Running at 99 or 100% power

[Longshanks]

Is there a reason not to run at 99% or even 100% power capacity.
Tough outfitting a Vulture unless do that, just wondering maybe should run little under 100%.

 

[Stigbob]

Mines currently running at about 115%, set module priorities to deactivate fuel scoop, frameshift and interdictor when you deploy weapons. Test your load by turning the unnecessary systems off at which point you want to be under 100% but as close as you can get.

(cargo-hatch permanently turned off)

 

[Cmdr. Numa]

There is no reason not to run at or close to 100 %, every drop of juice not used is a drop wasted.

 

[SHADEVARI]

Well, you run hotter the closer you get to 100% but other than that, no issues.

You actually can not run exactly 100% though, had a FDL build which consumed 20,40MW of 20,40MW available. When deploying hardpoints everything went dark, 20,39 works though. Not sure if bug due to using > vs >= in some code part or intended behavior.

 

[Roycie]

Is there a reason not to run at 99% or even 100% power capacity.
Tough outfitting a Vulture unless do that, just wondering maybe should run little under 100%.

As mentioned above, in your right hand menu, go to Modules, then set your priorities down the list. FSD, Scoops, cargo hatch and any interdictor aren't needed at the same time as weapons, so can be set to the lowest priority.

Sometimes people set SCB lower, and then retract weapons to activate them. Not tried that myself.

 

[Longshanks]

Mines currently running at about 115%, set module priorities to deactivate fuel scoop, frameshift and interdictor when you deploy weapons. Test your load by turning the unnecessary systems off at which point you want to be under 100% but as close as you can get.

(cargo-hatch permanently turned off)

I have my cargo hatch off, frameshift drive and fuel scoop set to priority 3 that drops me to .02 under power available, no wake scanner. If you overheat during battle do you take damage? Specifically to powerplant?

 

[FuzzySpider]

Heat and fuel consumption.

 

[Roycie]

I have my cargo hatch off, frameshift drive and fuel scoop set to priority 3 that drops me to .02 under power available, no wake scanner. If you overheat during battle do you take damage? Specifically to powerplant?

All Modules take damage if you overheat.

 

[Stigbob]

I have my cargo hatch off, frameshift drive and fuel scoop set to priority 3 that drops me to .02 under power available, no wake scanner. If you overheat during battle do you take damage? Specifically to powerplant?

I'm using 1 gimballed burst laser and fixed cannon (ATM) i haven't overheated it yet, the only damage I've taken to power plant was being hit by a player sidewinder with twin plasma accelerators (he overheated and I shot his ship to pieces, it was very gentlemanly now wingmates).

 

[Ben_BigBen]

Well, you run hotter the closer you get to 100% but other than that, no issues.

You actually can not run exactly 100% though, had a FDL build which consumed 20,40MW of 20,40MW available. When deploying hardpoints everything went dark, 20,39 works though. Not sure if bug due to using > vs >= in some code part or intended behavior.

This has always bugged me - getting a perfect power supply/consumption still needs you to run at 99% without modules powering down. I've always put it down to some kind of rounding where you're actually at 100.1% of usage.

 

[Blood Lust]

This has always bugged me - getting a perfect power supply/consumption still needs you to run at 99% without modules powering down. I've always put it down to some kind of rounding where you're actually at 100.1% of usage.

You cannot interdict or frame jump or fuel scoop while you have your weapons out. So set them to priority 2 with everything else priority 1. If you have no intentions of carrying cargo then your cargo hatch can be set to priority 2 as well.
.
That gets you a significant amount of extra energy to go into better weapons or shield boosters. Obviously you have to put your weapons away to activate the above but you have to anyway.

 

[Traven Mayhem]

you should be running above 100 and using power priorities in combat for an optimal build.

 

[Dash]

Yeah, you have to go over 100% for a decent Vulture. I've got some stuff permanently powered down that I turn on if I need it (shield cells) at the cost of things like my lasers.

FSD and such work off priorities.

 

[Ben_BigBen]

You cannot interdict or frame jump or fuel scoop while you have your weapons out. So set them to priority 2 with everything else priority 1. If you have no intentions of carrying cargo then your cargo hatch can be set to priority 2 as well.
.
That gets you a significant amount of extra energy to go into better weapons or shield boosters. Obviously you have to put your weapons away to activate the above but you have to anyway.

This was with everything non-essential (cargo hatch, FSD, fuel scoop, etc) set to priority 2 or turned off. The modules power consumption bar still shows red even when it says 100%. My point was that you need to have a max of 99% when fully deployed as it will not allow you to use 100% of the power.

 

[Bane Six Echo]

My Vulture runs at 109% retracted and 122% deployed. It requires appropriate power priorities and manually turning modules on and off which is part of the fun of flying the ship!

 

[Morbad]

There is no reason not to run at or close to 100 %, every drop of juice not used is a drop wasted.

Heat is higher the more power you use, which can be relevant for sensor contact range.

Well, you run hotter the closer you get to 100% but other than that, no issues.

You actually can not run exactly 100% though, had a FDL build which consumed 20,40MW of 20,40MW available. When deploying hardpoints everything went dark, 20,39 works though. Not sure if bug due to using > vs >= in some code part or intended behavior.

Likely a rounding error or less than perfectly accurate info.

Heat and fuel consumption.

Yep.

 

[Smurfprime]

Well, you run hotter the closer you get to 100% but other than that, no issues.

You actually can not run exactly 100% though, had a FDL build which consumed 20,40MW of 20,40MW available. When deploying hardpoints everything went dark, 20,39 works though. Not sure if bug due to using > vs >= in some code part or intended behavior.

Found this out the hard way when my perfect viper fit failed at 100% power use. I would think this is a bug, does anyone know for sure?

 

[Ginrikuzuma]

I feel like that aught to be a reportable bug either make the rounding more obvious or if the setup says 100% let it run at 100%.

 

[AndyJ]

power utilisation can be greater than 100%, typically 104% is ok for no manual power-management if you're not carrying cargo.
when outfitting, remember that lasers will not be active at the same time as your FSD - you can only use the FSD with weapons retracted and thereby, powered-down. If you don't have any cargo bays, save more energy by disabling the cargo hatch.

This is my combat vulture: link
Note that it has cargo hatch disabled and FSD set to priority 2 in module management. I don't need to make any adjustments to modules once it's set up like this, just deploy or retract weapons in normal space in order to jump away.
Hull reinforcement it possibly a bit pointless as just adds weight and I'll typically bug out if my shields are about to go down. Haven't tried shield cell banks with it as stick to solo (PvE not PvP)


[edit] btw. if you are running at 100.5% and not configuring module priorities, then you should be seeing the red /!\ warning symbol against power usage if you look in the modules tab - so it does warn you when you've crossed the line. It's a shame that you can't see/tweak the settings from the outfitting screen and have to keep popping in and out to find the optimal build.

 

[Alex Brentnall]

Damage to the powerplant can cause drop in power or malfunction. Having a bit to spare doesn't hurt but if you can optimise it to 99% then its usually worth it provided you are running shields to prevent said powerplant damage.
If you are running a silent running combat I'd highly advise some spare power although without a shield that setup should be easy...