Make ground mounted solar panels more efficient

[ehughsbaird]

Summary

Balance "Improve efficiency of non-vehicle solar panels"

Purpose of change

Fixes #68526

It seems that vehicle tiles are smaller than the ~1mx1m size that tiles otherwise are

Cataclysm-DDA/src/vehicle.cpp

Lines 4014 to 4023 in 11a2c1e

	static double tile_to_width( int tiles )
	{
	if( tiles < 1 ) {
	return 0.1;
	} else if( tiles < 6 ) {
	return 0.5 + 0.4 * tiles;
	} else {
	return 2.5 + 0.15 * ( tiles - 5 );
	}
	}

Because solar panel production values are oriented around vehicles, this makes appliance solar panels less efficient than they should be.

Describe the solution

Add larger solar panels for use as appliances, constituted of 4 of the smaller vehicle-mounted solar panels.

Describe alternatives you've considered

Also add the reinforced versions, but I don't really see much point in reinforcing static solar panels.

Testing

Spawn in

• 5x Solar Panel
• 1x Solar Panel Array
• 40x Copper Wire
• 5x Advanced Solar Panel
• 1x Advanced Solar Panel Array

Solar panels and small solar panels can be mounted

Solar panel arrays can be disassembled into smaller solar panels

And crafted from smaller panels

Generation of smaller versions

Is 1/4 that of larger versions

Additional context

There seems to have been a lot of discussion on this. This change seems in line with the discussion on the linked issue.

[Nebnis]

I assume the solar farms would have the bigger versions too?

[ehughsbaird]

This PR modifies f_solar_unit, yes.

Cataclysm-DDA/data/json/mapgen/solar_farm.json

Line 46 in 11a2c1e

"furniture": { "#": "f_solar_unit" }

[Alm999]

Nice! (Kevin will probably furious)

But there seem to be a naming mismatch:
solar panel (item) -> "small solar panel" (appliance)
solar panel array (item) -> "solar panel" (appliance)

Oh, and foldable solar panels were not changed, so they are still garbage (x0.68 output for no reason).

[ehughsbaird]

I don't love the naming, but didn't want to shake things up by changing a bunch of names. Maybe I should have.

I don't really know anything about folding solar panels - I don't see a reason to give them the treatment received here, because folding doesn't make sense for an appliance.

[Alm999]

No, folding solar panels obviously are not intended to be used as appliances.
But with things in their current state they are pretty useless because:

1. they can not be used as-is and must be installed into a foldable frame (why use them when you can just place basic panel as appliance?);
2. they have even more weight than an ordinary panel, are made from ordinary solar panels (that can be reclaimed upon disassembly) and have the same area, but! for some reason produce only 2/3 of an ordinary solar panel's power.

Overall, foldable solar panels are garbage without their applications. Slightly less so now, that the weight was adjusted to reasonable values (meager 36W maximum at noon in summer with "sunny" weather for 14.5kg was just ridiculous).

[ehughsbaird]

Oh, they can be crafted? I thought they were an entirely different type of panel, not just a normal panel modified to fold. I might give a look at them.

[Alm999]

Fun fact: they can only be crafted. I doubt they spawn naturally anywhere. Yet, when I tried to fix them in #66478, I was given an explanation for the state of things as "Quick google shows collapsible panels average efficiency of 7%-15%. Non foldable 15-22%."

Apparently, Maleclypse compared large industrial rooftop solar panels to some pocket-sized foldable "smartphone-charger" gadgets (and even then, my google-fu could not fetch me anything with performance below 20%), which is clearly not the way foldable solar panels are made in-game.

[Maleclypse]

Fun fact: they can only be crafted. I doubt they spawn naturally anywhere. Yet, when I tried to fix them in #66478, I was given an explanation for the state of things as "Quick google shows collapsible panels average efficiency of 7%-15%. Non foldable 15-22%."

Apparently, Maleclypse compared large industrial rooftop solar panels to some pocket-sized foldable "smartphone-charger" gadgets (and even then, my google-fu could not fetch me anything with performance below 20%), which is clearly not the way foldable solar panels are made in-game.

Are you pinging me because you want me to google for you since again my google search for "efficiency of foldable solar panels" still pulled multiple references to below 20% on the first page or are you wanting me to comment that foldable solar panels probably shouldn't be craftable and should be salvage only?

[Alm999]

@Maleclypse
I've pulled you because:

1. our previous conversation is not over, as I indeed requested sources you've used but you never replied (I have provided mine);
2. I feel present conversation is relevant and since you've participated in the our previous re-balance attempt, I thought you would be interested;
3. I don't want to make an impression that I'm blackmailing you and trying to push my vision behind your back.

So yes, I'm still interested in your sources and explanation why exactly the same solar panel, after being installed into a foldable frame (and gaining weight in the process) can lose one third of its power output.

I shall remind that in-game "foldable" solar panels are not pocket-sized gadgets from AliExpress, but ordinary solar panels disassembled by (player's) hand and put into frame, so one can not justify sudden loss of efficiency by "inferior cells" and power loss in additional wiring can not be that high.

[ehughsbaird]

I think this discussion would probably go better in a different place.

[Alm999]

Done #68642