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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.