Methodology

How we make these guides

We compare published specs and do the arithmetic in the open. We have no lab, and we never present a number as something we measured.

What a number means here

Every number on HoldBackup is one of three things, and the page says which.

• Manufacturer-rated. The figure the maker publishes on its product page, datasheet or manual, or in the product's listing title.
• Calculated. Arithmetic from rated figures, labelled as arithmetic, with the steps shown so you can repeat them with your own numbers.
• Measured by a named source. A result from someone else's test, credited and linked. We don't re-run it.

What we do

• Start from the load: what has to stay on, and for how long.
• Read the maker's spec sheet, manual or datasheet for the numbers that decide the fit.
• Link the source next to the claim, and list each guide's sources on the page.
• Say what a unit or a method can't do, and when a job needs a licensed electrician.
• On some UPS and power station picks, summarize what owners say in public forum threads. AI tools help gather these reports. We keep only themes at least two owners share outside the maker's own forum, link the sources, and date the read.

What we don't do

• We don't run lab tests, bench tests or hands-on reviews, and no guide says otherwise.
• We don't publish star ratings, scores or rankings from testing, because we have none to back them.
• We don't show prices. Amazon sets the price, and the store button takes you to it.
• We don't verify what owners report. We don't use Amazon reviews or makers' store reviews, and we don't repeat owners' numbers, ratings or words.

How a guide gets made

1. A topic is chosen, and only backup-power topics qualify.
2. An AI model drafts the guide. Each generated guide carries that label on the page.
3. A second automated pass looks for sources behind some of the numbers. It doesn't verify every claim.
4. The HoldBackup editorial team checks the guide against its listed sources. The page shows that date. This is a review of the writing, not a test of any unit.

Dates

The updated date moves when a guide's content changes. A fact-check shows its own date, so a review alone doesn't make a page look newer.

Store links

Store buttons go straight to Amazon with HoldBackup's affiliate tag, and each one is labelled as a paid link. A store link on a generated guide isn't a recommendation. Check it against the guide's list before you buy. Read the affiliate disclosure.

If we get something wrong

Tell us on the contact page. The editorial policy explains what happens next.