power consumption

[M]

hey wastelanders.

for my big settlement in sanctuary I set up a fusion generator and connected all buildings with power poles and cables. but how can I see, how much power actually is used, before the lights go out? the generator provides 100 energy.

how can I see the power usage?

thx in advance

[steventirey]

Unfortunately, as far as I know you just have to keep track and add up all power requirements yourself. There may be a mod out there that does it, but in the regular game there is nothing.

[M]

Originally posted by steventirey:

Unfortunately, as far as I know you just have to keep track and add up all power requirements yourself. There may be a mod out there that does it, but in the regular game there is nothing.

thx for the quick answer. thats, what I thought, too. I tried everything, attaching a terminal, nothing works. bethesda really should have thought about this, cos its a problem.

[Dave]

Originally posted by M:

Originally posted by steventirey:

Unfortunately, as far as I know you just have to keep track and add up all power requirements yourself. There may be a mod out there that does it, but in the regular game there is nothing.

thx for the quick answer. thats, what I thought, too. I tried everything, attaching a terminal, nothing works. bethesda really should have thought about this, cos its a problem.

If you add an electrical item, such as a Defence Turret, water pump, street lamp then it will tell you how much it needs when you select it in the workshop menu. If it is blank then there is no usage. SimSettlements shows usage in the HudFramework

[M]

thx Dave

[Dave]

Originally posted by M:

thx Dave

No worries, Bud.

[kharille]

They should've had a settlement object to breakdown power usage.... wonder if Nexus managed that?....

[wtiger27]

Originally posted by kharille:

They should've had a settlement object to breakdown power usage.... wonder if Nexus managed that?....

The settlement menu at the top when you are in workshop mode, does tell you how much power you are using. And I have never, after over 700 hrs play, needed to use more than a 10 power generators in any settlement other than the Vault 88.

Even then, you can use the normal low power generators. I guess if you are going crazy with settlement building and are using mods to exceed the building limit, then the fusion core generators would be needed.

And do not forget, you can wire the generators in series too, in order to meet the power requirements.

[DouglasGrave]

Originally posted by wtiger27:

I guess if you are going crazy with settlement building and are using mods to exceed the building limit, then the fusion core generators would be needed.

I did once use a Vault-Tec super reactor to power a chem factory, with almost its entire power output dedicated to Pick-Me Up stations (there was also an elevator). That was mostly a vanity project, though.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1284295182

My main character's personal fortress also uses the super-reactor, with the main chunk of power drawn by the manufacturing machines from the Contraptions Workshop DLC (a full set of them all on at once takes over 100 power). It doesn't need the full 500, but with all the other stuff in the fortress, I needed more than the 100 from a fusion generator, or the 150 from the regular Vault-Tec reactor, and I wanted it all powered by a single unit.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1934685165

[steventirey]

Originally posted by wtiger27:

Originally posted by kharille:

They should've had a settlement object to breakdown power usage.... wonder if Nexus managed that?....

The settlement menu at the top when you are in workshop mode, does tell you how much power you are using. And I have never, after over 700 hrs play, needed to use more than a 10 power generators in any settlement other than the Vault 88.

Even then, you can use the normal low power generators. I guess if you are going crazy with settlement building and are using mods to exceed the building limit, then the fusion core generators would be needed.

And do not forget, you can wire the generators in series too, in order to meet the power requirements.

It tells how much you are generating in total, not how much you are actually using of that. The only ways to know if you have enough power for something new is to either go ahead and build it and see if it works, or to add up the total usage yourself. Unless there is a mod out there somewhere. You should be able to tell somehow - either a gauge you build or by hooking up a console, but Bethesda apparently never thought of that or saw the need.

That number also shows the total generation, not how much is being produced by a single grid. That can also be important if you have many things needing a console to control, like the various factory units. Especially if you have more than one of the same type operating at once, as each would need to be one its own separate power grid (otherwise all factory units of the same type will produce the same thing).