Affiliate Disclosure

1. Our revenue sources

WattSage is funded by two revenue streams, each of which is disclosed transparently:

• Amazon Associates affiliate commissions. WattSage is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. When you click an Amazon link on our site and make a qualifying purchase within 24 hours, we earn a commission (typically 3–4.5% of the purchase price) at no additional cost to you. The commission comes out of Amazon's margin, not your purchase price.
• Display advertising. We serve programmatic display ads through Google AdSense (and may move to Mediavine at 50,000 monthly sessions). We do not accept direct ad deals with battery manufacturers, installers, or solar companies — only programmatic ads through reputable networks.

2. Our editorial independence promise

The single most important principle at WattSage: affiliate relationships never influence editorial coverage. Specifically:

• We never accept payment from manufacturers to review, recommend, or rank their products.
• Manufacturers do not see our reviews before publication, ever.
• We do not accept "gifted" equipment in exchange for coverage. Any products we test are purchased at retail or borrowed from readers.
• Our affiliate links cover a broad range of products across multiple brands. We recommend whichever product best fits the reader's need, not whichever pays the highest commission.

3. How affiliate links work on WattSage

When you see an Amazon affiliate link on WattSage, here's what happens:

1. You click the link, which contains our Amazon Associates tag (e.g., wattsage-20).
2. Amazon sets a 24-hour cookie in your browser that identifies you as a referral from WattSage.
3. If you add any item to your cart and check out within 24 hours, we earn a commission on the entire cart — not just the product you clicked.
4. If you add an item to your cart but don't check out within 24 hours, the cookie extends to 90 days from the date the item was added to your cart.
5. You pay the same price whether you use our affiliate link or go directly to Amazon. The commission comes out of Amazon's margin.

4. FTC compliance

In accordance with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines on the use of endorsements and testimonials in advertising, WattSage discloses our affiliate relationships clearly and conspicuously:

• This dedicated Affiliate Disclosure page is linked from every page of the site (in the footer).
• Every page containing affiliate links includes a brief disclosure at or near the top of the page.
• Every Amazon affiliate link includes rel="nofollow sponsored" attributes, as required by Google and the Amazon Associates Operating Agreement.
• We do not make false claims about products, fabricate reviews, or use fake urgency/scarcity tactics ("Only 3 left!" etc.).
• We do not display Amazon product prices in our content, because Amazon's Operating Agreement prohibits it (prices change frequently).

5. Amazon Associates Operating Agreement

Our participation in the Amazon Associates Program is governed by the Amazon Associates Operating Agreement. We comply with all requirements of that agreement, including:

• Clearly identifying ourselves as an Amazon Associate
• Not making false or misleading claims about Amazon products or services
• Not using Amazon's trademarks in ways not permitted by the agreement
• Not sending unsolicited emails containing Amazon affiliate links
• Maintaining a valid Privacy Policy that discloses our cookie practices

6. What we don't do

For complete transparency, here is a list of practices WattSage explicitly does NOT engage in:

• We do not accept paid placements or sponsored posts
• We do not accept free products in exchange for positive reviews
• We do not use cloaked or misleading affiliate links (you can always see you're going to Amazon)
• We do not use pop-ups, pop-unders, or interstitial ads that disrupt reading
• We do not sell or rent our email list
• We do not use fake comparison tables that rank sponsors above non-sponsors
• We do not make up product specifications, prices, or availability — all Amazon product data is current as of the date we publish, and we update articles quarterly

7. If you have a concern

If you believe any content on WattSage violates our editorial standards or this disclosure policy, please contact us. We take all such reports seriously and will investigate promptly. We will correct or remove any content that does not meet our standards.

8. Updates to this disclosure

We may update this Affiliate Disclosure from time to time. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page indicates the most recent revision. If we add new affiliate programs or change our revenue model in a material way, we will update this page and announce the change on our homepage.