How the heck many solar panels do you need...

[Itharus]

To run a constructor or two worth a dang on the temperate starter planet?

I'm having trouble setting these up in a way that actually gives me enough power. I'm near the equator, so shouldn't panels facing straight up be good? I also have a few slanted east to catch the morning sun.

Do I just not have enough? I've got like 8 of the bloody things. How much area do you need to devote? The lights seem to suggest they are getting good sun :(

Also, you can only have one capacitor, right?

[Gene R]

I find it easier to build a small space station somewhere above the planet. My current one has 15 panels which gives 2000 power units constantly.
And no, you can place several capacitors.

[Tarc Novar]

For the capacitor, you may have as many as you want. As for the panels, those have a limit of 15, unless you alter the game config.

[Dyeshan]

the capacitor is like a battery....so you only really need a second one if you are filling the first capacitor. Which is the green power indicator on the right of your screen when looking at your power consumption etc

[BlazeD]

Research and build the Solar Panel..replace all your Small Solar Panel with the new, more efficient model.

[tim]

Don't forget if you are drawing more power than your solar panels are producing your capacitor will never charge up so turn everything off for a while and see if it charges up. You will still need a generator and fuel tank to cover the periods of bad weather when the panels are not working well.

[Effluo]

i usually set 4 of the big ones and let them charge for a bit...

and the capacitor limit is no more. i put 4 - 8 of em on my base lol

make sure you turn off the power to the big power suckers when they are not running. the floor switches and the if/then commands are good for this.

it allows your capacitors to fill alot quicker.

i still think its dumb that you cant store generator power, but can store solar (or place solar on your ships). but thats the way they did the programming.... (like the H2O to O2 and H2.... why not both? oh well)

[RocknGames]

and dont forget cargo extenders eat power

[JDaremo Fireheart]

I had the max amount of panels (15) and 6 Capacitors the last time I played and it was enough to run 2 Advanced Constructors, a Deconstructor and various other things. If you hook up a Furnace, then you want it and a Generator on a switch to turn them on & off.

You just have to make sure you have the panels at the right angle for them to catch the sun, which depends on what Latitude you are on. Equator you want them more flat than angled. South Pole would be the hardest because of the low level of sun you get, while the North Pole you want them facing more south than east & west.

[MrBalll]

Originally posted by Effluo:

i still think its dumb that you cant store generator power, but can store solar (or place solar on your ships). but thats the way they did the programming.... (like the H2O to O2 and H2.... why not both? oh well)

It's more of a waste since you have to use fuel to power a generator to charge a battery to power your base. Why not get rid of the middle man and just use the generator to power the base.

[Itharus]

Ah... it sounds like the problem here might be that I'm using the small solar panels. I wonder why they're in the game if they're so... errm, useless. LOL.

I'll try using the big ones and see what happens, thanks all :)

[JDaremo Fireheart]

Originally posted by Itharus:

Ah... it sounds like the problem here might be that I'm using the small solar panels. I wonder why they're in the game if they're so... errm, useless. LOL.

I'll try using the big ones and see what happens, thanks all :)

oh heck yeah. Upgrade your panels to the large ones

[BlazeD]

You can upgrade them rather than replace them. Set your multi tool to Upgrade and point it at the device. It will tell you what you need to have in your inventory to do the upgrade.

[Itharus]

Thanks Blaze

[Palad1n]

Originally posted by RocknGames:

and dont forget cargo extenders eat power

I modify the game files to lower the power usage to something realistic that lines up with the game correctly. It's silly to think storage consumes power, especially at the high rates they have set them currently.

[VulcanTourist]

Originally posted by Palad1n:

Originally posted by RocknGames:

and dont forget cargo extenders eat power

I modify the game files to lower the power usage to something realistic that lines up with the game correctly. It's silly to think storage consumes power, especially at the high rates they have set them currently.

Yep....