Editorial policy

Sourcing hierarchy

Program facts come from, in order of preference: the administrator's own pages (utility program sites, state energy offices, the IRS), the DOE's Alternative Fuels Data Center, then reputable secondary coverage only for context. Aggregator blogs are treated as leads to verify, never as sources — they're where zombie rebates live.

Verification & dating

State and utility pages display a last-reviewed date and link the official source beside each program. Amounts, eligibility rules, and deadlines are checked against those sources on review; anything we couldn't verify on an official page is either marked accordingly or carries a "verify with provider" note rather than false confidence.

Expired programs stay published

When a program closes, its entry moves to an expired archive with the closure date and what happened — because "this ended in November 2025" saves readers more time than silent deletion. We'd rather tell you the money is gone than let a stale page imply otherwise.

Estimates are labeled as estimates

Cost ranges come from aggregate installation data adjusted by state labor factors and are labeled as planning figures. Sample or placeholder data (used on pages awaiting local verification, such as city permit fees) is marked with a visible banner and excluded from search indexing until verified.

Corrections

Errors get fixed in the text, and the page's review date updates. Substantive corrections are noted where readers would otherwise be misled. Send them to [email protected] with an official link — fastest path to a fix.

The wall

Advertising, affiliate, and sponsored relationships (detailed here) have no input into program data, rankings, or verdicts. Sponsored placements are visually labeled and confined to clearly marked blocks. No one buys a recommendation.