Solar Panel


 * "Electricity from the sun."

A Solar Panel is a crafting surface that is used to generate electricity for other crafting surfaces to use.

Where Found
Making a solar panel requires using a workbench (of level 4) to craft together 1 steel block, 3 silicon wafers and 10 copper wires.

Use
There is no crafting possible with just a solar panel. Instead, it efficiently converts light into electricity. Tapping on a solar panel will display a menu to remove it or show a "generation rate" scale which indicates how quickly it's working. The white/blue bar on the left side of the solar panel also shows how much energy is being created. The more blue bars, the more energy is being created.

A solar panel will generate electricity whenever there's enough light (preferably from the sun) striking it while no other block or bench is on top or above it. Glass will allow light through, but will block a solar panel's operation if there is no air gap between them. Artificial light sources such as lanterns and chandeliers allow only low levels of power generation, even if massed.

Any electrically connected crafting surface trying to draw power can use the current generated, but it's most practical to connect with a flywheel and store it for release at a higher rate. Multiple solar panels may be connected to one flywheel in order to increase electric productivity if needed. When no other crafting surface is drawing power, a solar panel will accumulate any generated electricity and release it once there is a demand. It doesn't store much, though.

A single solar panel generating for an entire cloudless day will fill approximately 5% of a flywheel's capacity.

Fuel
A solar panel does not require any of the usual fuels, instead it must be exposed to light from the sun. Artificial lights like lamps and chandeliers have minimal effect on the energy generation of solar panels. Heat and light from magma do not generate any electricity for the solar panel.