How We Test and Review Products at Ecavo
The cleaner we can make our world without sacrificing the modern comfort we’re used to, the better!
At Ecavo, we’re a team of mean green earth-loving machines committed to finding and testing environmentally-friendly products that can benefit the earth, our communities, our homes, and our businesses.
From solar-powered generators and motion lights to greenhouses and solar-powered chicken coop lights, we target only the best, safest, and greenest products on the market.
We do receive some sort of commission on the affiliate products we review, but we don’t just give freebies to products and their companies. We only review products that we feel have value, and we won’t sugarcoat our findings for the sake of profit. Ecavo’s purpose is to give readers useful information about products that can make their homes and workplaces greener.
Testing Eco-Friendly Tech
With the world shifting to more world-friendly products and practices, there’s no shortage of solar-powered and eco-friendly products out there. The trouble comes in finding products that are worth the money, last longer, and perform better than (or just as well as) electric or gas alternatives.
^ This is the first step in our review and testing process – finding products that are worth the time and effort!
We begin by narrowing down our search into a few categories, like:
- Solar-powered panels
- Solar-powered lights for homes and gardens
- Off-grid products (like generators)
- Industrial-size eco-friendly products (like solar-powered street lights)
Once we know what category we want to explore, we’ll research the industry leaders who specialize in those solar-powered products and sniff out the eco-friendly products homeowners, business owners, and earth-lovers are raving about.
We’re careful to avoid fake reviews, testimonies, and blogs promoting products just for the reviewer’s benefit so that we can get ahold of products that are rated the best simply because they are the best.
When we have the products in hand, we try them out at our homes, businesses, and in our communities to put products through true-to-life scenarios.
Reliable, Observable Tests
If tests can’t be repeated, they can’t be trusted. We only perform product demonstrations that we can re-test and test again!
Our process of testing products more than once in the same environment and under the same conditions over a period of time allows us to trust the results we’re seeing and gather worthwhile information that readers like you can put your faith in.
After testing, we grade eco-friendly products based on a few factors. These factors can change depending on the product we’re testing, but generally, we’ll grade on:
- Affordability for homeowners (can the average environmentally conscious person fit this product into their budget?)
- How well the product performs its task (did the solar light stay on as long as advertised after charging or did it fall short of our expectations?)
- How well the product holds up to environmental factors (waterproof rating of solar lights/panels, for example)
Once we’re satisfied with our testing, we’ll gather our findings and come up with a top product pick (Best Overall), or the product we feel has the most diverse uses. We’ll also zero in on the products that meet specialized needs, such as which product is best for people on a budget, which solar light is the longest-lasting, which is the most water/weatherproof, and so on.
Team Opinions
We’re homeowners, business owners, community members, and earth advocates just like you, and we also have our own opinions when it comes to testing eco-friendly tech! Not only will we share our findings through testing, but we’ll also share our personal likes and dislikes. We’ll cover every possible pro and con of a product and share our experience in detail.
Did this solar light effectively illuminate my garden pathway? Did it last as long as I expected it to? Did I encounter any issues with the installation? Would I use this product long-term?
It’s questions like these that we ask ourselves to cultivate our opinions and help us to create a review that imitates our real-life experience as much as possible.
Product Testing at Home and on the Field
For products that we can test on a small scale, we’ll take them to our very own homes, gardens, and yards. Reviewing products is as natural a process as it would be if you brought the product home, yourself. We make sure we use products as they’re intended, in the environment that they’re made for.
For larger products, like generators and solar panels, we locate volunteers to help us test out products at their remote cabins, bunkers, and bug-out locations. Using earth-friendly tech in an honest way is the only way we can ensure reliable results.
Why Trust Us?
Though we may receive a commission for some of the products we review, our main purpose isn’t to convince you to buy a product. Rather, it’s to provide you with valuable information that allows you to come to an informed decision to make your home and environment more eco-friendly.
Affiliate commission simply allows us to continue our work testing products and making the world a cleaner, safer, and all-around greener place.
We’ll never recommend products we don’t trust, products that don’t really work, or products that we feel aren’t worth the money. In fact, you won’t even see all of the products we’ve tested, because if they don’t pass our testing standards, we don’t include them in our reviews.
We’ll also replace products that we recommended in the past with up-to-date products if we find our past recommendation is no longer sufficient.