Vanometric power cell

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Vanometric power cell

Vanometric power cell

Generates free energy, forever, without using fuel. This technology is developed by archotechs, and is beyond even most glitterworld societies. While nobody knows exactly how it works, scholars believe it somehow extracts energy directly from fluctuations in the quantum foam.

Base Stats

Type
Building
Market Value
1200 Silver
Mass
15 kg
HP
200
Flammability
0%
Path Cost
42

Building

Size
1 × 2
Minifiable
True
Placeable
False
Passability
pass through only
Cover Effectiveness
40%
Power
1000 W
Light Radius
1.76

Creation

Deconstruct yield
Steel 50 + Advanced component 3
Destroy yield
nothing
Technical
thingCategories
BuildingsSpecial
tradeTags
ExoticBuilding


The vanometric power cell is a World quest reward power generator that constantly provides 1000W for free and can be installed anywhere.

Acquisition

Vanometric power cells cannot be constructed nor bought from traders. Instead they can only be acquired as a reward for performing quests. Note that quest rewards are selected with a weighted random generator, so there is no way to guarantee access to any vanometric power cells in a given play-through.

Anecdotally, it is often reported that the increased number of reward options added by the DLC dilute the reward pool with more options.

Summary

Vanometric power cells provide a constant 1,000W of power without requiring refueling of any kind, or requiring any particular terrain or weather. They can also be freely uninstalled and reinstalled. Solar flares and EMI dynamos disable all electric devices, which prevents the vanometric power cell from functioning.

For comparison, a battery discharging at 1000 W would deplete in roughly 14.4 in-game hours or 36,000 ticks (10 mins).

Analysis

The vanometric power cell is free power, which is almost always useful. It's also portable and 100% reliable. You can use this item to power:

  • High-priority equipment (such as base defenses or climate control) in case other power sources fail.
  • "Off-grid" equipment, such as deep drills, without needing conduits.
  • Turrets and other supplies when loaded into a caravan or transport pod.

They can also be used for general power usage, as a hassle-free chemfuel generator / battery. Conversely, note that chemfuel generators and batteries can largely replace the function of the vanometric cell. The cell has the advantage of not taking colonist work to fuel, and its components will never breakdown.

In the endgame, you can build ship reactors for the same 1000 W of power as the vanometric cell, with the same amount of consistency. The ship reactor costs Steel 350 Steel, Plasteel 280 Plasteel, Uranium 70 Uranium, Advanced component 8 Advanced components. Note that the reactor also takes up much more space, cannot be moved, and cannot be placed over mountain.

Version history

  • 0.18.1722 - added.
  • Beta 19 - The power output was buffed from 500W to 1000W