Shelter/Power
Power is an essential element to surviving in your shelter. This is because power allows the shelter to power vital shelter facilities, as well as various objects. There are many methods to generating power in your shelter, from burning coal and animal fat in the incinerator, to harvesting lightning strikes with the lightning rod, and storing its energy in battery banks. Any source of power will do when it comes to survival.
Sources of Power
There are many power sources to build and power your shelter with.
Generators
Generators are the most basic power sources you can build. Generators come in two varieties, the generator and the industrial generator. These generators produce 8 KWh and 16 KWh of power, respectively. Generators require petrol to keep running, which can be a bit of an issue when you're low on petrol.
A good way to save petrol for generators is to not use vehicles, as they require petrol in order to be used to explore the world.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| The Generator is pretty easy to build. | The Industrial Generator is very expensive to build., and requires its blueprint. |
| Both generators give fairly large amounts of power. | Requires both petrol and maintenance. |
Incinerators
Another power source is the incinerator. Incinerators only require a Tier 1 workbench and are fairly cheap to build. The best fuel sources for the incinerator are coal and fertilizer, as they both give 100 fuel. Animal fat and wood also serve as robust fuel sources. Tools give 20 fuel each, but it isn't recommended to burn them.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Only requires a tier 1 Workbench. | Best fuel sources are either rare or necessary for other things. |
| It is very easy to build. | Eventually becomes outclassed by wind turbines and solar panels. |
| It has many burn-able items, which it can turn into fuel. | N/A |
Lightning Rods
The lightning rod is the least reliable source of power in the game, as it requires both lightning strikes and battery banks just to store power. Plus, it is a Tier 3 object, but at least it doesn't require much resources to build. Even then, thunderstorms are quite rare, so you will get less value from lightning rods than wind turbines or generators.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| It is fairly easy to build, at least compared to solar panels. | Requires battery banks to store harvested power. |
| N/A | Completely outclassed, by even incinerators. |
| N/A | Requires a Tier 3 Workbench. |
| N/A | Requires lightning strikes, which are very rare. |
Wind Turbines
The wind turbine uses wind form sandstorms to generate energy. When a sandstorm occurs, the wind turbine will start to spin, thus creating power. The amount of power it generates depends on the size of the sandstorm. The heavier the sandstorm, the more power it can generate. It generates a max output of 8 KWh. The wind turbine can be considered better than the lightning rod, as it's cheaper to craft, it requires a lower tier workbench, and it doesn't require any prerequisite objects to generate power. However, it still requires maintenance in order to stay standing and generate power.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Very easy to build, as it only requires ★ items. | Requires dust storms to generate power. |
| Only requires a Tier 2 Workbench. | Highly dependent on the intensity of dust storms. |
| N/A | Requires occasional maintenance. |
Solar Panels
The solar panel generates light energy from the Sun and converts it into usable power. However, it isn't as good as the solar panel from the first Sheltered game, as the amount of energy it generates depends on "light levels" from the Sun. Plus, it needs to be cleaned regularly. Solar panels aren't as expensive as the industrial generator, though, and generate a max power output of 12 KWh. This can serve as a better power source than even the industrial generator, as its max power output of 12 KWh rivals the industrial generator's power output of 16 KWh. Plus it's cheaper to build and doesn't require petrol, though it does require cleaning.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Can generate up to 12 KWh of power. | Very expensive to build, as it requires ★★★ items. |
| While it does require sunlight, it can generate tons of power a day. | Requires a Tier 4 Workbench. Also requires its blueprint to unlock. |
| Rain automatically cleans solar panels. | Requires cleaning, when it's not raining. |
Using Power
Once your shelter has power, there are many ways to use it. The most vital of which is to power shelter facilities. Shelter facilities are important to generating oxygen, filtering water, and getting to take a look at incoming weather. If you run out of power, the facilities will shut down, thus being unable to operate unless more power is collected.
Another use of power is to power objects. Many objects require power in order to work, the most vital of which is heating and cooling. Without heating or cooling, you can't regulate the shelter's temperatures or preserve food for spoiling. There are many other uses for power beyond those two.
The Fusebox
The fusebox allows you to select which objects and facilities should be on or off. When you disable a facility or object, it will no longer use power, but it will no longer function and/or be usable. When you re-enable the facility or object, it will be usable again and start using power again.
It is particularly good to save power by disabling objects that don't need to be on all the time, such as the weather vane.
Battery Banks
Battery banks are build-able objects used to store excess power generated in the shelter. Battery banks come in two varieties, the battery bank and the quantum battery. Both require their blueprints before they can be built. However, the quantum battery can store much more power, with the cost of being much more expensive to build.
| Name | Icon | Power Draw | Max Power Stored |
|---|---|---|---|
| Battery Bank | 
|
15 KWh | 3,000 KWh |
| Quantum Battery | 
|
20 KWh | 10,000 KWh |