Changelog

• Smart Label Pruning: Updated X-axis logic to intelligently prune labels on mobile (5-year intervals) and enabled Chart.js autoSkip.
• Responsive Widths: Fixed CSS container reflow issues ensuring charts correctly fill mobile viewports.

• Terminology: Updated all "Back" buttons to "Previous" for improved user flow.
• Step 3 Layout: Fixed alignment of the "Continue" button to match other wizard sections.
• Advanced Particles: Completely overhauled the background particle system with multi-axis sway, size pulsing, and depth-of-field (blur) effects.

• Step Descriptions: Added clear, descriptive instructional boxes for every section (Step 1-7).
• Mission Statements: Added explanatory sub-copy to the primary mode selection tabs to help users choose their starting path.

• Energy Flow Doughnut: Introduced a new visualization for "Solar Self-Use", "Solar Exported", and "Grid Import" balance.
• Visual Integration: Harmonized the new chart into the main Metrics Grid for at-a-glance system performance.

• Liquid Scroll Header: Implemented a gooey/slime morph effect that transition the hero brand elements into the sticky progress bar on scroll.
• Physics Optimizations: Smoothed transition curves for the sticky header state.

• Theme Fixes: Fixed an issue where tooltip bubbles were illegible / rendered black in light mode.
• Dynamic Footer: Automated the copyright year in the footer to always reflect the current year.
• Personal Branding: Added "Made by Sebastian Richards" credit with LinkedIn integration.

🧮 Financial Engine Fixes

• Arbitrage Capping: Fixed an "Infinite Arbitrage" bug. The assumed night-time grid charging arbitrage is now strictly capped so it cannot mathematically exceed your home's actual daily usage. This prevents wildly inflated savings when pairing massive batteries with small homes.
• Marginal Net Benefits: Fixed a bug where the "Battery Payback Period" calculation ignored the financial benefits of overnight charging. Standalone battery investments now accurately reflect the full suite of savings they unlock.
• Standalone Grants: The "Grants/Discounts" input now correctly applies its deduction directly to the standalone Battery cost when running a calculation in "Battery Addition" mode, rather than just the unified system cost.

🛠️ UX & Tooltips

• Dynamic Tooltips: Refactored tooltip positioning logic using event delegation. Info buttons (?) inside dynamically generated elements (like adding multiple roof arrays) now correctly trigger the contextual help popups.

📱 Live Sidebar Estimates

• Added a sleek, real-time Live Estimates drawer that sits flush on the left edge of the screen, providing instant feedback on top-line metrics (Cost, Savings, Payback, ROI) as you adjust inputs.
• Responsive layout: acts as a sliding drawer on desktop to prevent occlusion, and downgrades to a swipeable bottom-sheet on mobile.

🌍 Climate Impact Translation

• Expanded the Results view to calculate precise tonnes of CO2 offset by the system.
• Added real-world equivalency translations for better context: "Trees Planted", "Long-haul Flights Saved", and "Petrol Car Miles Omitted".

🖥️ Interface Refinements

• Global Tooltips: Injected customized, glassy dark-green contextual help (?) buttons across all complex inputs to explain terminology (e.g., DoD%, System Loss, Arbitrage).
• Step Streamlining: Reorganized the flow. Moved Battery costs out of Equipment back into "System & Costs".
• Smart Battery Flow: Selecting "Battery Addition" mode dynamically hides the "Location / Solar Irradiation" step, as it's unnecessary, skipping the user straight to defining their existing baseline generation.
• Mode Layout: Fixed the top navigation tab containers so "Full System", "Battery Only", and "Expand" display intuitively side-by-side using Flexbox.

• Sticky Navigation: Implemented the primary sticky header container to keep the step navigation and wizard controls visible during vertical scroll.
• Sidebar Layout: Initial integration of the modular estimate sidebar container on the left edge.

• Depth of Discharge: Added DoD% control to accurately model usable battery energy.
• Night Arbitrage: Introduced "Charge from grid" logic with night-rate inputs and active month controls.
• Daily Coverage: New metric showing what percentage of a typical 24h usage the battery can bridge.

• Financial Physics: Added PV Technology (2025 vs Original) and System Power Loss percentage modifiers.
• Loans & Inflation: Integrated full loan repayment modelling and separate inflation tracks for import vs export energy prices.
• Array Shading: Added granular shading percentages for each individual roof face.
• Chart Annotations: Added hover-activated text events to graphs (e.g. marking the exact year a loan is paid off).

• Chart Interaction: Fixed a bug where the Investment Comparison didn't reload on every input change.
• Tariff Presets: Added specific Octopus Flux and Outgoing Fixed data presets.
• Visual Spacing: Standardized purple section icons and added 30px vertical rhythm spacing.

• Optimized Recalculations: Added a 250ms debounce to input fields to prevent layout thrashing during typing.
• Storage Layer: Finalized the CSV and LocalStorage persistence layer for saving configurations.

• Visual Rhythm: Standardized vertical spacing across all wizard steps.
• Icon Refresh: Initial rollout of the purple section icons for better category recognition.

• Multi-Array Support: Major engine update to support up to 4 independent solar arrays with different orientations and pitches.
• Wizard Navigation: Split the monolithic form into a 7-step guided wizard for mobile-ready UX.
• Theme Toggle: Introduced the persistent Glassmorphism Dark Mode selection.

• Metrics Engine: Finalized the top-level metrics calculations (ROI, Annual Savings, Payback Period).
• Chart Interactivity: Enabled real-time chart updates when switching modes.

• Lifecycle Modeling: Added maintenance costs, grants/discounts, and system lifespan parameters.
• Degradation Tracks: Integrated year-by-year solar panel efficiency loss modelling.

• Smart Tariffs: Added provider rate presets for standard and export tariffs.
• Irradiation Map: Integrated UK regional solar data and regional generation factors.

• Consumption Presets: Added household-size based energy usage presets (Flat to 5+ Bed).
• Self-Consumption Logic: First automated estimator for solar energy usage patterns.

• Dashboard UI: Full visual overhaul from static forms to a card-based dashboard design.
• Live Charts: Integrated Chart.js for real-time visualization of 25-year cash flow projections.

• Initial Engine: Basic PV sizing and 25-year financial modelling released for internal testing.