History

Solar Logic Circuits Guide

## Disclaimer

Due to the frequency of game updates, all solutions are subject to change and may or may not be functional.

The designs on this page are valid as of v0.2.5906.26015 (2025-09-16)

While this specific Guide calls out the sensor being place in a specific direction (north - 0 degrees), it's not necessary to orient your sensors to a specific direction.
If you find your panels don't point at the sun, you can add either 0, 90, 180 or 270 to the horizontal until they point at the sun. This guide is an attempt
to simplify the setup by removing an extra math, and memory chip (6 chips instead of 8).

## Geometry Of [Solar Panels](/wiki/solar-panel) and [Daylight Sensors](/wiki/sensors#daylight-sensor)

<gallery>
daylight sensor horizontal.png|Geometry of values measured by daylight sensor in horizontal (yaw) mode
daylight sensor vertical.png|Geometry of values measured by daylight sensor in vertical (pitch) mode
solar panel yaw-Horizontal setting.png|Effect of setting horizontal rotation of a solar panel
</gallery>

## Solar tracking using Logic Chips

### Six-chip dual-axis tracking

To get a "100%" accurate solar tracker on planets with an offset solar arc, you need to include the Horizontal component to the solar angle.

**What do you need:**
- [Kit (Logic I/O)](/wiki/kit-logic-io) x4
- [Kit (Logic Processor)](/wiki/kit-logic-processor)
- [Kit (Logic Memory)](/wiki/kit-logic-memory)
- [Kit (Sensor)](/wiki/sensors) > [Daylight Sensor](/wiki/sensors#daylight-sensor)

Place the Daylight Sensor facing up, **with the Data Port facing north (0 degrees).**

| **Horizontal** |
|---|
| ****Chip**** | ****Chip label**** | ****IN**** | ****VAR**** | ****OUT**** |
| Logic Reader |
| Batch Writer |
| ****Vertical**** |
| ****Chip**** | ****Chip label**** | ****IN**** | ****VAR**** | ****OUT**** |
| Logic Reader |
| Batch Writer |
| ****Chip**** | ****Chip label**** | ****Value**** |
| Logic Memory |
| ****Chip**** | ****Chip label**** | ****IN 1**** | ****IN 2**** | ****OUT**** |
| Logic Math |

![Accurate two-axis solar tracking](2022-10-02 Two-axis solar tracking.png)
- Accurate two-axis solar tracking*

The panels should align themselves to the sun, you make sure to **put the Power Port on the panels facing east (east - 90 degrees).** If you've already built the panels and logic with the Power Port facing west, swapping the direction of the sensor so that its Data Port faces south will allow the setup to work with no additional changes.

## Solar tracking using Integrated Circuits

This is the most powerful way to track the sun, but the implementation might be a bit daunting at first.

**What you need:**
- [Integrated Circuit (IC10)](/wiki/integrated-circuit-ic10)
- [Kit (IC Housing)](/wiki/kit-ic-housing)
- [Kit (Sensor)](/wiki/sensors) > [Daylight Sensor](/wiki/sensors#daylight-sensor)

And if you don't already have one set up:
- [Kit (Computer)](/wiki/kit-computer)
- [IC Editor Motherboard](/wiki/motherboard-ic-editor)

Place the **Daylight Sensor** facing up, note which direction the Data Port is facing, and which direction the solar panel Power Port is facing. These two directions are needed in the code. The **Daylight Sensor** is connected to the **d0** screw, that's all you need.

A simple code example can be found here: https://stationeering.com/tools/ic/_2FpmwojGnBq

This code is considered "inefficient" since it's hard-coded to spam all types of solar panels, even if you don't have them.

A better code example can be found here: https://stationeering.com/tools/ic/_2FpoBEcd3QK

It targets the solar-panel types on **d2** and (optionally) **d3**, so it's less spammy. It also has an option for a display (**Kit (Console)**) on **d1** that shows the sum of power output from both types of panels

## duality of orientation

Due to the coordinate system used by solar panels, it is actually possible to capture peak sunlight using two different (but related) H,V coordinates.

![panels using different control logic to accomplish the same goal](stationeers-solar-duality.svg)
- panels using different control logic to accomplish the same goal*

This screenshot shows two sets of solar panels, each with its own daylight sensor.  Each sensor is oriented differently to properly match its panel and formulas.  The panel on the right uses panel.horizontal = daysensor.horizontal; panel.vertical = 90-daysensor.vertical; while the panel on the left uses panel.horizontal = daysensor.horizontal; panel.vertical = daysensor.vertical + 90.  They both achieve the same orientation.