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02 / Engineering case study

PowerStationSelect

Power Station Recommendation Engine

A decision-support tool that calculates energy requirements and recommends suitable portable power stations based on real usage scenarios.

Live · PublicVerified Sep 20265 technologiesOpen live project Engine core
ReactTypeScriptTanStackAlgorithmsData Modeling
ENERGY SCENARIO
FIT
RECOMMENDATION LOGICScenario match
UsageCalculateRecommend
Context

PowerStationSelect helps people translate a real usage scenario into understandable energy requirements and suitable portable power station options.

01

Problem

Comparing battery capacity, device consumption and usage time is difficult when product specifications are presented without the context of a person's needs.

02

Constraints

  • Energy and instantaneous power are separate physical constraints.
  • Unknown surge capability must remain unknown, not become zero.
  • Static typed data and pure functions are intentional for this version.
03

Solution

A guided decision tool that models the scenario, calculates requirements and turns the result into a clearer recommendation.

Under the Hood

The technical layers that turn the product idea into a working system.

01

Physical model

Pure functions calculate energy, autonomy, capacity, power, surge and runtime.

TypeScriptPure functions
02

Compatibility

Energy, continuous output and nullable surge are checked before ranking.

03

Catalog systems

25 active products, five brands and nine expansion references form the typed catalog.

04

Recommendation

Technical compatibility, actionability and recommended fit stay separate.

System Explorer

Select a node to inspect its role and relationships.

Model

Physical inputs become a technically compatible recommendation.

Technical decisions
01 / 05

Separate energy from power

Context
Duty cycle changes consumption, not instantaneous demand.
Decision
Model dailyWh and running/start power independently.
Trade-off
The model carries distinct compatibility constraints.
Revisit when
If the physical model changes.
What broke
PSS-INC-01Unknown surge semanticsResolved
Symptom
Unknown capability could be read as zero or incompatibility.
Root cause
The unknown state was not explicit enough.
Fix / mitigation
Preserved nullable surgeOutputW through compatibility.
Lesson
Unknown technical data needs explicit semantics.
Status
Resolved
PSS-INC-02Duplicated surge policyResolved
Symptom
Calculation paths could disagree.
Root cause
Surge rules existed in duplicated paths.
Fix / mitigation
Replaced them with one canonical policy.
Lesson
Technical rules need one source of truth.
Status
Resolved
PSS-INC-03Naive modular combinationsResolved
Symptom
A parseable configuration could be technically invalid.
Root cause
Parsing did not encode expansion rules.
Fix / mitigation
Separated parsing from buildValidatedSystem validation.
Lesson
Syntactically valid is not technically valid.
Status
Resolved
Engineering learnings
  • Physical semantics belong in the data model.
  • Compatibility, recommendation and actionability are different decisions.
  • Calibration scenarios are references, not universal advice.
Next iteration
  • Authorized product imagery and assets.
  • Affiliate links/feeds and commercial snapshot refresh.
  • Additional SEO work.
Evidence
LIVE SYSTEMPublic product

powerstationselect.com is live.

CATALOG25 active products

Five brands plus nine expansion references.

CALIBRATION5 reference scenarios

LIGHT, CAMPER, BACKUP, HIGH POWER and HIGH ENERGY.

DOCUMENTED CHECKPOINT15 files · 153 tests · 0 failures

Historical checkpoint; not claimed as the current main count.

ARCHITECTUREDeterministic engine

Static typed data and pure functions; no login, CMS or application database.

Technical stack

PowerStationSelect · Technical stack

ReactTypeScriptTanStackAlgorithmsData Modeling
Current stateLivePublic
Open live project