Solar panels

[Sterl500]

The problem with technical manuals is that they expect a certain understanding of the hardware and software from the reader. What you're thinking about are the "for Dummies" line of manuals and they're a lot less specific than what would be required to operate a photovoltaic system.

 

Maybe a "scientist" or "engineer" class/occupation? Someone who would be good in a party, but not necessarily on their own? That way they're a valuable commodity to long-term suvivors, perhaps increasing crop resilience, or better building HP...

[NATOguns]

I dont really see whats wrong with solar panels. Yeah IRL it would require advance tools and knowledge but so this is a videogame so there supposed to be some liberties taken with realisme. 

 

Also like it was further said solarpanels have variable power output. So maybe make a solarpanel less a replacement for a generator but more an extra. 

 

Example ''Look! Its sunny today, guess I wont have to run the generator today since my panels can handle it''.

 

''Ah bummer, its raining. Better start up the generator to keep my ice-cream solid.''

[LogicalKip]

Maybe a "scientist" or "engineer" class/occupation? Someone who would be good in a party

Scientists and engineers aren't generally very good at parties...

[Dudeman325]

Maybe a "scientist" or "engineer" class/occupation? Someone who would be good in a party

Scientists and engineers aren't generally very good at parties...

I disagree, scientists throw the best parties because they know all the good formulas for... punch. Yes, that's the ticket.

Did you pass the test?

[Magic Mark]

Well, Solar Panels have definitely been around long enough for finding them to be a possibility but for a backroads town in Kentucky I'm not so sure.

 

When the map gets expanded and some more 'progressive' cities come into play, maybe there would be a more realistic loot table for them to spawn in.

 

It would definitely take some effort to install them effectively, it shouldn't be locked to electricians but the manual to figure them out should be a findable and it should require some electrician skill to actually use.

[syfy]

just remember the year 1993, when the solar panels we had then were not quite as good as the ones we have now, or anywhere near as common on houses

[CaptKaspar]

Well, Solar Panels have definitely been around long enough for finding them to be a possibility but for a backroads town in Kentucky I'm not so sure.

 

When the map gets expanded and some more 'progressive' cities come into play, maybe there would be a more realistic loot table for them to spawn in.

 

It would definitely take some effort to install them effectively, it shouldn't be locked to electricians but the manual to figure them out should be a findable and it should require some electrician skill to actually use.

 

I'd argue that a backroads town in 1993 would more likely have solar panels.

 

In 1993 who had solar panels? Highway departments for powering road signs, remote scientific locations for powering monitoring equipment (atmospheric/seismic), possibly some remote industrial locations (logging/mining camp, but they are more likely to use a generator), and remote higher class homes. Maybe an isolated military location?

 

For those of us who were alive and old enough to remember 1993, you didn't see solar panels in cities, yet. Residential homes did not begin to adopt them until they became economically viable and government/commercial operations didn't use them until they were both economically viable and politically viable (global warming). Industry still hardly uses anything other than fossil fuels.

 

A state highway department staging area is your best bet in 1993

[King jjwpenguin]

 

Well, Solar Panels have definitely been around long enough for finding them to be a possibility but for a backroads town in Kentucky I'm not so sure.

 

When the map gets expanded and some more 'progressive' cities come into play, maybe there would be a more realistic loot table for them to spawn in.

 

It would definitely take some effort to install them effectively, it shouldn't be locked to electricians but the manual to figure them out should be a findable and it should require some electrician skill to actually use.

 

I'd argue that a backroads town in 1993 would more likely have solar panels.

 

In 1993 who had solar panels? Highway departments for powering road signs, remote scientific locations for powering monitoring equipment (atmospheric/seismic), possibly some remote industrial locations (logging/mining camp, but they are more likely to use a generator), and remote higher class homes. Maybe an isolated military location?

 

For those of us who were alive and old enough to remember 1993, you didn't see solar panels in cities, yet. Residential homes did not begin to adopt them until they became economically viable and government/commercial operations didn't use them until they were both economically viable and politically viable (global warming). Industry still hardly uses anything other than fossil fuels.

 

A state highway department staging area is your best bet in 1993

 

i feel that would be a bit out of the way to get to though. 

[CaptKaspar]

 

 

 

i feel that would be a bit out of the way to get to though. 

 

 

Agreed, and I don't think there is anywhere like that on the map.

 

Maybe some of the construction sites might have a panel or two. McCoy's?

 

Perhaps mobile road sign could be found at roads that are leaving the map? They could say 'road closed'. It would kind of go along with the lore of it being a quarantine. They put up the signs to tell people to turn away? Helps explain why you can't travel any further?

