📊 Generator Comparison — All Six Sources at a Glance

RimWorld has six power sources, each with specific use cases. Picking the wrong combination = winter blackout = freezer thaw = colony wipe.

🌋 Geothermal — The Ultimate Power Source

Geothermal is RimWorld's perfect power source: 3,600W constant output, immune to weather/day/night/seasons, no batteries, no fuel.

• Requirements: Geothermal research + 400 steel + 8 components. Must be built on a steam geyser
• One is enough: A single geothermal generator (3,600W) can power an entire early-to-mid game colony. Two will carry you to endgame
• Defend it: Raiders actively target geothermal generators. Wall them in with double-thick stone walls, or expand your base to encompass nearby geysers
• Location is the only limit: Steam geysers are finite and randomly placed. If a geyser is far away, run a long conduit—but bury it in stone walls for fire protection
• Research priority: Geothermal research is P1 priority—right after Microelectronics and Flak Armor. Research it early and enjoy permanent power

⛽ Chemfuel Generators — The Best Fuel Option

1,000W constant output, consumes 4.5 chemfuel/day. The real question is: where does the chemfuel come from?

Key insight: For the same 1,000W output—a chemfuel generator burns 9 wood/day (after refining), while a wood-fired generator burns 22 wood/day (direct burn). Chemfuel is 2.4× more efficient than wood-fired. Unless you're a tribal start without refining tech, always use chemfuel, never burn wood directly.

💨☀️ Wind + Solar — The Early-Game Combo

Wind and solar are free power sources available from day one, but both are unreliable—combining them compensates for each other's weaknesses.

• Complementary profiles: Calm sunny days = solar carries the load. Stormy nights = wind picks up. The probability of both failing simultaneously is far lower than either alone
• Space trick: Solar panels can be placed inside wind turbine clearance zones—they don't count as obstacles. This lets you stack them perfectly
• Batteries required: Unstable sources need batteries. Aim for 1-2 batteries per 2-3 wind turbines to last through a calm night
• Solar weather penalties: Rain/snow reduces solar output by 50-80%. Winter daylight drops to 6-8 hours. Pure solar WILL fail in winter
• Eclipses: Solar panels produce nothing. You'll rely entirely on wind or batteries to survive

🔋 Batteries — Capacity, Strategy & Protection

• Capacity: Each battery stores 600 Wd (watt-days). Simple math: one battery can power a 60W lamp for 10 days
• Only 50% charging efficiency: You need 1,200W of surplus to fill one 600 Wd battery—half the energy is lost as heat
• Use as few as possible: Fewer batteries = less stored power = smaller Zzzzt explosions. With geothermal and chemfuel, you can run zero batteries
• Backup battery bank: Build 3 batteries behind a switch—charge them fully, then disconnect. They sit isolated from the grid, immune to Zzzzt. Flip the switch only in emergencies
• Uninstall charged batteries: Fully charged batteries can be minified (uninstalled) and stored as items—immune to Zzzzt. Reinstall in emergencies. They do slowly self-discharge at 5 Wd
• Keep indoors: Batteries exposed to rain will explode. Always place them under a roof or indoors

💥 Short Circuits (Zzzzt Event) — Mechanics & Prevention

The Zzzzt event is RimWorld's most common electrical disaster: a random conduit shorts out, detonating all stored battery power on that network. Blast radius scales with total stored charge.

How Zzzzt works:

• Conduits trigger it, not batteries. Any conduit network with stored battery power can randomly short. This cannot be fully prevented in vanilla
• Explosion size = total stored power on that network. This is why "minimize batteries" is the ultimate solution
• All batteries drain to zero. After the explosion, every battery on the affected grid is empty—so you get explosion + colony-wide blackout simultaneously

Six prevention strategies (by importance):

1. Minimize batteries. Use geothermal and chemfuel. Zero batteries = zero Zzzzt risk
2. Split your grid. Use switches to divide the grid into isolated segments. One segment blowing doesn't affect others
3. Isolate backup batteries behind switches. Keep them disconnected from the main grid at all times
4. Run conduits through stone walls. Stone doesn't burn and can contain small-to-medium explosions. Never run conduits near wood walls, chemfuel stockpiles, or explosives
5. Avoid long exposed conduit runs. Don't leave conduits exposed next to flammable or explosive materials
6. Minify charged batteries. Store them as items for emergencies—they're immune to Zzzzt in item form

🔌 Grid Design Best Practices

• Distribute generation: Don't cluster all generators in one corner—one raid can knock out your entire colony's power. Spread generators out and interconnect them with switches
• Redundant wiring: Run conduits in a grid pattern, not a single line—a single broken conduit shouldn't isolate half your base
• Dedicated circuits for critical equipment: Freezer coolers and sun lamps should each have their own battery + switch, isolated from the main grid. Main grid Zzzzt won't touch your freezer
• Sun lamp trick: Connect 2 solar panels directly to 1 sun lamp with NO batteries—the lamp only runs during the day, the panels only generate during the day. Natural synchronization, zero Zzzzt risk
• Appliances must be indoors: Batteries, workbenches, smelters, and crematoriums must be under a roof. Rain = short circuit = explosion
• Fuel generators go outdoors: Wood-fired and chemfuel generators produce heat while running. Placing them indoors can cause overheating
• Label your switches: Rename switches clearly—"Freezer Backup", "Main Grid - Barracks", "Defense Turrets"—so you don't flip the wrong one in an emergency

📈 Power Progression Roadmap

❌ Common Power Mistakes

1. Building dozens of batteries: One Zzzzt can level half your base. More batteries = more danger. Work toward zero-battery operation
2. Pure solar in winter: Winter daylight is only 6 hours—solar alone cannot sustain a colony. Always have wind or fueled generators for winter backup
3. Batteries in the rain: Battery explosion → chain reaction → total grid failure. All electrical equipment goes indoors
4. Conduits near fuel stockpiles: Short circuit → ignites chemfuel → chain explosions. Run conduits through stone walls whenever possible
5. All generators in one spot: One raid = total power loss. Distribute generation and interconnect with switches
6. Ignoring geothermal research: Geothermal is the strongest power source in the game, yet many new players delay researching it. Make it P1 priority
7. Forgetting the refinery's 170W draw: Refining chemfuel consumes power itself. Subtract 170W from your net gain when calculating efficiency