FIELD GUIDE / POWER
Keep power problems separate from material problems
Check the machine, its supply and the stored energy together. A factory can have solar panels and still stop for several different reasons.
QUICK ANSWER
For a nighttime stall, inspect stored energy and the affected machine’s power status first. If power is available, check both ingredients and the output belt. There is no verified panel count here that guarantees a full night for every factory.
kW and stored energy answer different questions
| Reading | What it tells you | What it does not prove |
|---|---|---|
| Power in kW | Generation or demand at that moment. | How much energy remains for later. |
| Stored energy in kWh | The energy currently held in storage. | That generation can support the present load. |
A machine recipe menu shown in gameplay lists 10 kW for a Pressure Chamber and 18 kW for a Stone Press. One chamber and two presses therefore total 46 kW of rated processing demand. That excludes other equipment and does not establish nighttime endurance. Check the values in your installed game.
Daylight generation needs to run the active equipment and replenish storage. A setup that only just supports its daytime load can have too little charging headroom for the next night.
Check charging while the factory works
- Use a representative load. Supply the machines and keep outputs clear so idle equipment does not make the power demand look artificially easy.
- Read generation and demand. Check the game’s power indicators and whether the intended equipment is being supplied.
- Watch the stored-energy reading. Confirm that it increases during daylight while your normal factory is running.
- Check again before darkness. Starting the night with a partly filled store is different from starting full. Note the amount and which machines are active.
If storage does not rise, inspect available generation, active demand and the equipment’s power connection or coverage indicators. Adding storage capacity does not refill it; the setup must have enough opportunity to charge.
Use the first stopped machine as evidence
- Stored energy reaches empty and powered machines stop: you have a nighttime energy shortfall to address. Increase useful charged supply or reduce the active load, then test again.
- Energy remains, but the machine reports insufficient power: inspect its actual power supply and connection indicators rather than relying on another machine’s readout.
- Power is available, but a press waits: check raw dust and sand separately. A missing ingredient can look like a power pause.
- Output is backed up: fix the receiving machine or conveyor. More solar generation cannot move a blocked capsule.
Do not estimate production by multiplying full-speed output by a power percentage. The relationship between partial power and machine speed has not been established here.
Test through the whole night
Change one thing, keep the same machine load, and watch a complete day-to-night-to-day cycle. Check whether storage charges, whether it empties before daylight returns and whether materials continue reaching the final destination.
A battery charging at dawn does not show that every machine worked through darkness. Neither does a large panel count. A useful result is continuous delivery with the intended machines active, supported by the power and storage readings throughout the night.
Treat panel counts from other factories as starting examples. Their machine load, charging conditions and interruptions may differ from yours; verify your own full-night result before expanding.