Vanometric power cell

The vanometric power cell is a World quest reward power generator that constantly provides 1000W for free and can be installed anywhere.

Acquisition[edit]

Vanometric power cells cannot be constructed nor bought from traders. Instead they can only be acquired as a reward for performing quests. Note that quest rewards are selected with a weighted random generator, so there is no way to guarantee access to any vanometric power cells in a given play-through.

Summary[edit]

Vanometric power cells provide a constant 1,000W of power without requiring refueling of any kind, or requiring any particular terrain or weather. They can also be freely uninstalled and reinstalled. Solar flares and EMI dynamos disable all electric devices, which prevents the vanometric power cell from functioning.

For comparison, a battery discharging at 1000 W would deplete in roughly 14.4 in-game hours or 36,000 ticks (10 mins).

Analysis[edit]

The vanometric power cell is free and 100% reliable power that can be placed anywhere, which is almost always useful. However, it is a relatively low impact item, as despite being rare, it can largely be replaced by chemfuel generators and batteries.

In addition to general power usage, this item is particularly useful to power:

High-priority equipment (such as base defenses or climate control) in case other power sources fail.
"Off-grid" equipment, such as deep drills, without needing conduits.
Turrets and other supplies when loaded into a caravan or transport pod.

In the endgame, you can build ship reactors for the same 1000 W of power as the vanometric cell, with the same amount of consistency. The ship reactor costs 350 Steel, 280 Plasteel, 70 Uranium, 8 Advanced components. Note that the reactor also takes up much more space, cannot be moved, and cannot be placed over mountain.