Power

Power is, along with Oxygen, one of an Astroneer's vital resources. A steady supply of power is necessary to drive Vehicles, operate various items, and utilize the Terrain Tool while it has augments installed.

Throughout the game, power is represented by a bright yellow color.

Unit of Measurement

 * Power can be stored in Batteries, the capacity of which is visually represented by bright yellow cylinders called columns. Each of these columns can in turn be divided into stacked segments called bars.
 * Energy ("power storage") is measured in Units (abbreviated as "U"), whereas the flow of power is measured in U/s (Units per second). One Small Battery, for example, can charge/discharge up to exactly 1U/s, which reads as 1.00 in a Splitter.
 * All machines have specific input and output values, which are typically round numbers. Most machines operate at a reduced speed when given less power than requested.
 * It takes precisely one second to deplete a single Unit of energy at a rate of 1U/s.
 * Platforms, cables, and extenders do not appear to have any significant throughput limit.

Example Size Measurement

 * 1 Medium Battery = 512 Units; Each of its 16 columns hold 32 Units; each column is equal in storage to 8 visible bars on a Small Battery.
 * 1 Small Battery = 32 Units; Each visible bar holds 4 Units.
 * 1 Power Cells = 48 Units.

Generating
The most common and consistent method of acquiring power is by generating it. Power can be generated by Solar Panels exposed to natural light, Wind Turbines exposed to windy weather, generators fueled with Resources, or an RTG. Attaching one of these power sources to an object capable of using power will automatically stream power to it, allowing it to run. If the power generated exceeds the amount of power consumed by producers of power, excess power will flow to any networked batteries in need of charging. (See more below)

Crafting
Once an Astroneer has researched Power Cells, they can be created using the backpack's 3D printer. Once depleted, Power Cells evaporate automatically. Power cells are created fully charged instantly and are helpful in use with small vehicles as a space-efficient automatic power source that is mobile and requires no generator.

List of Power Producers
The following table lists all available power sources and the rate at which they produce power. Note that new power plants were added in Patch 1.19 (March 31, 2021) and power output of all old power plants was changed (increased).

Storing Power
† This refers only to charging speed. The backpack cannot transfer power outwardly, nor can small batteries in the player′s inventory.

Using Power
Power is used, or consumed, in various ways. The current ways that power is used are:


 * Crafting via the player's Backpack or Printers
 * Operations of base Modules
 * Driving Vehicles
 * Using the Terrain Tool when Augments are installed on it
 * Charging Gateway Chambers
 * Charging or powering EXO Dynamics Research Aids

Modules
Modules that require power only consume it while they are running. When idle they consume no power, but still require to be hooked up to a source of power before the player can activate them. Modules have a consumption of power needed to run at full speed, if the power produced is less than what is consumed, the module will run slower than normal. If no power is being fed to them, they will completely cease all function and will not resume until power is restored.

List of Power Consumers
The following is a table of power consumers and the rate at which they consume power to run at maximum speed.

Each Gateway Chamber also requires sustained charging over a period of 30 seconds.

Power Cables and Networks
As an Astroneer adds base modules connecting to their initial Shelter, the flat cabling that connects them creates a network, across which power can flow. How this power flows depends on which type of cable the connections are made of.

Currently the two types of cables are:
 * Network cables are long flat cables that light up yellow to indicate how much power is flowing through it. Their coloring changes in width according to the proportion of power being produced versus power being demanded. In situations where both supply and demand are zero, cables will go entirely dark. If supply is zero and demand is non-zero, network cables will flash red.
 * Directional cables have yellow chevrons running along their length in the direction power is flowing. Relative chevron width is determined by the amount of current passing through. They can be used to separate one network from another, since they only allow power to flow through them in one direction. If there isn't enough power to meet all demand in the host network behind the chevrons, the cable will power down temporarily and stop sending power. Directional cables are made when connecting cables via other means than standard platforms, such as with Extenders, Splitters, or Vehicles.

Power Networks
Network cables are created by directly connecting Platforms to each other or to the Habitat. When connected with network cables, they share the same power network, meaning any power produced, stored, or brought in via directional cables is evenly split among any and all consumers of power within that network.

In addition to power, Power cables also carry Oxygen to other platforms.

Tethers do not carry power except in one specific way: They can feed an Astroneer's backpack, with no distance limit. Theoretically, one can craft a Small Battery, charge it with the Tethers, and place the battery onto a platform, but this is more resource consuming.

Power Gauges
All cables display their current available energy compared to the amount of energy being demanded on both internal network cables and side power gauges located on every port on every type of platform.

A gauge starts out fully dark, and will fill up depending on the current production and demand. The lower half is reserved for the current demand on the network, and the upper half is reserved for any excess you are producing. As seen below in the images, red in the lower half indicates you are not currently producing enough, with the yellow bar indicating by how much.

These Unit sums are just for example; you can multiply them and the gauges will read the same results.

Trivia
Before 1.0, Power nuggets used to be able to be harvested like other resources, commonly found around the previously yellow Popcoral.

Energie Poder Énergie 電源 电力