installers.
It is also not an engineering service. The tools produce planning estimates. Final system design, electrical work and code compliance belong to qualified professionals and your local authority.
How the tools reach an answer
- Every option is on the table. The recommendation engine compares batteries, standby and portable generators, portable power stations, solar, the combinations, efficiency upgrades, and doing nothing. It does not start from a product.
- Energy and power are treated separately. How long something runs (kWh) and whether it can run at all (kW) are different questions, and confusing them is behind many disappointing purchases.
- Cost is weighed against the size of the need. An expensive system is not a better answer to a small problem.
- Assumptions are visible and editable. Each number is labeled as something you told us, something calculated from that, or something estimated from typical values.
- Ranges, not false precision. Costs and production are shown as ranges because that is what is actually knowable before a site visit.
How SentryVolt is funded
SentryVolt is supported by advertising and may earn from some links. Three rules apply:
- Advertising appears in labeled spaces, kept away from calculator inputs and results.
- Recommendations are produced by the same published logic for everyone and are not adjusted for any advertiser or commission.
- If sponsored placements are ever introduced, they will be labeled as sponsored and kept separate from SentryVolt recommendations.
Details are in the Advertising Disclosure.
Where the numbers come from
Appliance wattages, battery characteristics, fuel use and cost ranges are typical planning values, not measurements of your home and not quotes. Location assumptions (electricity price and solar yield) are rounded state-level figures used only until you enter your own. Where a tool uses one of these, it says so, and a nameplate, a bill or an installer's site-specific estimate should always replace it.
Corrections
Energy prices, equipment and incentive rules change. If you find a number or a statement here that is wrong or out of date, tell us and we will fix it.