⚡ Power and charging

Every running building draws energy from the store. Its panel lists what it uses, and hovering the energy in the top bar shows the colony's Income (what makes power) and Upkeep (what uses it), then the Net. The Core's reactor makes 2.5 per level from the start; Photon Collectors, Fusion and Ember Reactors make the rest.

• The colony grid is everything connected to the Core Reactor (or an Energy Accumulator): power lines, Utility Ways and buildings that touch each other carry power. Only the colony grid fills the energy store and draws from it.
• A collector on its own powers nothing: its energy is lost until a line reaches it. Placing a collector or Fusion Reactor lays the shortest line to the grid for you.
• Islands: collectors wired only to nearby buildings power just those buildings. Short, and they slow down; spare, and the rest is lost. They cannot draw from the store.
• No line, no work: a building that uses power stops without a connection; life support runs at a quarter on emergency cells. Every panel has a Power grid section and a button to lay the line; the energy hover shows what is lost off the grid.
• Heavy industry (Forge, Elixir Lab, Boson Foundry) draws about 40% of what a Collector of the same level makes; most buildings a quarter; storage nothing.
• Defences draw a little on standby and five times more in a raid. The Gluon Shield draws more while its dome recharges.
• Brownouts: with an empty store and more demand than supply, buildings slow down in order: life support first, then defences, charging, industry and research.
• Ore: the Forge and Refinery run at 80% on regolith and 160% while hauled Meteoric Iron or graphite lasts. Their panels show the ore pile.
• Power cells: every troop and ship carries them. Marching, fighting, missions and orbit battles drain them; below 20% a unit slows and weakens. Squads recharge near the Robot Foundry or a Charging Pylon, ships at the Hadron Hangar; it costs energy (Charging).
• Wear: each recharge wears cells a little. Replace them for alloy and graphene once you have a Boson Foundry. Research Fast Charging, Long-life Cells and Sealed Reactor Cores (big hulls carry their own reactor).