How long last cold waves ?

[Moyocoya]

A newbie question : never faced one and need to know what storage is necessary...

[Tyhalj]

I think the severity is related to difficulty. But I think I remember mine lasting 3 days on maximum severity for cold waves

[Alex]

Usually it's around 3 sols, but it might differ. The exact length depends on several factors:
1. Cold maps may have longer cold waves (four to five sols).
2. A max cold wave rule (Winter is Coming) prolongs it as well (up to 5 sols).
3. Also, there's a story bit where a unusually long cold wave can last for 8 sols.

On the other hand, terraforming progress (temperature) will shorten them up, and eliminate this disaster at 50%.

Depending on how may sensor towers you have, you'll get up to 3 sols forewarning time. About storage, you'll need 3 things:
1. Extra water for the subsurface heaters.
2. More power. A lot of it. The heaters need it, as well as all unheated buidings.
3. Infirmaries to threat sanity hits and security stations to reduce those penalties.

Also, all unheated water tanks will freeze, so place them where the heaters can reach them.

[bateluer]

6 sols, with the WiS rule on, 9 sols in the Long Winter event. Increasing temperatures during the terraforming process will shorten the cold waves. AFAIK, once you hit the Liquid Water temperature, it drops to 3 sols.

If you're playing with the WiS rule or in a map prone to cold waves, you're going to want to over leverage the crap out of your power generation. Heaters will pull a lot of power, and it expands with their range so try to put your water storage close. You'll also want a ton of batteries and/or atomic generators, you'll need a lot of polymers to build them out.

[kaki_gamet]

Had that Story Bit while using Winter is Coming and from already 6 Sols added one more at first and 4 more as the event progressed, but I think OP should worry about the usual 3 Sols duration only (I hope) ^^'

@Moyocoya - If there is no Game Rule involved the disaster level only matters, at 1 means no Cold Waves, at 2 they come and last about 3 Sols, above that I didn't try yet (guess they become 4 and 5 Sols long and eventually 6 with Max level from Game Rule).

Any outside building (including Domes, excluding two Wonders and power producers) that is not covered by a Subsurface Heater radius will require twice power (trice if Winter is Coming is active), and if a building is turned off for a day long will freeze and requires full maintenance as Cold Wave ends. To leave a building off for one shift is fine, either to turn it on for only one shift is fine, will reduce the freezing bar enough.

On the other hand, Subsurface Heaters at max radius (15) will require 40 power and 1 water (power only scales with radius, water is always one despite in-game description), but the power needed will surely be well worth it, unless there are really few buildings in their radius ^^' About water, keep extracting it (vaporators or extractors) and don't worry to use reserves either, there are no Dust Storm coming during a Cold Wave (unless triggered by Story Bit). Can restock soon after and be ready before a Dust Storm arrives (if any) : )

And if really run out of power/water can manually adjust radius and turn them on for a short time only. Anyway, keep your water tanks safe at any time, they freeze in a moment ^^' And as said above, terraforming will mitigate them and eventually prevents them completely.

Edit: never mind, looks like that even with Cold Wave at level 4 they still last about 3 Sols ^^' Power consumption still x2 anyway. Guess if having DLC may alter it...

Edit 2: end of the guessing, even at level 4 a Cold Wave last anywhere in between 3 and 6 Sols, hours more, hours less (got a 6 Sols and 3 Hours just now) ^^'

[Moyocoya]

Three days ?!?
How do you face this ?
OK then :
- for the moment I have one dome, 25 colonists and two water tanks ;
- my energy consumption and production is 70
- according to the wiki my consumption will be multiplied by three ;
- so I need so store 140 energy for three days ? That makes 140 x 72 hours = 10,080, that is 50 power accumulators ?!?

Other questions :
- only water tank may freeze and so need a heater ? All the other buildings will work ?
- if ALL buildings are inside a heater's range, then the cold wave will have no effect, especially on building power consumption ? In other words if all things in my base are inside heaters protection, I just need extra power / water for heaters ? What about power production (solar and wind), do they need a heater's protection as well ?

