how do i stop power outages?

[icarus the improviser]

so i am doing the tutorial, and i build stuff one after the other like the tutorial said, but now i see that my base is having power outages, with power going on and off somewhat regularly, can anyone tell me how to fix such a thing? do i have to build another generator? why is this happening in the first place?

thanks!

[Wantoomany]

What does your power overlay say? How much power are you producing compared to consumption?

You should see something like this.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2192835962

It's showing I have 17601 power stored out of a maximum 23000
I'm generating 72.5 out of a max of 93.1
and I'm consuming 54.4 at that very moment. So I am producing more then I am using.

colored areas represent power availability. Areas in red or orange will can still get power but will be the first areas to suffer power loss if your consumption exceeds generation.

You can increase the amount of power flow on your ship by using the larger power nodes, or by putting more nodes closer together.

[Sam Look]

Most power outages are local peak demand issues, you just need to make sure there is enough stored capacity in the various areas and enough power flowing in during off peak load to recharge that capacity.

- Place power capacity nodes (batteries) at the points furthest from the generator, every power node has capacity as well, so you can often get away with just having more regular nodes as well.

- Make sure there are two paths to each node that is powering any decent amount of equipment.

- Make sure you are utilising all three links out of the power generator and into the grid (preferably onto different paths around the ship.

There is a temptation to have no overlap between coverage of neighbouring nodes, this can often lead to storage capacity being too thinly spread, don't be two concerned if nodes overlap by a square or two as all storage capacity helps keep things stable.

[DeadMeat]

I usually build a main line or 2 through ship using large nodes and have all the other floor nodes off of those. At the end of lines put storage capacitors. By the time I reach my starting 40 power usage I try and build a bank of 5 solar cells and then keep adding on to it until I can replace my generators. 10 is usually good for each 1x1 you ship occupies.

[Delle(DK)]

maybe not so releavant, but i just like to give a tip.
Its a good idea if you design a space ship so that your elecrical system go arround your ship like in an U shape from your reactor ( or 0 shape ) if one side of the ship looses power then the other will still send electricty arround..
I did not try the solar flare update but in battle or if there is a fire its usefull to get power that way.

[BurningTofu]

Keep an eye on the nodes closely. You can actually see a bar which represents the output demand. It is also color coded. I've thought this was just a designed decision until I realized it actually tells you the output demand lol. If you see the bar fluctuate then you may need to add more nodes around to compensate for the demand. If the bar doesn't go up and stays on red, you may need to add more power either by installing battery or more power plant.

[icarus the improviser]

this is my situation: https://imgur.com/a/JkMPgZV

i will construct more power nodes then and see if the situation gets better, so aparently, all i need to do is construct batteries, and larger power nodes closer togheter? as well as link the generator the maximun amount of times?

ok i will try.

[icarus the improviser]

ok i cound't figure out what you guys meant, and just built another generator, power is running better now, i also replaced my floor panels with big power nodes, since they "have more capacity", wich i guess its something good.

i guess that when i build my ship i will just build the biggest generator i can get my hands on, and maybe that will solve all my energy needs :l

[Wantoomany]

You were having issues because you were not generating enough power. Your max power output was at 15, but your consumption was at 15.5. Adding power nodes wont solve that issue, power nodes only help power flow, they do not increase your generation rate.

Putting in a second or larger generator solved your issue because at that point your generation exceeded your consumption.

[icarus the improviser]

Originally posted by Wantoomany:

You were having issues because you were not generating enough power. Your max power output was at 15, but your consumption was at 15.5. Adding power nodes wont solve that issue, power nodes only help power flow, they do not increase your generation rate.

Putting in a second or larger generator solved your issue because at that point your generation exceeded your consumption.

alright, i guess i did good then, thats good to hear.

thanks for the help everyone.

[Bobucles]

The power transfer system isn't perfect and long chains can have trouble moving power. In general you want to use the large power nodes to move bulk energy across the ship. It also helps to have the power be more scattered and less clustered on the edges of ship.

[icarus the improviser]

Originally posted by Bobucles:

The power transfer system isn't perfect and long chains can have trouble moving power. In general you want to use the large power nodes to move bulk energy across the ship. It also helps to have the power be more scattered and less clustered on the edges of ship.

...what? e_o?

Chains of what? To move the bulk? What do you mean have the power more scattered?

[Sam Look]

Each node works independently, it has a storage capacity that it charges from neighbouring nodes and a maximum output it can deliver to devices and other nodes.
So basically a long line of nodes gets power to the last node by having each node charge the next one along the line until it gets to the end.
If these nodes are also powering devices nearby the amount trickling along the line can get very small, to the point not enough is reaching the last node for it to stay charged and power the devices near it.
This is why having two routes from the generator to nodes a long way away is so effective, it doubles the chances of sufficient energy reaching it and keeping it charged, it's also why having a capacitor / battery at the end helps, It also means any peak in excess power can be stored until it's needed later and in a location very close to where it will be used, get enough capacity and you will find you need less generators, this becomes much more relevant once you start adding solar to the mix and you really want to catch and store as much of that free energy as you can!

[icarus the improviser]

alright, i think i understand, thank you for taking the time to explain!