Solar Panel

Kit (Solar Panel Basic)

Constructing Options	Solar Panel (Flat), Solar Panel (Angled)
Properties
Stacks	x
Recipe
Created With	Electronics Printer
Cost	10g Iron, 2g Gold, 10g Copper

Kit (Solar Panel)

Constructing Options	Solar Panel
Properties
Stacks	x
Recipe
Created With	Electronics Printer
Cost	5g Gold, 20g Copper, 15g Steel

Kit (Solar Panel Basic Heavy)

Constructing Options	Solar Panel (Heavy Flat), Solar Panel (Heavy Angled)
Properties
Stacks	x
Recipe
Created With	Electronics Printer (Tier Two)
Cost	10g Copper, 10g Steel, 2g Electrum, 10g Invar

Kit (Solar Panel Heavy)

Constructing Options	Solar Panel (Heavy Dual), Solar Panel (Heavy)
Properties
Stacks	x
Recipe
Created With	Electronics Printer (Tier Two)
Cost	20g Copper, 10g Steel, 5g Electrum, 15g Astroloy

Solar Panel

Operation
Power Usage	0W to 500W generated
Construction
Placed with	Kit (Solar Panel)
Placed on	Large Grid
Stage 1
Next Stage Construction
Constructed with item	Glass Sheet
Deconstruction
Deconstructed with	Hand Drill
Item received	Kit (Solar Panel)
Stage 2
Deconstruction
Deconstructed with	Crowbar
Item received	Glass Sheet

Description

The Solar Panel generates power by absorbing sunlight, depending on solar intensity, up to 500W per panel on the moon. Can be manually rotated using a Wrench. Can be built in two configurations, one with opposite side split power/data ports, or two with same side combined power/data ports.

Data ports can interact with Daylight Sensors and logic i/o writers or batch writers to automatically rotate the panel to face the sun.

At the extreme attitude settings (0/100) the solar panel still faces 15 degrees above the horizon. Thus the total arc of vertical rotation is only 150 degrees from input values 0-100. As of at least version 0.2.3263.16264, solar panels now accept input in degrees above the horizon instead of in percent, so the solar panels travel between inputs of 15 and 165, with 90 being straight up.

Can also be destroyed by storms, or left with very little health. Best course of action is to remove the solar panels when you are notified of a storm by a Weather Station, Which allows you to replace them once the storm is over.

They can be repaired with Duct Tape, or by dissembling them and reassembling them. You could even cover them with windows to protect them from storms at the cost of some efficiency of the panels themselves being lost. And Heavy Solar Panels are a more expensive version that do not take storm damage but it is debatable if its worth making the tier 2 metal Astroloy to prevent storm damage whilst retaining maximum efficiency.

Types of Solar Panel Kit

There are 4 kinds of Solar Panel Kits - The standard Solar Panel and its three other variants

Basic Solar Panels are cheaper but don't have logic inputs, so you can't set them up to automatically track the sun. They're useful early on, when you have limited resources and lower power needs, but they spend most of their time at reduced power output.

Heavy Solar Panels are protected against storm damage, but more expensive and require a Tier Two Electronics Printer. Note that not all planets have storms.

Basic Heavy Solar Panels are just a combination of the above two properties.

Positioning

Pay close attention to the positioning of your solar panel since their automation will depend heavily on it. Most user-made scripts and guides orient the panels with the data port facing sunset and the power port facing sunrise.

Notes

After placement be sure to install one Glass Sheet to make it functional.

See Sensors and Solar_Logic_Circuits_Guide for panel automation using logic circuits.

Power output of a single Solar Panel on different planets

World	Solar Energy	% of Earth	Solar Angle
Moon	500W	100%	0°
Mars	455W	91%	8°
Europa	210W	42%	32°
Mimas	90W	18%	126°
Asteroid belt	500W	100%	0°
Loulan	455W	91%	8°
Vulcan	750W	150%	48°
Venus	500W	100%	0°

Data Network Properties

These are all Data Network properties of this device.

Data Parameters

These are all parameters that can be written with a Logic Writer, Batch Writer, or Integrated Circuit (IC10).

Parameter Name	Data Type	Description
Horizontal	degrees	Set the horizontal rotation of the Solar Panel (clockwise, 0-360°, data port is at 270°)
Vertical	%	Sets the vertical angle of the Solar Panel (accepts 0-100% which translates to 15°-165°, 50%=90° =zenith)
On	Boolean	Turns the solar panel on or off

Data Outputs

These are all parameters, that can be read with a Logic Reader or a Slot Reader. The outputs are listed in the order a Logic Reader's "VAR" setting cycles through them.

Output Name	Data Type	Description
Charge	W	Returns the power generated in Watts
Horizontal	degrees	Returns the horizontal rotation of the Solar Panel
Vertical	%	Returns the vertical angle of the Solar Panel
Maximum	W	Maximum possible power for this planet
Ratio		How close to maximum current performance is, 1.0 means panel is perfectly directed and unobstructed
On	Boolean	Returns the on/off state of the solar panel