Any better ideas for Power Management?

[Akeel]

My System:
Power Management:
1.) Upgrade all 24/7 running equipment for the best power efficiency.
2.) Make a list of how much power is used by every 24/7 running equipment.
3.) Add the total pps (power per second) for all 24/7 running equipment.

It's really as simple as that. The goal is to always produce or generate enough power to keep the 24/7 input higher than the output (as figured in step 3).

Equipment that has an on/off switch should only be used for crafting when needed. Make sure you have additional storage tanks installed. For more power and mass, use Generators and Mass Fabricators. (Turn them off after each use, some will turn off automatically when the resources run out or storage reaches it's maximum capacity). You can also use the Recycler for additional mass.

You can figure the output of your Solar panels and Wind turbines by monitoring it's average output throughout the day. My panels average about .06 pps ea. during the day and Wind turbines about .05 pps ea.

Once your power usage has been established and you're satisfied, the main thing is to remember to check the BCU before leaving the base, just to make sure all optional powered equipment is turned off. It should always just show the basic needs as stated in step 3. If it's borderline, you can always start up a generator and let it subsidize any power shortage while you're away!

I can imagine that good power management becomes more difficult in Multi player as other members of the BCU use the equipment.

[boneys26]

Took a while but I now have over 21k power storage, with 30 turbines and 100 solar panels plus 12 generators For power boost should I need it while crafting (rarely used though, fuel is a pain to collect and produce)

[Akeel]

What mode are you playing? It looks like that much power could be useful for multi playing if a lot of players are listed on one BCU and resources are shared.

[Keyser Soze]

i think you can drive yourself nuts with numbers...

IMO the best thing you can do is continue to adjust your power situation by adding more solar (and wind) and more storage until what you have running 24/7 isn't depleting your power reserves to nothing.

the more storage you have the more wiggle room you have to have cloudy days (or night time) slow down your regen rate.

just keep adding solar, don't even bother upgrading them, just keep slapping them down.

[Akeel]

@Keyser Soze
That's basically what I'm saying but just continuing to add panels and turbines would take continues monitoring until you reach your goal and then you've got to have the resources readily available. Most power outages happen when the player is out and about. My method assures that there is power when you get back. At least it works for me!

[Keyser Soze]

Originally posted by Akeel:

@Keyser Soze
That's basically what I'm saying but just continuing to add panels and turbines would take continues monitoring until you reach your goal and then you've got to have the resources readily available. Most power outages happen when the player is out and about. My method assures that there is power when you get back. At least it works for me!

everyone plays different but i just check my power in the morning, take appropriate actions...

early game if i'm dangerously low on energy i'll fire up a full generator before i head out for the day... because no matter how much stuff i'm running, that single generator with a full tank is going to keep everything powered and give me at least a slight gain... it's like insurance that i know i CAN'T run out of power while i'm out.

but late game you should have so much power that the only time you need to run generators are when you are crafting a lot of things at once.

my best SP game has 10k power storage so i'd need to do a lot of spending to drain that... but thats my point... the more green generation you have and the more storage you have... as long as you aren't running at a loss eventually they will fill up the storage.

if you're running at a loss, add more solar.

it's honestly not that hard, people just get into trouble early game when they don't have enough of a buffer built into their system to sustain an imbalance... and they let things slip.

bottom line is the more storage and generation you have the less power becomes a concern so the easy answer is to build more of both anytime you have the resources and nothing else to spend on.

[Akeel]

True, everyone plays differently but the goal that I pointed out is the same and so far no one has come to a more accurate or better idea than the way I do it. (My opinion, of course)!

[boneys26]

Originally posted by Akeel:

What mode are you playing? It looks like that much power could be useful for multi playing if a lot of players are listed on one BCU and resources are shared.

Single player, would love to give this game a shot in multiplayer/co-op but I get pulled afk a lot through the day due to home life, it wouldn't be fair on other players if I keep saying brb.. lol

[Jaunitta 🌸]

Dedicated servers has its problems playing with others simply based on how reliable they are. So its always a good move to make a backup if you the main host / admin backup the server before going. Gives you peace of mind.

In MP the same 1 BCU several fridges stove mining drills would be shared right?
Lights use may have to be noted.
Refineries would need to be alerted to players when to use.
But my findings is lots of power storage in the dedicated server with " exclusive friends." not public so its pretty reliable to tell them what is ok and what is not and why. They can always cook on a campfire.
We built our own places with 2nd BCU as well.
Co op I still use 10K power storage but its switched off at log off.

Balance the solar and wind turbines to take into account the different months have different weather. Some heaps of storms some lots of sunshine.
Its these discussions that pulls at my wishlist to have dehydrators or drying racks. All survival game should use them. Dried fish meat would be great no power required and food lasts longer.