Solar That Just Works in RimWorld 1.6 | Build + Battery Math Tool
Solar That Just Works in RimWorld 1.6 (No Nighttime Brownouts)
Fast, reliable solar setup and battery math for early colonies. Every core number here matches RimWorld 1.6.4633 rev1266, with a conservative refill rule layered on top for practical day-to-day planning.
100 steel + 3 components
600 Wd per battery
1700 W solar peak, 2300 W wind peak
Sun lamp: 2900 W, auto-off at night
Quick-Solution: 5-Minute Solar Setup
Quick checklist
Research: Electricity (1600) then Solar Panels (600).
Build: one or two solar generators in open sky. No roof, no overhead mountain.
Wire: run a clean conduit trunk into batteries, then branch to loads.
Cover the night: start with 2 batteries for a tiny colony, 3 batteries for a first sun lamp block.
Backstop eclipses: add at least 1 wind turbine or another non-solar source.
Starter recipe 2x solar generator 2x battery 1x wind turbine 1x straight conduit trunk Add a third battery if you are powering a sun lamp, multiple coolers, or overnight heaters.
Starter builder
Set the pieces you plan to place right now. The totals use exact 1.6.4633 costs, storage, and peak output values.
What the Numbers Mean
| Thing | Local 1.6.4633 value | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Solar generator | 1700 W peak, 4x4, 100 steel, 3 comps, Construction 6 | One panel is cheap but still a daylight-only source. |
| Battery | 600 Wd storage, 50% efficiency, 70 steel, 2 comps | Night power lives or dies on battery count. |
| Wind turbine | 2300 W peak, 100 steel, 2 comps, Construction 4 | Best early backup for eclipses and bad dusk curves. |
| Sun lamp | 2900 W, active from 0.25 to 0.80 of the day | One lamp needs two panels minimum just for noon coverage. |
| Heater / cooler | 175 W / 200 W | Aux power quietly turns a stable grid into a brownout. |
Night coverage tool
Exact battery math uses the RimWorld battery storage value directly. The solar refill line uses a conservative temperate planning rule of 850 Wd/day per solar panel.
Place It Like a Pro
Keep every panel unroofed. Solar generators do not work in darkness and should never sit under a roof or mountain overhead.
Use wind as the first backup. A wind turbine plus solar is still the cleanest early-game pair because the grid is not hard-dead during eclipses.
Do not trust artificial light. A sun lamp or other lights do not make solar panels work.
Solar flare warning: eclipse kills sunlight, but solar flare shuts down most electric devices entirely. Keep food, medicine, and heat plans ready.
[SOLAR][SOLAR]----(main conduit)----[BAT][BAT][BAT]----loads
\ /
\----[WIND TURBINE]----------/
No roof over the solar field.
Straight trunk first, branch later.
Keep one non-solar source on the same grid.
Sun Lamp Math
Greenhouse planner
Lamp burn uses the actual sun lamp schedule: 0.25 to 0.80 of the day, which means one lamp spends 1595 Wd/day before heaters and coolers.
One lamp is not a solar-only toy. Two panels clear the lamp at noon, but batteries and wind handle dusk, dawn, weather swings, and eclipse pain.
Battery banks scale by job, not by ego. Three batteries per first greenhouse block is a stable starting line because it absorbs lamp handoff and short weather dips.
Polar maps are a different game. If sunlight windows are miserable, lean harder on wind, watermill, or geothermal instead of brute-forcing more solar.
Modded Notes
Walkable Solar Panels: solve pathing and footprint problems, especially if your colony keeps cutting through the power yard.
Increased Solar Output: useful for players who want fewer structures and a cleaner late-game skyline.
Space or orbit solar mods: separate from vanilla ground math. Treat them as a different power economy.
Troubleshooting Checklist
| Issue | If / then fix |
|---|---|
| No power at night | If batteries hit zero before dawn, add storage or lower overnight load. |
| No power at noon | If solar plus wind still cannot cover live draw, add panels or cut heavy devices. |
| Solar not charging | If a roof or mountain clips the field, remove it. Solar needs open sky. |
| Eclipse panic | If sunlight is gone, switch to wind, chemfuel, watermill, geothermal, or emergency rationing. |
| Solar flare | If the flare hits, electrical devices shut down. This is not a battery problem. |