Power

Power is a special resource which is transmitted through cables and measured in MW. Power is required by most equipment, and is therefore one of the most important resources in the game.

Power supply and demand can be viewed in the Powergrid screen. From there, power can be reduced by equipment category, causing affected equipment to perform slower.

The starting power system consists of a reactor, with fuel supplied by pipe from a loader loading fuel containers. This simple system has some power consistency shortcomings that become more important as the ship's power requirements grow.

Generation

There are a few sources of energy available with varying size-efficiency, fuel-cost efficiency and reliability.

Name	Output	Fuel	Notes	Size
Reactor	100 MW	Fuel		3x3
Fusion Reactor	500 MW	Deuterium	Draws significant power during activation	5x5
Solar Panel	10 MW		50% power in gas clouds 0% power during Hyperspace jumps	4x8

Reactor output scaling

Reactors don't always run at full capacity (because that would unnecessarily consume fuel), instead reactors attempt to supply only the amount of power that the connected system demands. Reactors take time to scale power production up or down, so when demand increases the supply will temporarily be insufficient until the reactors scale up sufficiently.

Continuous power flow

One of the first shortcomings players are likely to notice with the starting power system is a loss of power when a fuel container runs dry, until the crew loads a new container. The duration of this power outage will depend on the availability of crew members to retrieve a new fuel container and the distance between the fuel storage and the loader. This kind of delay can cause significant problems during a time-sensitive mission.

One solution is to introduce a tank into the system. Excess fuel will be stored in the tank and provided to the system as needed. Fuel containers will be quickly drained into the tank, and the tank will supply fuel to the system while the crew retrieves a new container.

Another solution is to introduce a battery into the system. A battery stores excess power, and provides this power back into the system when supply is insufficient, such as when the reactor has shut off due to lack of fuel.

Demand spikes

Some equipment has variable power draw. Each time the power demand increases, a reactor-based power system will have insufficient power until the reactor scales up output to match. A battery in the system can supply immediate power to cover these demand spikes until the reactor can catch up.

Emergency backup

If a ship with a reactor-based power system runs out of fuel, the ship is effectively dead in space, unable to produce power to run the FTL drive. Solar panels, or a single solar panel that charges a battery, can provide backup power in this situation.