Generator Power Advisor

The story

Why it was built

Generator Power Advisor started with one honest question during a power outage: can this generator actually run all of that at once?

There was no calm, trustworthy answer — just a spec sheet, some guesswork, and the risk of tripping a breaker or overloading the generator at the worst possible moment. So it grew into a careful little advisor that weighs your appliances, startup surge, elevation, temperature, and fuel, then gives a clear verdict — safe, near capacity, or too much — with the one change that gets you back to safe.

It's built for real situations: home backup during an outage, a job site, a campsite, a cabin, or living off-grid. It works offline, keeps your data on your own device, and never asks for an account.

Progress

How it came together

1. The question

   A real outage and a generator, and a question I couldn't answer with confidence. The math started on paper.

2. A working calculator

   The first version was rough and personal — just enough to answer my own question. But it worked.

3. From calculator to advisor

   Numbers weren't enough. I rebuilt it around a clear "safe / near / too much" verdict and a next step.

4. Grounded in the real world

   A generator database and real-world test logs, so the advice leans on results rather than theory alone.

5. A calm visual identity

   A trustworthy tool should feel trustworthy. A consistent design system, a full icon set, and less clutter.

6. Onto the phone

   Wrapped as a native iOS app with Capacitor, with a real privacy policy and support page.

7. Shipped — and refined

   The web app is live at gpa.dmsaur.com and the iPhone app is available on the Apple App Store; version 1.0.1 is in review.