Power
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Power is the ability to generate electricity in order to enable electrical workbenches, lights, temperature control devices, automated defenses, and more. Access to power is crucial to survival, especially in late game. The success of a colony often relies upon a fault-tolerant power grid with a reliable power flow that ensures that your appliances are working at all times, especially in emergencies.
Power generators
Wind turbine
Wind turbines are a cheap way of producing power. It works day and night. Compared to the solar generator which only works during the day.
The wind turbine requires an open area, clear of trees, buildings, roofs, and other taller constructions. However a solar panel can be constructed in front and behind without blocking the wind turbine
Output of the wind turbine is a directly related to current wind speed, therefore it varies as low as no output up to its maximum output. (see Weather for wind conditions)
Solar generator
Solar panels are a cheap first way of producing power from the limitless energy of the Sun.
The drawback is that they don't work during the night or during eclipses, requiring batteries to power lights and turrets when there is no sunlight available.
Combined with wind turbines (see above), they can sustain power for a large colony. Solar generators do not block wind turbines, so it is OK to put them in the front and back, saving space.
Fueled generator
Geothermal generator
A Geothermal generator is a very good and reliable power source drawing its energy from the heat of the planet's core. It is the only power generator which needs research to be built.
It produces a lot of power all day round but it is more expensive to build than the other power generators and it has to be placed on geothermal geysers.
Those geysers are placed at random, sometimes not even occurring at all, and are usually positioned far from the initial landing zone.
This makes geothermal generators either a valuable asset far from the safety of the core base, or necessitates a base relocation to a zone harder to defend against raiders.
One good way to defend them is to seal them off with two layers of stone walls, raiders will prioritize other targets over the generators.
Ship reactor
Although it is a ship part and and not listed in the Power menu, the ship reactor is perfectly usable as a power generator. It provides 1000W, which is less than the maximum provided by any other power generator, but without their shortcomings or requirements. It provides power continually and can be placed on any buildable terrain where its 5x5 structure will fit. It must be researched before it can be built, but does not generate any heat nor require special venting.
Power generator summary
| Type | Cost | Size | Max Output (Watts) |
Variable Output |
Day | Night | Placement |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solar |  100 3 |
4x4 | 1700 | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | In sunlight |
| Wind Turbine | 100 2 |
5x2 | 3000 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | In open ground |
| Fueled generator | 100 2 |
2x2 | 1000 | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | Anywhere |
| Geothermal | 400 8 |
6x6 | 3600 | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | On geysers |
| Ship reactor | 300 500 150 25 |
5x5 | 1000 | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | Outside (can roof over afterwards) |
Power transfers
Power conduit
A power conduit transmits power from generators or batteries to appliances. It is a big cable that allows appliances to be powered up to 5 squares away from it. A power conduit doesn't consume any power but takes some space on the floor, as most structures and buildings can't be built over it, except for solar generators, doors, walls and batteries. Template:Clr NOTE: Power conduits may rarely fall prey to a random event that will destroy said conduits and cause an electrical fire. The best way to avoid this is to limit the number of attached batteries using power switches and lay the power conduits under non-flammable walls, the most accessible being stone, so that if a power surge event does occur, the resultant damage is distributed to the stone wall and nothing is destroyed. It doesn't happen often, but you should create sufficient redundancies in your power grid so that if one conduit is destroyed and your batteries emptied as a result, another set of cables and batteries can supply power to your critical appliances, such as auto-turrets.
Power switch
Power storage
Batteries
The most common use of a battery is to store energy from intermittent power generators like solar and wind. Without a battery, there will be no power at night from solar panels, and no power from wind turbines when there is no wind.
Charging Features
-A battery can only hold 1kWd (86.4MJ).
-If a power generator's output exceeds appliances' power consumption, excess power will be distributed evenly among all non-full connected batteries, charging all batteries at the same rate.
-Likewise, if power consumption exceeds power generation, all non-empty batteries will deplete at the same rate to fill the power gap.
Special Features
-Batteries can be moved by reinstalling them. They do not lose their charge during the move, making them a portable power source.
-When a charged battery is disconnected from the power grid, it doesn't lose its charge.
-A disconnected battery is not affected by short circuits.
-A battery can be disconnected from the grid by reinstalling it away from the grid or by using a switch to isolate it from the grid.
-Battery fires produce extremely hot fires.
-Batteries are highly likely to catch fire in the rain.
Appliances
Appliances are structures or buildings that require power but don't transmit it. Most appliances don't require a direct power cable connection, they can be placed up to six squares away from a power cable or power source. When connected to the power grid, it can take a few moments before an appliance turns on.
Managing appliances
Reconnect: Click to force an appliance to reconnect to a conduit line or power source.
Designate toggle power: Click to mark an appliance to be turned on (✔) or off (X) by a colonist set to flick.
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Reconnect
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Designate toggle power
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Appliances summary
| Appliance | Power consumption (in Watts) |
|---|---|
| Autodoor | 50 |
| Electric tailor bench | 120 |
| Electric smithy | 210 |
| Machining table | 350 |
| Electric smelter | 700 |
| Electric crematorium | 250 |
| Nutrient paste dispenser | 200 |
| Standing lamp | 75 |
| Sun lamp | 1600 |
| Hydroponics basin | 70 |
| Comms console | 200 |
| Electric stove | 350 |
| Heater | 175 |
| Cooler | 200 |
| Improvised turret | 350 |
| Tube Television | 200 |
| Flatscreen Television | 150 |
| Megascreen Television | 220 |
- Power
- Power conduit (Hidden, Waterproof) • Power switch • Wood-fired generator • Chemfuel powered generator • Wind turbine
- (research)
- Battery • Geothermal generator • Solar generator • Watermill generator • Toxifier generator
• Bioferrite generator
- (uncraftable)
- Vanometric power cell • Unstable power cell
- Related
- Ship reactor • Electroharvester