So I decided to ring my planet with solar panels...

[Vectorspace]

...along the entire equator.
Is it an efficient way to do solar? I strongly suspect no. But I thought it would be cool, so why not?

So I did it and it looks great:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2383309031
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2383309527

Until...
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2383310669
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2383312212

An oil seep, right on the equator. What are the chances...

[Doenyon]

I guess the most efficient way to do solar, would be to fill the pole most exposed to the sun, and build a ♥♥♥♥ ton of accumulators. But I'm no math expert. A Ring is simple and effective way to have a good solar power income all the time, so no accumator needed.

[CPT Chthonbeard the Pirate]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBIg7LEHs-0

[Rever]

Originally posted by Doenyon:

I guess the most efficient way to do solar, would be to fill the pole most exposed to the sun, and build a ♥♥♥♥ ton of accumulators. But I'm no math expert. A Ring is simple and effective way to have a good solar power income all the time, so no accumator needed.

As the planet rotates around the sun, the poles point away from the sun in winter and towards it in summer, so one pole won't point at the pole more than the other. The best case for putting solar panels at the poles is with a planet with little tilt.

I like to put them on the poles because building other stuff in wonky.

[--T-a-u-r-u-s--]

Good idea bad planet

[CPT Chthonbeard the Pirate]

Originally posted by Rever:

Originally posted by Doenyon:

I guess the most efficient way to do solar, would be to fill the pole most exposed to the sun, and build a ♥♥♥♥ ton of accumulators. But I'm no math expert. A Ring is simple and effective way to have a good solar power income all the time, so no accumator needed.

As the planet rotates around the sun, the poles point away from the sun in winter and towards it in summer, so one pole won't point at the pole more than the other. The best case for putting solar panels at the poles is with a planet with little tilt.

I like to put them on the poles because building other stuff in wonky.

Better on the pole is the solar collectors for the dyson sphere, honestly. You get increased up time on them for being in ranged all the time, assuming that there isn't much tilt or inclination in orbit. That and the guns for firing solar sails.

[Vectorspace]

Originally posted by Rever:

As the planet rotates around the sun, the poles point away from the sun in winter and towards it in summer

Do planets have seasons in this game? I hadn't noticed.

I thought about deploying solar at the poles and/or using accumulators, but the ring of solar just seemed more fun.

(The actual purpose of my post was to show the break in my solar ring because of that single frustrating oil seep... But the subsequent solar power discussion has been interesting)

[Rhaane]

Equator is good for solar, I did a wind / solar 4 wide around the equator its 2 wind and 10 solar and repeats x 4 wide all the way around

[j a m s h u t / GUBAMI PRIME]

solar panels at the equator - the best, cheapest and most efficient source of energy in the beginning.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2383451798

[j a m s h u t / GUBAMI PRIME]

from three lines of solar panels along the equator, you will get 200+ mw

[GD]

I have a better setup: 1 Wind Turbine, 2 Solar Panels, 1 Wind Turbine, 2 Solar Panels. The best of both worlds. And I make Power-Rings with 3 Wind Turbines Rows one on the equator one left one right and all space between filled with Solar Panels.

And the next thing I set up are 4 Power Exchanges set to Charge and a loop to the Interstellar Logistics Requesting Empty Accumulators, Charge them with the surplus energy of this planet and Supply the Full ones to the network. With this I almost don't need power on the homeplanet space is rare there anyway.

[celerypie]

the only donwside could be ressource efficiency, half of your invested silicon/iron/copper doesn't do anything all the time. then again, that's the case with solar+accumulators too. tidal locked planets are an exception.

[GD]

A Tidal Locked Planet (around the Sun, not a Gas Giant) is really exceptionally useful not only for Solar, but also for Dyson Sphere building I'm learning that right now. For harvesting solar energy from the Dyson Sphere but more importantly for building and getting the energy from it because the line of sight is never broken.

The best Dyson Sphere System for me now would be a not too large Sun (having 11-13x as a sun is insane for the dyson sphere, even the smallest radius is 14300 or so larger than the maximum of G-Systems).

Back to the topic. The best Dyson Sphere system would be for me (in Priority)
1) A Sun with a Luminosity of 2.5 or higher (extremly important)
2) A Tidal Locked Planet preferable 100% Construction Area in this System
3) Not too large 1P to 5P Radius is enough to get this thing finished in my lifetime

Upgrades
4) Bonus Points if Planet has >100% Solar
5) Bonus Points if it's not a Blue Giant or 0-Type Sun but I never seen >2.5L in
6) Bonus Points for an Ice Giant in the System
7) Bonus Points for an Gas Giant in the same System
8) Bonus Points for additional resource-rich planets in the system preferable Vulcanic
8) Epic Points for Gas and Ice Giant in the same System
9) Legendary Points for a 2nd Tidal locked planet in the same system

The absolute killer would be the same system with 2 (!) Tidal Locked Planet. If anyone ever stumbles over a seed let me know.

[Mr. Fibble]

My equatorial ring had lines of solar spaced out with a gap of 3 in between, the width of a solar array, with a wind tower after every third (wind, solar, gap, solar, gap, solar, wind) on the equator and the ones above and below offset to make a chessboard look.

Mainly because I didn't want a solid strip and due to the vast ocean there's about a third missing.

The angle and rotation of the planet didn't feel like it was going to work so a good slice of the homeworlds power is coming from off planet sources.

[Greymantle]

depends on the planet, I have one in my home system that has the equator in continual dusk, due to the inclination and rotation.

Also, an update that adds proper eclipses, would bugger solar on your home world as you transit behind your gas giant parent.

[Tardus Coegi]

Delete the oil extractor, build x1 foundation, click on 'Viens Bury' and the oil node will go away, Then place the solar panels like normal. You can use 'Viens Restore' after you 'Viens Bury' on any node you bury. They're not deleted.