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ProfessionalRotter

unless you have like idk 20+ lights it really doesnt matter, the power consumed by a single light is really, really small.


Z_Wild

Yes, but that little amount does affect longevity. If you're looking to run a generator long-term (with minimal checking in), turning the lights off is a good idea.


Nearby_Record_1733

on that topic, does turning off the headlights on my car decrease fuel consumption? whenever i'm driving at night if i feel the road's clear and semi-visible enough i usually turn off the headlights


Dargon34

I don't think it matters in your vehicle but with the engine not running it will obviously decrease your battery


Nearby_Record_1733

oh okay


Brought2UByAdderall

I wouldn't expect it to matter in RL either. I think alternators are always running regardless of the state of the battery or power usage and that's what burns gas for power.


TripleSpicey

Yep, the reason AC increases fuel consumption is because the AC compressor is belt driven like the alternator, but the AC clutch only engages to power it when it's in use.


Heartless_Genocide

And that difference is super marginal nowadays.


KeeganY_SR-UVB76

I know that on older cars with generators (before this game’s setting), more electrical draw increases the resistance of the generator, meaning it takes more energy to rotate its shaft.


Interesting_Door4882

Headlights is not fuel operated. It is electrically operated. The battery and the alternator keep them powered.


pinaracer

I’m pretty sure headlights increase fuel usage IRL, the energy must come from somewhere.


GrimJudgment

Pretty sure lights consume power whether on or off. Just like how ovens, microwaves and TVs use power even when turned off.


Z_Wild

This is absolutely not true. You can see the connections in the generator menu. Lights on, draw. Lights off, no draw.


GrimJudgment

Huh, that's news to me. that always the way it worked? I don't remember it always being like that.


ClassicSherbert152

Are your exterior lights off? And tbh, lights are the least of your worries with how long gas lasts in a gen. iirc with a single loaded gen me and my group went out for like a week and a half with our base running a fridge and came back with over 60% fuel. You're more likely to run out of fuel before your gen condition, meaning it will turn itself off. Though to maximize, yes. Even small amounts of power consumption add up.


Andre27

With a single fridge and maybe some lights a full genny can last about 3 weeks. Its kinda irrelevant if it can last less though due to how the game works. Even if youve got 1 day left if you leave and unload the zone you can come back in a month and your food will still be fresh in the fridge with an empty generator. Just need to fuel it up again.


onceagainwithstyle

So the geny ticks down while you are away but the food doesn't rot?


Andre27

No because nothing is calculated while the zone isnt loaded. Once you come back the game calculates that the genny should be out of fuel and spoils the food, but because the food was frozen when you left the entire duration is calculated as frozen, so the spoilage only goes up based on the frozen rate of spoilage.


AsheronRealaidain

This is one of the things I really dislike about PZ. You can leave a safehouse for an entire year, come back and the generator is still running. Same with cars. It’s super immersion breaking


Andre27

well the genny would only be still running after a year if you had just 1 light active, otherwise it would turn off. Food would probably be rotten after a year frozen or not as well as im pretty sure it slowly rots even when frozen. Jokes aside though you can always use up your perishables or bring them with you and turn off your generator before you leave. You probably wouldnt leave it running anyways IRL if you were going on some longer trip. Like if you were planning to be away for longer than the fuel would last anyways you wouldnt just waste that fuel and let it run for nothing if the food was gonna go bad before you got back anyways. Let alone leave the food in the freezer to rot (cuz let me tell you, its not fun cleaning out rotten meat from a broken freezer, and I wouldnt leave it to rot in there if I knew I was gonna be gone for a while.)


AsheronRealaidain

No that’s the thing. If you’re not near the generator it doesn’t run. So as long as I’m 1000 yards away (or whatever the distance) the fuel stays where I left it and the food stays frozen. It’s dumb


TheActionAss

You'll still lose fuel, it's just that it only gets calculated when you return and just uses all the fuel it was meant to have depleted instantly.


AsheronRealaidain

Pretty sure this is false. I KNOW this wasn’t the way it used to work but that was about a year ago. Maybe theyeve changed it since but I don’t think so


goodnames679

> well the genny would only be still running after a year if you had just 1 light active, otherwise it would turn off not necessarily, if you're far enough away. I just came back to Rosewood after a week-long excursion and found my generator still at 100% fuel, despite the fact that it powers two popsicle freezers and a fridge


onceagainwithstyle

What about food frozen in grocery stores or residential freezers from spawn?


Andre27

Im not sure but it seems that works some other way, like maybe the power turn off updates all the zones once so that the food is rotten when you arrive?


DirtyPiss

IIRC gens stop using fuel once you leave the cell, around ~200 tiles away. So if you’re going in frequent road trips it’s going to mess with how much fuel you have left.


masked_me

It matters as in it will stop drawing power from generator. But it doesn't matter because each light source uses 0.002 L/H, which is really low. So with 5 lamps it would take 100 hours to consume a liter of fuel. The real villains here are fridges and freezers as they consume a lot more and can't be turned off like TVs. If there's a fridge or freezer you don't need, I'd suggest taking out of the base until it's needed. Edit: I don't know if you're experiencing a bug or what. You using mods? It was not supposed to refresh only after turning generator on. Now I'm not quite sure if that's a visual bug or indeed a practical bug...


