Solar Panel

Power block information is listed in the table down below.

Overview

Solar Panels are for generating a small amount of power. Power generated depends on the angle to the sun and whether or not the panel is in shadow. It’s best used when it is perpendicular to the sun and tracking it as it moves while being completely unobstructed, anything including other ships and floating debris can obstruct sunlight and therefore reduce output. Solar Panels produce a small amount of power compared to Reactors but can be enough to keep core systems (e.g. the Medical Room) running in case of a fault. A key component is Solar Cells, which require considerable amounts of Nickel to fabricate.

Usage

The panels are best used with Batteries set to recharge or auto mode, to create MW power output when required, for short periods. For example, two Batteries charged by solar panels can power a 5MW required machine (refinery, assembler, etc) for as long as the batteries remain charged.

For more information, see Electricity.

Tips

• When building with solar panels add batteries so that when the panels are off the grid will still have power.

Known Issues

• At this time, there is no way to assign where the power of the solar panels go to. The solar panels currently power the entire grid.
• When multiple grids are connected, the power management systems sometimes become confused leaving some solar panels underutilized while depleting batteries or using reactors. This should not be happening when there is free solar capacity available.