Welcome, Survivor! (A Simple Guide to Power)

In the aftermath of the Cataclysm, the hum of electricity is the sound of hope. Power means light in the darkness, a working fridge for your precious supplies, a charged-up laser rifle for defense, or the comforting warmth of an electric forge. Batteries are the lifeblood of your revived civilization, but as any seasoned survivor knows, they have a frustrating habit of slowly dying, even when they're just sitting on a shelf. This slow, silent drain is like a tiny leak in your most important bucket. You might come back to your base after a week-long raid only to find that the car battery you were counting on for your deathmobile is now just a heavy hunk of metal.

This calculator is your personal power grid expert, designed to banish the uncertainty of battery drain forever. It uses the game's exact formulas to tell you precisely how long a fully charged battery will last on the shelf. More importantly, it helps you understand the single most powerful tool you have for preserving power: your own knowledge. You'll see exactly how leveling up your character's Electrical skill dramatically slows down this decay, turning your fleeting power reserves into a reliable, long-term asset. It's all about giving you the data you need to make smart decisions, so you can stop worrying about your batteries and start focusing on rebuilding the world.

How to Use This Power Planner

Forecasting your power reserves is simple:

1. Select the Battery Type: Use the dropdown menu to choose the kind of battery you want to check (e.g., Car Battery, Storage Battery).
2. Set Your Electrical Skill: Drag the slider to match your survivor's current Electrical skill level. You'll see the results update instantly.
3. Read the Forecast: The "Estimated Shelf Life" shows you exactly how many in-game days it will take for a fully charged battery to drain while sitting on a shelf.
4. Save and Share: Your skill level is saved in your browser for next time. Use the "Copy Share Link" button to create a URL that saves your current setup to share with others!

A Survivor's Guide to a Brighter Future

• Knowledge is Power (Literally): As you can see from the calculator, your Electrical skill is the number one factor in preserving your batteries. Every level you gain drastically reduces the passive drain, making your stored power last much longer. Reading those "Electronics for Dummies" books you find is one of the best investments you can make for your long-term survival.
• Go Big or Go Home: When it comes to long-term storage, bigger is always better. A single, large Storage Battery (20,000 kJ) will hold its charge for a vastly longer time than one hundred Light Batteries (200 kJ each), even though they hold the same total amount of power. This is because the small, flat daily decay is a much smaller percentage of the total capacity. Your goal should always be to consolidate your power into the largest batteries you can find or craft.
• The Answer is a Charging Station: The only permanent solution to battery drain is to generate more power than you lose. A sustainable base is one with a renewable charging source. A few solar panels on the roof of your vehicle or a wind turbine next to your base, all connected to a battery bank, can keep your storage batteries topped off forever. This is the true endgame of power management.
• The Pocket Powerhouse (UPS): Don't underestimate the Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS). When you find one, modify it to accept a storage battery. This allows you to carry a massive 20,000 kJ power reserve on your person to run power-hungry tools like the arc welder or electric jackhammer, without having to worry about the constant drain of dozens of smaller batteries in your inventory.