 

It would make them rare and quite a journey to go and get. Maybe not every road leaving town would still have its panels as if someone already pilfered them

 

Just an idea.

[Rathlord]

I'm pretty sure the old road sign solar panels only gathered a miniscule amount of electricity- very lower powered LED's for the most part. Probably would never even gather enough to run a fridge or a microwave afaik. Solar technology then was fairly poor, especially in non-specialized fields.

[Asrayl]

I'm pretty sure the old road sign solar panels only gathered a miniscule amount of electricity- very lower powered LED's for the most part. Probably would never even gather enough to run a fridge or a microwave afaik. Solar technology then was fairly poor, especially in non-specialized fields.

This is true, but this is also not without value. Even a minimal source of electricity is better than none. A few poor solar panels charging a battery, or battery bank could power a light, or a radio, for a few hours each day, or store power for emergencies. 

[King jjwpenguin]

 

I'm pretty sure the old road sign solar panels only gathered a miniscule amount of electricity- very lower powered LED's for the most part. Probably would never even gather enough to run a fridge or a microwave afaik. Solar technology then was fairly poor, especially in non-specialized fields.

This is true, but this is also not without value. Even a minimal source of electricity is better than none. A few poor solar panels charging a battery, or battery bank could power a light, or a radio, for a few hours each day, or store power for emergencies. 

 

a battery box would need to be added to make it any what useful.

[Asrayl]

 

 

I'm pretty sure the old road sign solar panels only gathered a miniscule amount of electricity- very lower powered LED's for the most part. Probably would never even gather enough to run a fridge or a microwave afaik. Solar technology then was fairly poor, especially in non-specialized fields.

This is true, but this is also not without value. Even a minimal source of electricity is better than none. A few poor solar panels charging a battery, or battery bank could power a light, or a radio, for a few hours each day, or store power for emergencies. 

 

a battery box would need to be added to make it any what useful.

 

... You could realistically charge a car battery with them, and run things off of 12 volt. It would be slow, yes. But not impossible. 

[Rathlord]

... You could realistically charge a car battery with them, and run things off of 12 volt. It would be slow, yes. But not impossible.

 

Source?

 

There's several practical challenges here. What volt/amp power is it producing? Is that compatible with a car battery (highly unlikely). Is that compatible with a house appliance/socket (almost impossible)? Is it AC or DC? Do you have a converter handy?

 

People think electronics is so simple. I've wired a house. It's not.

[Rathlord]

And just for some citations: http://www.seia.org/research-resources/solar-industry-data

 

It only goes back to '05, where our national solar output is approximately zero. In 1993 I feel fairly safe to say solar power is not prevalent enough to be found in a backwater Kentucky town.

[Asrayl]

 

... You could realistically charge a car battery with them, and run things off of 12 volt. It would be slow, yes. But not impossible.

 

Source?

 

There's several practical challenges here. What volt/amp power is it producing? Is that compatible with a car battery (highly unlikely). Is that compatible with a house appliance/socket (almost impossible)? Is it AC or DC? Do you have a converter handy?

 

People think electronics is so simple. I've wired a house. It's not.

 

In this particular case, it's actually relatively simple. Wiring the solar panels in a serial will increase the voltage (though not the amperage) while wiring the solar panels in a parallel will increase the amperage, but not the voltage. 

 

Now, the voltage is the sticky wicket, you can't just toss a 12v down with a 6v and expect things to be kosher, But if you had a second 6v, you could connect the two sixes in serial to match the 12 and connect those in parallel to up the amperage. It loses some efficiency, but in the end of the world, we'll have to play what cards we can get. 

 

Now, while you could rig that up to a car battery directly [Obviously, kids don't try this at home. You throw too much juice into a lead acid car battery and nothing good will come of it, I swear it.], a long-term strategy would involve obtaining a charge controller. [You could find something like this at a good RV supply store.] It would need to meet the wattage output (Wattage = Amperage multiplied by voltage. Thus, if you had a 20 amp 12 volt system it would be 20x12 or 240 watts.) 

 

Finally, you need either to find electronics designed for a 12 volt system, [A good RV supply store will have some basic items, coffee makers, lights, radios, that sort of thing. A cheap RV store should at least have lights and radios.]  or if you want to use the household coffee maker, you need to get ahold of an inverter. Generally speaking they come in two flavors. 600 watt and 400 watt. Power-heavy electronics wouldn't do well with a 400 watt inverter. But for small things, like radios, floor lamps and such? No big deal. 

 

Since I tossed down the rv supply store, I think I'll add in "Deep Cycle Batteries" to my holiday zombie wishlist. Car batteries are -not- a long-term solution. 

