Solar Array

Solar Array
Uses sunlight to generate electricity. It can generate much more power than smaller units. Can potentially generate over 10W.
Category	wire
Rarity	common
Price	300
Colony tags	science
ID	fu_solararray

Unlocked by Improved Solar Cells (Electronics tree).

Solar Array is an improved Solar Panel.

Mechanics

Maximum power: 10W on normal planets (up to 20W is possible in highly unusual conditions).

While the Solar Array is in the world, it checks light level (number between 0 and 1) and the environment and adjusts its output every 10 seconds based on the following criteria:

• Solar Array doesn't produce any power during the night (even if the area seems well-lighted), when underground (where Survivor players can't beam up), when submerged (in liquid or gas) or if the light level is lower than 0.2.
• If the Solar Array is on a ship, player station, or in an asteroid belt orbiting a star, it always produces 8.75W of power regardless of light or day/night cycle.
• On regular planets it produces between 2.5W and 20W of power: 2.5W if 0.21 <= light < 0.54, 5W if 0.55 <= light < 0.64, 7.5W if 0.65 <= light < 0.74, 10W if 0.75 <= light < 0.84, and (10 * (1 + light))W if light >= 0.85. Light levels higher than 1 are considered to be 1.

  Note: maximum light level for brightest planets (Garden, Eden, etc.) is 0.78 during the day, so 10W is the maximum. Very few planets have variants with 0.86 light (only 1 out of 6 Frozen Moon planets, 1 out of 9 Proto Worlds, etc.).

• Background walls behind the Solar Array don't reduce the power directly, but they reduce the light level, and can bring it below the minimum 0.2.
• Artificial light (torches, etc.) doesn't provide power.

How to obtain

Power Station

2x Solar Panel 6x Titanium Bar 10x Gold Bar 4x Graphene 2x Advanced Processor

1x Solar Array

Used for

Power Station

270x Madness 1x Solar Array 2x Matter Converter 2x State-Phase Gel 4x Dark Matter

1x Nocturn Array

2x Solar Array 10x Zerchesium Bar 10x Quietus Bar 4x Molecular Nano-Fibre 4x Advanced Circuit

1x Solar Tower

Power sources
Low-tech (fuel)	Alternator Generator (=4W) · Combustion Generator (=12W) · Hydraulic Dynamo (5-21W, depending on fuel)
Low-tech (renewable)	Solar Panel (<=4W) · Solar Array (<=10W) · Solar Tower (<=24W) · Wind Turbine (<12W) · Weather Beacon (tool to check light/wind level)
Madness	Neuro-Psionic Generator (=60W) · Nocturn Array (<=10W, renewable)
Advanced	Fission Reactor (10-360W, depending on fuel, + has useful byproducts) · Small Fusion Reactor (15-360W, depending on fuel) · Large Fusion Reactor (35-600W, depending on fuel) · Quantum Reactor (60-620W, depending on fuel)
Precursor	Precursor Reactor (up to 1055W, noncraftable: can only be found)