Solar vs wind power

[OFWG]

There is no option to vote for neither!

I must be the odd guy out, I use ship reactors & geothermal. I play strictly vanilla, so the ship reactors suck & take a long time to get resources for them (really should produce more for their cost). BUT I completely avoid batteries and thus zzzt events.

Well aren't you a snowflake! You must share your trick on getting ship parts and geothermal without power for research.

[tzaeru]

I use both due to the reasons already mentioned many times; it's aesthetically more pleasing, leads to more efficient square use, and helps some with downtime.

But when I want to really optimize power generation, it's mostly winds really. Preferring wind over solar and prioritizing geothermal also lets one mostly ignore batteries. Solars might be taken out by an eclipse, wind not so.

[xrumblingcdsx]

There is no option to vote for neither!

I must be the odd guy out, I use ship reactors & geothermal. I play strictly vanilla, so the ship reactors suck & take a long time to get resources for them (really should produce more for their cost). BUT I completely avoid batteries and thus zzzt events.

Well aren't you a snowflake! You must share your trick on getting ship parts and geothermal without power for research.

I burn wood, or I use solar and wind until I research geothermal.

I always play the tribal scenario. If I'm on a boreal map I burn wood, if I'm on a tundra or ice sheet I use solar and wind until I get Geo and ship cores. Its so worth it.

[Calahan]

Well aren't you a snowflake! You must share your trick on getting ship parts and geothermal without power for research.

@ OFWG - How about you stop trying to disrupt the thread with insults and allow users to continue providing the feedback that Tynan requested. It's been a good thread so far and that is the way it will be staying. So if you haven't got anything useful to post in this thread, then please don't post anything at all.

[Elixiar]

I normally use wind power on desert maps or really cold maps and solar panels in temperate or jungle environments.

Honestly I never really had a complaint with how they are balanced.
Maybe wind could pump out a little more at max capacity and less when at half though. Makes them more unreliable and powerful at the same time.

[hwfanatic]

Voted in solar's favor slightly.

Wind turbines save you a ton of components, but it is very difficult to get used to their variable output. In theory, one turbine should be able to keep one battery operating with 1 kW load, but in practice wind just stops blowing and then your batteries are depleted before you even realise what's going on. Other times, the wind is howling and your batteries are topped off awaiting to be discharged into some pour soul. At least with solar you get an event that notifies you to fire up your fossil-fueled backups.

Solar is more expensive and more predictable, easier to plan for and calculate.
Wind is cheaper, but more difficult to operate and manage.

Both require backups. Which brings me to a point I wanted to make. I rarely use either anymore since the introduction of fueled generators. 

[Shaeis]

Hello,

Excuse me if i made some mistake, english is not my mother tongue. I try my best.

I took sample of energy production of wind turbin and solar panel each hours over 5 days.
It was in Autumn, day 3 to day 8. The colony is in a boreal forest map at this coordinate : 51.04°N, 13.59°E
The method is not very accuracy because the wind turbin power production vary several time during one hour.
However i think it still give a good comparison.


So the number are :
- Over five day the wind turbin give me an average of 26785 Watt/day
- Over five day the solar panel give me an average of 17893 Watt /day
- During the best day of the wind turbin i get 41280 Watt
- During the worst day i get 17428 Watt

Interresting fact :
- The power production during a day of the solar panel decreased each day. I think it's because the day become shorter and that it's taken into account in the game. I think i will do a test during the spring to verify that.
- The weather can be sunny or foggy the power production of the solar panel didn't change.

So, in conclusion, wind turbin is way better. It's poduce more power, it's not strike by eclipse event, and it's cost less ressources. The only drawback is it size and the need to floor the ground.


I think some adjustement can be made for the balance like :
- Have an eclipse-like event for wind turbin, for instance  a wind storm who can damage the wind turbin (because the wind is to strong) and shutt it down, or an absence of wind during a day or two like the eclipse
- increase the solar panel power production but take into account the weather. For example if the sky is cloudy the power output vary during the day and if the weather is foggy the power output decrease a lot (but not down to zero)
- decrease the wind turbin power production to an average below the solar panel because the power generation continue during the night.


Details of the calculation :
I took a sample each hour during 5 day. It's give me 120 points for solar panel and wind turbin.
To take the sample i paused each hour and collect the data.
From this 120 points i calculate the integral to have power output generated during a day. For the integral i use the trapezoidal method.

[ruddthree]

I think some adjustement can be made for the balance like :
- Have an eclipse-like event for wind turbin, for instance  a wind storm who can damage the wind turbin (because the wind is to strong) and shutt it down, or an absence of wind during a day or two like the eclipse
- increase the solar panel power production but take into account the weather. For example if the sky is cloudy the power output vary during the day and if the weather is foggy the power output decrease a lot (but not down to zero)
- decrease the wind turbin power production to an average below the solar panel because the power generation continue during the night.

I completely agree.

[Sola]

Wind turbines don't need to be nerfed.  Solar is already more favorable to more players.

Wind turbines already have an eclipse-like event.  "When the wind doesn't blow".  They produce more on average because their power output is less reliable than solar, require more resources to create, and take up much more space.

Solar panels also don't need to be changed.  They produce less than wind on average because they produce power more reliably (all day), and for the opposite of the reasons listed above.  If you get Zzzt!'d there's an 18 hour window (depending on season and location) that your solar panels will continue to generate energy and power your base while you reconnect your new batteries or fuel your generator or whatever.  If you're running on wind alone, there's no telling when your batteries will start charging again.

[eadras]

I use a mix of solar and wind, with fueled generators for backup/emergency.  Solar would probably be significantly better than wind, if it weren't for the sun being eclipsed about half the time.   

[GarettZriwin]

You won't get far with few resources using solar energy early(At least with harsh narrators if you want to expand and tech fast), wind is the way to go, but as colony needs more power you either need to use solar energy to give you steady boost during day to avoid 50% loss in energy in case of wind being weak or building another geothermal generator to decrease energy drain when wind generators do not produce power.

[Shurp]

One thing I don't see anyone calculating is the components and resources needed for the batteries when you use wind power.  Shaeis describes the advantage in power produced by wind power.  But how much of that power is lost because your batteries are full?  It's easier to balance batteries with solar power.

But of course, you have to have wind for when the monster eclipse occurs.  (How large is this moon that it blocks the sun out for days?  Can you imagine what the tides on Rimworld must be like?)

[GarettZriwin]

It's easier to balance batteries with solar power.

But then you need more solar panels than wind turbines to produce that power, you also need more panels and batteries to store it for the night during which they kind of eat 200% power due to 50% loss from storing. Balanced power minimises store loss because even small amount produced is worth twice at that time.

[CalenLoki]

Hello,
<science>
<research>

There's easier way to measure it exactly. Build tons of batteries. Then at once directly connected with solar/wind turbines. After a day see how much power get stored in batteries.

[DNK]

I feel like solar should be a later-game item that is significantly more efficient in materials/watt than wind, yet suffers all the downsides it currently has, with wind being the only real option in the early game, and a decent backup into the late game, at least until an "industrial" power source can be constructed (geothermal, nuclear, glitterpower, whathaveyou).

I also wouldn't mind increasing solar efficiency with research opening up better designs.

I also think, as with the real world, solar and wind should be more efficient in different areas. Solar should easily trump wind in tropical and arid regions, whereas wind should be more competitive in temperate and colder regions, or coastal areas, or in unforested areas (plains tend to = higher winds).