 

 

 

Rath? Your move.  [Edited to add; I'm trying to be playful. I recognize that electronics are serious business, but the game is [or seems to be] moving in this [or rather, -a pro electronics-] direction, and things like this are the kind of things that average people know how to do. Anyone who's lived in a trailer park probably has at least a little experience with 12 volt systems and their peccadilloes. Those who are merely passing through probably picked up a pamphlet or two about their vacation RVs.]

[Asrayl]

And just for some citations: http://www.seia.org/research-resources/solar-industry-data

 

It only goes back to '05, where our national solar output is approximately zero. In 1993 I feel fairly safe to say solar power is not prevalent enough to be found in a backwater Kentucky town.

-This- on the other hand, I can do nothing about. It's a fair point and has nothing to do with the feasibility of someone having the raw knowhow to put it together. 

[Rathlord]

Like I said, I don't have too many qualms about an electrician being able to do this stuff. Having worked at a store that sold RV stuff for a while, I'm not convinced that people are capable of that kind of stuff in general. Working in the construction industry (retail-side) has shown me just how uneducated people really are.

 

On the flip side of things, currently in-game pretty much everything is available to everyone pretty quickly; my biggest fear is that something like this would be added and given to everyone. I'm strongly against making PZ a game where people have access to a wide range of skills. I'm quite a fan of the "everyman" surviving the apocalypse, so when the skills get too broad and people have too much access I get a bit antsy, which is a big part of why I'm not a fan of this.

[Magic Mark]

 

 

... You could realistically charge a car battery with them, and run things off of 12 volt. It would be slow, yes. But not impossible.

 

Source?

 

In this particular case, it's actually relatively simple. 

I think this post made the touchdown for me.

 

 

 

I'd like to re-open this discussion on the point of having multiple panels.

 

Sure, one of them can't power your base, but that point is about as flawed as 'whats the point in farming when you are not able to live off of one planted crop'.

 

Now, a whole bunch of them, on a roof top.

 

That one guy who said the Highway LEDs powered by the Solar Panels brought a good point, those definitely exist.

 

Well, with a whole bunch of effort and time ingame, maybe you could collect a lot of them and then maybe you have a reliable power source, that works in sunlight and requires further effort to store power for the night.

 

It's a feasible idea, but it shouldn't be easy to obtain. As it is my 'best character' doesn't have electricity skill at all as I don't need it.

 

Like any skill it should require time and effort to improve which is why I think once the balance is figured out, maybe this idea can get some light on it.

 

Edit: In general I'm really hopeful for this idea, as it's a great one to consider. If multiple sources of power other than a gas generator are going to be explored, this should definitely be on that list, as it was definitely a thing in the 90s. Sure, it shouldn't make everything easy, but I feel like it won't. It will make the Electrician skill a lot more useful and valuable to multiplayer. Think about the group roles and how they could grow out of it.

[Asrayl]

 

 

 

... You could realistically charge a car battery with them, and run things off of 12 volt. It would be slow, yes. But not impossible.

 

Source?

 

In this particular case, it's actually relatively simple. 

I think this post made the touchdown for me.

 

 

 

I'd like to re-open this discussion on the point of having multiple panels.

 

Sure, one of them can't power your base, but that point is about as flawed as 'whats the point in farming when you are not able to live off of one planted crop'.

 

Now, a whole bunch of them, on a roof top.

 

That one guy who said the Highway LEDs powered by the Solar Panels brought a good point, those definitely exist.

 

Well, with a whole bunch of effort and time ingame, maybe you could collect a lot of them and then maybe you have a reliable power source, that works in sunlight and requires further effort to store power for the night.

 

It's a feasible idea, but it shouldn't be easy to obtain. As it is my 'best character' doesn't have electricity skill at all as I don't need it.

 

Like any skill it should require time and effort to improve which is why I think once the balance is figured out, maybe this idea can get some light on it.

 

Edit: In general I'm really hopeful for this idea, as it's a great one to consider. If multiple sources of power other than a gas generator are going to be explored, this should definitely be on that list, as it was definitely a thing in the 90s. Sure, it shouldn't make everything easy, but I feel like it won't. It will make the Electrician skill a lot more useful and valuable to multiplayer. Think about the group roles and how they could grow out of it.

 

Glad I could help. I'm in agreement on a few points. Small things requiring specialized knowledge to make into something really useful, and taking risks/getting quite lucky in gathering enough of them to be useful. They'd become pretty hefty bargaining material if they were made scarce, and losing them would hurt about as bad as losing an arm. 

 

I'd love to see it happen. I believe it could be made to mesh with the overall theme, and contribute a lot to the gameplay, especially in the "team survival" sense.