Three days ! Oh my god ! :-D

[kaki_gamet]

That Wiki is not 100% exact, only with Winter is Coming Game Rule it becomes x3, even with Cold Waves at level 4 it is still x2.

There is no need to "store" that much of energy, your producers are anyway active so you can mind to keep your production up at 70 and add one Subsurface Heater (need the Tech for it) that will consume an extra 40 power and 1 water (one should cover your whole colony I hope). If cannot add power producers to cover the extra power needed for it, then need to have a spare of (about) 40x72 hours (that is still a lots of accumulators), or apply any strategy you may mind of for you case : )

Other than water tanks other buildings will keep working but they will consume more power. It won't be 70x2 anyway, need to exclude buildings inside the dome (housing, services, factories, any). So in the end you may end that adding a Subsurface Heater at full radius (40 power) will consume more than leaving them in the cold, and if you can afford to stay without stored water for that period, even fine to go without it.

Power producers are not affect by Cold Wave, and if everything is covered then all of them will be fine, except colonists that will anyway whine that its too cold ^^' For that Security Station should be enough but with an Infirmary much better (some of your workers may already suffering a Sanity loss from a different source, better not to overlap them unless can take "care" of them properly).

Save before it and see, few extra power producers, a single Heater even not at max radius may suffice, place it strategically and connect it to both power and water, good luck : )

[Moyocoya]

OK, so, in case of cold wave :
- energy production, oxygen tanks, power accumulators and, of course, inside dome buildings are not affected and will work ;
- water tanks need a heater not to freeze ;
- every outside building, including domes, will consume twice their regular energy, except if they are inside a heater's range.
Is this right ?

[kaki_gamet]

Correct : )

[Moyocoya]

OK, great !
It looks less dreadfull than it looked at first sight :-D
Thank you very much for your answers, you and everybody in this thread !

[kaki_gamet]

You welcome ^^/

[Moyocoya]

I have progressed about this cold wave problem.

My outside buildings consume 50. I built two different water and O2 facilities areas in order to achieve redundancie. So I will need two heaters to protect the tanks.
Let say that makes 60 more energy consumption to deliver in case of cold wave (60 I already deliver + 60).
That makes :
- 6 stirlings (a bit difficult since I have to make them come from earth) or
- 12 wind turbines or
- 60 X 24h X 2d = 2,880 = 2,880 / 200 = 15 accumulators.

Another option could be to let outside equipments decay (shut them down) but the dome and the hub.
In this case I need only 15 + 3 = 18 energy per hour, plus inside buildings, plus two heaters tuned short range, let's say 25 x 24h x 2d = 1,200 = 1,200 / 200 = 6 accumulators. I will need as well to maintain all the buildings that were shut down once thawed. This second solution seems better to me.

Is this analysis OK ? Is there other options ? What strategy do you follow in the matter ?

[Ericus1]

Wind turbines almost never produce the flat rate of 10 power - there is an early upgrade that gives them a 33% boost and they almost always have some kind of elevation bonus. On higher elevations they can easily produce 20+ power.

On a cost basis, stirlings are absolutely wasteful and solar/accumulators are massively outclassed by wind.

[kaki_gamet]

@Moyocoya - a screenshot including all of them would be better ^^' Are tanks so away that a single heaters won't reach both? That single heater won't cover all your external buildings (will consume 40 power that is anyway less than 50 extra needed)? Can even mind to open any already placed stirling, maintenance is a single Polymer for a +10 power, then fill the gap with wind turbines. Can reduce outside building to a single shift that doesn't overlap with each other. More options after I will wake up tomorrow : D

I would avoid accumulators unless you have already plan to expand and those will be needed. Main cost from a Cold Wave is usually water more than power, power is much more flexible to manage.

Calculation is correct but I won't expect a Cold Wave so short ^^' Anyway don't forget that your power producers are anyway active so not all of that power have to be stored : )

[Moyocoya]

Reassure me : I hope cold waves occurs AFTER one discovers heaters technology ?

[kaki_gamet]

No, usually first disaster comes around Sol 15 ; )