Base building / Power planning

Base Power Calculator

Plan your base’s power with solar panels, electromagnetic generators or biofuel reactors.

01 Your base’s power draw

Enter total Add devices

Total consumption (kP/s)

Use the power grid’s consumption reading from a connected battery or generator.

Add a powered building or device

Add devices to build your base’s power budget.

All selected devices are treated as active. Include powered rooms, corridors, doors and trays; crops add no separate power draw. For wiring or switched devices, the measured total is more accurate.

Spare capacity (%)

Leave room for growth by planning for a higher load.

02 Power you already have

Solar panels

Batteries

Continuous generation (kP/s)

Combined output of existing electromagnetic generators. Exclude solar panels and fuel-dependent reactors for an unattended base.

03 Choose your power source

Automatic Solar + batteries Electromagnetic Biofuel

Automatic suggests electromagnetic power when you need 20 or more additional solar panels. Choose a source yourself to keep that choice.

The default estimate uses 15 minutes of full sun and 15 minutes of darkness. Batteries must charge before the first night.

Adjust the daylight estimate

Darkness (minutes)

Dawn + dusk (minutes)

Within the extracted 30-minute cycle, the remaining time is full sun. Twilight is modeled at half output. These phase lengths are adjustable estimates, not extracted guarantees for every location.

Your power plan

Ready for day and night

An estimate for one connected planetary base grid, with normal power requirements enabled. Freighters, corvettes and free-power settings are outside this plan.

Materials for the additions

Direct construction ingredients for new power equipment.

Open in crafting planner →

How the calculation works & data sources

Solar panel output: Up to 50 kP/s
Battery capacity: 45,000 kP
Biofuel reactor output: 50 kP/s while fueled

How we size your system

Solar panels & batteries

Panels must power your base during the day and recharge the energy used overnight. More batteries cannot make up for too few panels.

We check the daily energy budget and the largest storage shortfall across full sun, dusk, night and dawn. Your existing panels count toward the plan; continuous generation reduces the load they need to cover.

Electromagnetic generators

This mode adds enough continuous generation to cover the remaining load without relying on solar.

Biofuel reactors

Biofuel mode covers the remaining load with fueled reactors, including any you already own. It includes construction materials, but does not estimate fuel quantities or runtime. Reactors need refueling to keep supplying power.

Assumptions to keep in mind

Battery discharge

Battery sizing is based on stored energy. The wiki lists a 50 kP/s discharge limit per battery, which we have not verified in the game data.

The default 15-minute night already allows at least one battery per 50 kP/s of remaining load. Shorter custom nights may need an in-game check.

Short-range teleporters

We budget 5 kP/s for each powered unit. The wiki documents versions where they work without power. Use your measured grid consumption if your base behaves differently.

Data sources

Device rates & recipes: Extracted game 7.00 catalog.
Day cycle & hotspot strengths: Steam build 25320008 · observed 2026-09-22.

The cycle length does not establish the full solar schedule at your base. Daylight and twilight durations remain adjustable estimates.

Parts that add no power draw

These parts have electrical connections but add no consumption in the game data. They do not need to be added to your power budget.

The Galactic Trade Terminal has required no base power since Frontiers. The Small Generator is a decoration and produces no electricity. Supply depots and pipes store or transport resources; they add no electrical load.