How we evaluate products
Every ranking on Amphourly comes from the same place: a published scoring rubric applied to verified specifications. No product can pay its way up our lists, and every score on the site can be traced back to the numbers below.
Where our data comes from
We build a specification record for every product we cover from the manufacturer's own spec sheets, manuals and product pages, cross-checked against major retailers' spec tables. Each record keeps the source it came from, and we re-check specs when manufacturers update firmware or revise a model.
How a score is calculated
Each category has a rubric: a list of measurable factors, a weight for each, and a range that maps the raw spec onto a 0–1 scale. A product's Amphourly Score is the weighted average of those factors, shown out of 10.
If a manufacturer doesn't publish a figure, we don't guess. It shows as "Not published" in the score breakdown and counts as average (half credit) for that factor, so a missing spec neither lifts nor sinks a product. A few factors where absence means the feature is missing (for example a rear camera's resolution on a front-only dash cam) count as zero instead; the tables below note them. A product needs published data covering at least60% of a rubric's weight before it can appear as a pick.
What a score doesn't capture
Scores measure what a product is built to do on paper. They don't capture things like build quality over years, software polish or customer service. Where those issues are widely reported, our guides call them out separately, with a link to the source, and they never change a product's score.
How we make money
We earn affiliate commissions when readers buy through our links. Commission rates never enter the scoring, and products without any affiliate program are scored and ranked exactly the same way. Read the full disclosure.
Power Stationsrubric v2 · 40 products scored
We score power stations on the published specifications that decide what you get for your money over years of use: battery chemistry and cycle life, how much power it delivers, how fast it refills from the wall and the sun, and how much energy you carry per pound. We compare stations within the same capacity class.
| Factor | Weight | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Battery chemistry | 16% | LiFePO4 cells last several times as many cycles as NMC and are far more thermally stable. |
| Rated cycle life | 12% | Cycles to 80% capacity is the best published proxy for how many years the battery stays useful. |
| AC output | 12% | Continuous inverter output decides which appliances it can run at all. |
| Energy density | 12% | Watt-hours per pound tells you how much energy you carry for the weight. |
| AC recharge time | 12% | Fast wall charging means it's full again before the next storm or trip. |
| Solar recharge rate | 8% | Solar input relative to capacity sets how many sun-hours it takes to refill off-grid. |
| Expandable | 8% | Add-on batteries let you grow capacity instead of replacing the unit. |
| UPS switchover | 8% | Fast switchover keeps computers, routers and CPAPs running through a blackout. |
| Warranty | 8% | Warranty length is the manufacturer's own bet on how long the unit lasts. |
| App control | 4% | App monitoring shows real draw and remaining runtime without walking to the unit. |
Solar Panelsrubric v2 · 27 products scored
We score solar panels on the published specifications that matter when you pair a panel with a power station: conversion efficiency, watts per pound, weather sealing, and how easily it connects.
| Factor | Weight | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Cell efficiency | 31% | Higher efficiency means more watts from the same panel area, which matters on a small roof or campsite. |
| Watts per pound | 31% | Portable panels get carried, and output per pound decides whether you bring enough of them. |
| Weather sealing | 15% | Sealed junction boxes and connectors survive rain and dew when left out overnight. |
| Bifacial | 8% | Bifacial panels harvest light reflected from the ground for extra output. |
| Built-in kickstand | 8% | Integrated stands make it easy to angle the panel toward the sun. |
| Connector | 8% | MC4 is the universal standard; proprietary plugs need adapters. |
Corrections
Spotted a spec we got wrong? Email hello@amphourly.com with a link to the manufacturer's source, and we'll fix the record and re-score the product.