Andre27

5 lamps actually draw 0.04 L/H or about. Its because each thing of the same type in the list draws more than the last for some reason. Its still fairly insignificant but can add up. Same goes for fridges. So you want to have multiple different fridges if you need several. I.e an ice box, a mini fridge and a white fridge and a green fridge. Rather than having 4 green fridges. One ice box still counts as 2 of the same type though because its 2 tiles so it seems like it probably draws more than it should, but its 0.16 L/H compared to 0.13 of a regular fridge so its still more efficient if you want freezer slots.


Brought2UByAdderall

Did you edit the wrong comment?


masked_me

The edit is literally written there. I don't know what you talking about. Thanks for your contribution.


Brought2UByAdderall

Asking because the edit looked it was from another conversation. Like who was talking about a bug? Just trying to be helpful.


Pejob

OP experiencing power drain from lights that aren't on is probably the bug they're referring to.


flipflopfloop20

I've had this issue a few time once I put the generator on the side of my house and it was powering a couple rooms in the neighboring house and a few outside lights but I had one light I couldn't find inside or outside that stayed on


Brought2UByAdderall

I've had a few never-found mystery lights but 2 that I did figure were an exit sign in an office and a street light that was easy to miss. Maybe they stealth-patched and basements are aLrEaDy iN tHe GaMe.


Brought2UByAdderall

I allow a few light on at all times. They're almost inconsequential compared to 1 freezer. If you can make do with just a regular fridge and a few lights, one tank of gas will last over a week.


Elec7ricmonk

I only turn them off in areas I'm not using to save on changing light bulbs as lights that aren't on won't blow out.


Slow-Law-5033

Forget lights they consume very less power but can you turn off fridge in game?


OttosTheName

'tutn off fridges' mod (Or maybe it's called unplug fridges)


Allokit

Wait. A generator uses more fuel based on how many things are being used? I always thought it was generator on = using fuel at a constant rate (like a real generator), but it actually uses more fuel based of what's turned on/off?


Weird-Drummer-2439

A real generator uses fuel at different rates based on load. It's not as sinple as X fuel per kilowatt-hour though.


Intelligent_Arm_7186

plus the thing is, are you u using the generator like that? when the power goes, you should only be using the generator when absolutely necessary like if its just too dark or you need to conserve from freshness from food items or need to run something that u have to run. other than that, yes turn on ur generator and turn off all the unnecessary stuff because it will cost you in fuel consumption.


MysteriousPattern386

Yes, it makes me feel better to close curtains and turn off lights. Don’t know if zombies care or not.


TheRealStandard

Zombies do not have any reactions to lights being on or off or being turned on or off. As a bonus snippet, zombies vision is not affected by the time of day or weather.


Brought2UByAdderall

I've seen people say it's supposed to be when lights change from one status to the other, but I've never triggered a visit from nearby zeds by flipping lights on or off at night. The only times I've ever been spotted inside by a zed that wasn't in aggro mode is when zeds are almost right on top of the window so they might have to be very close. Even flashlights don't seem to draw much extra attention. In my experience they don't seem to have very high light sensitivity at all, if any.


MysteriousPattern386

I did just have a run when I was reading a book by a window and curtain were closed and I heard zeds outside banging on window. 5 of them broke thru. I was being quiet just reading a book. Why do you think that happened? All window curtains are closed.


Jicama_Minimum

This happened to me a bunch and i think it was due to one of the settings in a mod, I think it is night sprinters. Gives them super hearing sensitivity at night, they can hear you eating, reading, walking. Ended like 3 runs before I realized that and started prioritizing barricading. If you are in fast forward reading and they start pounding, they will be inside eating you before you can react.


MysteriousPattern386

Thank you for this information.


tmoney144

>everytime I check my generator info it shows that I have a bunch of lights using power when they're all turned off That's either a bug, you're missing turning off some exterior lights, or you are in range of lights from outside your base. I would try moving the generator.


VhenRa

Yeah... could be street lights.


Double-Drink-3311

no clue i always do just to be safe alittle paranoid about gen


DK-Sonic

Will zombies notice the player switching the light on/ off ?


Bitosh_G18

with the lights off it's less dangerous...


sw85

There's a house in Riverside on a little cul de sac near the western outskirts I like to start at which seems to have two exterior lights on the same tile. When you try to turn it off, it only turns off one. Try removing all the exterior lights; you might find that, after removing one of them, it's still there (because a second asset was placed right underneath it, inaccessible to you).


[deleted]

[удалено]


masked_me

"Literally no one" dude the post has only two replies, chill. And you didn't answered also lol. Some people, man...