Guides/Power and Energy Costs

What's in 100 Watts

The purpose of this guide is to quantify the strengths and weaknesses of each method of generating power. For each method the cost (including frames) to generate 100 power is calculated and broken down into the number of spaces required, the resources required, and the number of seconds it takes a standard miner to gather those resources.

For simplicity this excludes processing time Laser Extractor mining time, but in general recipes that require more basic resources also require more processing per resource.

Stationary Power

This assumes using the cheapest available frame for each component size: Building 1x1 (1S), Building 1x1 (1M), and Building 1x1 (1L)

	Miner-seconds	Space	Metal Ore	Crystal Chunk	File:Silica sand.pngSilica sand	Blight Crystal Chunk	Laterite ore	Notes
Crystal Power	550	0.67	10.0	10.0				1
Solar Cell+Small Battery	4519	3.83	76.3	89.2				2
Solar Panel+Large Battery	10969	0.45	153.8	112.4	100.3	10.8	9.8
Wind Turbine	5515	1.00	128.0	61.0	5.0			3
Large Wind Turbine	4564	0.25	64.5	42.8	52.0			3
Power Unit	3745	0.10	40.0	19.0	31.5	22.5	40.0	4
Power Core	11550	0.10	153.4	110.5	139.5
Power Cell	34690		452.0	526.0	266.0
Blight Power Generator	366	0.10	7.2	1.0		2.5	5.0	5

1. Uses 1 crystal chunk (25 miner-seconds) per 100 power per 60 seconds. So after around 3 hours (of running near max power) it's less efficient than having built solar cells, and after around 7.5 hours it's less efficient than having built a power core. However, keep in mind that the cost isn't paid upfront and that 3 hours might make better power options available
2. A cheap source of earlygame grid power
3. If not running on a plateau double all costs. Requires battery backup during blight storms
4. This is the only option with a significant Laser Extractor mining cost at 1200 seconds, making it more comparable to expensive options like power cores than miner-seconds implies
5. The current best stationary power source, although it requires dipping into three tech trees

Mobile Power

Mobile power is more expensive due to the increased cost of frames and the fact that the frames consume some of the energy. This assumes using the cheapest available frame for each component size: Worker, Cub, and Rock

	Miner-seconds	Space	Metal Ore	Crystal Chunk	File:Silica sand.pngSilica sand	Blight Crystal Chunk	Laterite ore	Notes
Power Transmitter	8490	1.00	140.0	66.0	88.0			1
Large Power Transmitter	8319	0.20	90.8	59.0	79.0	35.0		1
Crystal Power	633	0.74	11.9	11.1				2
Solar Panel+Medium Battery	15219	0.70	244.2	196.2	99.5			3
Wind Turbine	13594	1.18	277.6	189.4	17.6			3
Power Unit	3805	0.10	40.7	19.3	32.0	22.8	40.6	4
Power Core	21000	0.10	274.1	234.5	230.5
Power Cell	34690		452.0	526.0	266.0			5
Solar Cell+Small Battery	10793	7.67	190.3	203.3				6

1. Mounted on a Building 1x1 (1M)/Building 1x1 (1L). Doesn't include the cost of the grid power being transmitted
2. Uses 1 crystal chunk (25 miner-seconds) per 100 power per 60 seconds. So after around 6 hours (of running near max power) it's less efficient than having built a power transmitter + blight power, and after around 9 hours it's less efficient than having built a power transmitter + wind turbines. Excellent source of mobile power for the early and midgame
3. Not useful compared to power transmitters, and wind power more than doubles when not on a plateau
4. Still has a significant Laser Extractor cost of 1200 seconds, but the costs of its competitors have almost doubled making it competitive with basically everything except transmitted blight power. Can be mounted on a faster bot without significantly increasing costs.
5. Very expensive but has a few uses, especially as it has a 10-range power field on an internal slot
6. Included for the sake of completeness. Technically viable/competitive but requires a massive swarm to do anything. Uses behaviors on the solar bots to shut them off at night

Mobile Power: Range-limited options

TODO: Extension Cord

TODO: Battery Running