Battery

Battery is an electrical storage building that lets power produced by generators be saved for later use. It sits on a power grid and fills when generation exceeds consumption, then discharges when the colony needs more power than its generators are currently supplying.

Like other power storage buildings, a Battery is not just a passive container for electricity. Stored power decays over time at a rate of 1 kJ per cycle, whether or not the battery is actively working. In addition, if the power grid contains a generator or consumer device, and the Battery can function normally, it also emits 1.25 kcal/s of heat while that stored power is leaking away. If the Battery is buried or otherwise unable to operate properly, this heat production does not occur. The same general behavior applies to the other battery types as well, though their values differ.

The battery’s display on the power overlay reflects the grid’s current balance. When power generation is greater than power use, the number above the power port and the fill color of the battery readout appear white, matching consumer coloration. When power use is greater than generation, the readout turns green, matching generator coloration. This makes it easy to see at a glance whether a grid is producing surplus power or drawing from storage.

Practical implications:

• Batteries are most useful for smoothing out power demand, letting generators run during favorable periods and covering spikes in consumption later.
• Because stored power decays continuously, Batteries are not ideal for long-term energy banking. Excess generation is better handled by using the power soon after it is created.
• The constant heat output while power is leaking means a battery room can become a small but persistent heat source.
• Since the heat effect depends on the battery functioning normally, burying or otherwise disabling the building changes that behavior.

In practice, Batteries work best as part of a balanced power network rather than as a permanent reservoir. They help avoid blackouts when demand rises unexpectedly, but they also impose a small efficiency loss through decay and can add unwanted heat to a base if many are kept charged.