Our selection criteria, research process, scoring rubric, and what we refuse to recommend — explained completely.
Every guide reviewed on this site is accessed at full price, evaluated against a fixed set of criteria, and scored on a 10-point scale. The reviewer — Mark Henderson, 51, regional NSW — analyses each guide against manufacturer documentation, published specifications, and aggregated user build reports and reviews. Scores are based on documented real-world results, not on which product pays the highest affiliate commission. Negatives are always disclosed.
All reviews on PreparedFamilyGuide.com are written by Mark Henderson — a 51-year-old dad based in regional New South Wales, Australia. Mark is not a qualified electrician, plumber, engineer, or survival professional. He is an ordinary person with basic to intermediate DIY skills who analyses these guides from the perspective of the families they are actually sold to.
For guides reviewed in the context of specific markets — UK, Canada — Mark researches the market-specific conditions (parts availability, climate, pricing, regulatory context) and draws on documented user experiences and manufacturer data where relevant. Every review is based on aggregated research rather than a single individual's experience — this gives a broader, more representative picture than any one build could.
Not every guide that exists gets reviewed here. We select guides based on:
We do not review guides simply because they have high affiliate commission rates. Commission rates are disclosed in our comparison pages but play no role in whether a guide gets reviewed or what score it receives.
Every guide is purchased at the standard retail price. We do not accept free review copies, press access, or discounted pricing from vendors. Paying the same price as any reader means we have the same financial experience — including evaluating whether the price represents fair value.
The full guide is read before any assessment begins. We assess clarity of instructions, completeness of the parts list, quality of diagrams and supporting materials, and whether the guide accurately represents the difficulty and cost of the project.
Parts lists are checked against the hardware stores and suppliers available in the market being reviewed — Bunnings and local electrical suppliers for Australia, B&Q and Screwfix for the UK, Home Depot and Canadian Tire for Canada. Part names and availability are verified, and the actual local cost is calculated and reported in local currency.
Every claim the guide makes is checked against the manufacturer's own technical documentation, published specifications, and — where the underlying technology is a matter of physics or engineering — the relevant scientific consensus. We flag anywhere a guide's marketing overstates what the documented technology can actually do.
We compile and cross-check reports from buyers who have actually built or used the system — build logs, verified purchase reviews, and preparedness forum discussions — looking specifically for consistent patterns across independent reports rather than isolated testimonials. Where user reports and marketing claims diverge, we say so.
The guide is scored on our standard 10-point rubric (see below). The review is written to clearly distinguish between what the guide claims, what manufacturer documentation supports, and what aggregated user reports describe. Positives and negatives are given equal weight.
Reviews are updated when pricing changes significantly, when the guide itself is updated, or when new user data changes our assessment. The date of last update is shown on every review.
Every guide is scored on a 10-point scale using six weighted criteria. The criteria and their weightings are fixed — they do not change between reviews.
| Score | Band | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 9.0 – 10.0 | Highly Recommended | Delivers on its claims, well suited to the target market, excellent value. Strong recommendation for most families. |
| 7.5 – 8.9 | Recommended | Solid product with genuine real-world value. Some limitations but nothing that outweighs the positives for the right household. |
| 6.0 – 7.4 | Conditional | Works as described but with meaningful limitations — cost, complexity, or results don't fully justify the investment for most families. Recommended only for specific situations. |
| 4.0 – 5.9 | Caution | Significant problems with guide quality, build feasibility, or real-world results. Better alternatives likely exist. |
| 0 – 3.9 | Not Recommended | Failed to deliver on core claims, or presents an unreasonable risk of wasted time and money. We will only publish a review at this score if the guide is being widely marketed and families need to know the truth about it. |
All three guides currently reviewed on this site score in the Recommended band (7.5–8.9). We would not recommend a guide that scored below 7.5 under current criteria.
Note that we do review guides whose marketing makes exaggerated claims, provided the underlying guide and technology are sound. The Ultimate Energizer is a good example — its sales page claims 80% electricity bill reduction, which is unrealistic. The guide itself, and the technology it teaches, are legitimate. We report both truths.
This site earns affiliate commissions when readers purchase through our links. Commission rates vary by product and are disclosed in our comparison tables. A higher commission rate does not increase a guide's score, and a lower commission rate does not reduce it. We have reviewed guides with high commission rates and given them honest scores — including noting where they fall short of their marketing claims. Full details are in our Affiliate Disclosure.
Indirectly, yes — we focus on guides available through affiliate platforms because that is the distribution model for most digital preparedness guides. We do not seek out guides specifically because they have high commissions. When two guides of similar quality exist, we review both rather than only the higher-paying one.
No. The scoring rubric is fixed and applied identically to every guide. The reviewer does not know the commission rate at the time of scoring — the score is finalised before affiliate link setup. Commission rates are added to the comparison table afterward.
If you find a factual error in any review — an incorrect price, an inaccurate technical claim, or an outdated piece of information — please contact us. We take corrections seriously and update reviews promptly when errors are identified. Significant changes are noted at the top of the affected review with a date.
Reviews are checked and updated when: a guide is significantly revised by the vendor; pricing changes by more than 20%; long-term experience with the system changes the assessment; or a reader identifies a factual error.
If something about how we review isn't clear, or if you'd like to discuss a specific product assessment, send a message.
Contact Mark →