Wind Turbines

[LilTaco]

My wind turbines tend to dip down to 92 W for long periods of time. There is nothing blocking it, its in open space. just wondering if this a result of the wind dieing down a lot or something else. It just would surprise me that the wind would go so low for most of the day.

[sbhink805]

If it's blocked it will tell you and it will not generate power, so it must be just low wind. It's easy to imagine some areas with less wind though I'm not sure this is part of the simulation.

[Khan Boyzitbig of Mercia]

Wind dying down to nothing isn't unheard of. IRL during the age of sail one of the worst fears of sailors was to becalmed, no wind blowing and no current either.

In the UK somedays wind turbines generate no power because the wind isn't blowing, other days the turbines explode because it is too windy, at least the latter doesn't happen in Rimworld.

[martindirt]

Originally posted by FlamingTacoParty:

My wind turbines tend to dip down to 92 W for long periods of time. There is nothing blocking it, its in open space. just wondering if this a result of the wind dieing down a lot or something else. It just would surprise me that the wind would go so low for most of the day.

Build some batteries (2-3 is enugh to store energy for a medium-small colony), or some solar panels. But for worst case, u can build some old fashioned wood fueled gennys, so when wind dies for days, u can still turn on your "steam machines".

[M.K.]

Wind turbines are the easiest power source to build, but quite surely the worst.
They take up a huge footprint for the power they give
They get blocked by a teensy 6% grown little sapling
And yes, they stop turning at the most inopportune times due to wind loss.

[FeralDread]

With your wind turbines you can build solar panels in the "blocked" zone without effecting the turbines. I usually face the small zone into a farming area and the larger blocked zone is filled with 2 solar panels

[FeralDread]

Originally posted by Feral:

With your wind turbines you can build solar panels in the "blocked" zone without effecting the turbines. I usually face the small zone into a farming area and the larger blocked zone is filled with 2 solar panels

Forgot this also stops trees and stuff from growing later on and blocking the turbine

[Jaasrg]

Originally posted by Feral:

Originally posted by Feral:

With your wind turbines you can build solar panels in the "blocked" zone without effecting the turbines. I usually face the small zone into a farming area and the larger blocked zone is filled with 2 solar panels

Forgot this also stops trees and stuff from growing later on and blocking the turbine

And any gaps can be paved with your preferred material.

[BangPowBoom]

Originally posted by Feral:

Originally posted by Feral:

With your wind turbines you can build solar panels in the "blocked" zone without effecting the turbines. I usually face the small zone into a farming area and the larger blocked zone is filled with 2 solar panels

Forgot this also stops trees and stuff from growing later on and blocking the turbine

I always put wind turbines between my growing zones. Trees block turbines, small plants like berry bushes and corn wont.

[LilTaco]

Originally posted by Feral:

Originally posted by Feral:

With your wind turbines you can build solar panels in the "blocked" zone without effecting the turbines. I usually face the small zone into a farming area and the larger blocked zone is filled with 2 solar panels

Forgot this also stops trees and stuff from growing later on and blocking the turbine

Smart, I should start using that once I research solar panels

[LilTaco]

Originally posted by martonherman1984:

Originally posted by FlamingTacoParty:

My wind turbines tend to dip down to 92 W for long periods of time. There is nothing blocking it, its in open space. just wondering if this a result of the wind dieing down a lot or something else. It just would surprise me that the wind would go so low for most of the day.

Build some batteries (2-3 is enugh to store energy for a medium-small colony), or some solar panels. But for worst case, u can build some old fashioned wood fueled gennys, so when wind dies for days, u can still turn on your "steam machines".

Yeah, I just need to research batteries first. I spent a lot of time researching tree planting, but i'm working on batteries now.

[martindirt]

Originally posted by FlamingTacoParty:

Originally posted by martonherman1984:

Build some batteries (2-3 is enugh to store energy for a medium-small colony), or some solar panels. But for worst case, u can build some old fashioned wood fueled gennys, so when wind dies for days, u can still turn on your "steam machines".

Yeah, I just need to research batteries first. I spent a lot of time researching tree planting, but i'm working on batteries now.

There are no many reasons to research tree planting... Realy. If u have electricty and enugh stone... U wont use many wood.
But while u research batteries, u can use wood fueled generator to bridge over the windless times. (NOW U NEED SOME WOOD)

[M.K.]

Skip the wood generator.
Go Chemfuel!

And don't make your own chemfuel.. just tame ONE boomalope, it sweats enough chemfuel to keep a generator running all the time.
And generator is better than solar or wind, it never dies (except solar flare, or if you forget to milk the boomalope)

[Ok Thalmor]

Originally posted by Feral:

With your wind turbines you can build solar panels in the "blocked" zone without effecting the turbines. I usually face the small zone into a farming area and the larger blocked zone is filled with 2 solar panels

The best and most visually appealing layout for efficiency seems to be 4 turbines with 2 side by side facing each other with 6 panels centered in the zone with a walkway around them, along with 2 on either small side and a stone wall around it. Just on the very edge of the effective wind zone so no raiders get to it and ruin the large investment you made.

[kevinshow]

Originally posted by martonherman1984:

Originally posted by FlamingTacoParty:

Yeah, I just need to research batteries first. I spent a lot of time researching tree planting, but i'm working on batteries now.

There are no many reasons to research tree planting... Realy. If u have electricty and enugh stone... U wont use many wood.
But while u research batteries, u can use wood fueled generator to bridge over the windless times. (NOW U NEED SOME WOOD)

I purposefully do wood generators just to make things harder on myself. It's the least efficient generator but that is part of the challenge I give myself. Make sure I have enough wood and haulers to keep it going, though re-fueling can be done manually in the worst case, so even that is not a problem.

As a result, I often do tree research early on, so the colony can automate collecting wood as soon as possible.

[MortVent]

I usually do watermills and wood generators at first.

Then chemfuel generators with a couple distillery units (rather not bother with boomalopes as raiders will kill them, and they are walking bombs)

Then geothermal (usually for satellite gun towers for map defense, a generator surrounded by turrets just to kill hostiles moving into the map)

Wood does serve a good purpose later on still. It makes for great cheap art to sell, chemfuel, fueled stoves, fueled smithies, etc Plus certain tree orchards will help with beauty and boost moods with little recreation/eating areas around them

I prefer to have redundancies for a lot of things, so I'm not relying on just electrical powered means of cooking/crafting

And I like having a ton of make work.