Rust Electricity Guide — Power Setup for Hemp & Berry Farms
A Rust farm without electricity caps out at maybe 70% of its potential output. Power is what unlocks 24/7 ceiling lights, automated sprinklers and timed switches. This guide covers what you need, in what quantities, for farms of every size — from a 4-planter solo setup to a 16-planter clan operation.
Power sources
Small Solar Panel — up to 50W in full sun, 0W at night. Cheap and stackable.
Medium Solar Panel — up to 160W in full sun. Better roof-space-to-watt ratio at scale.
Wind Turbine — up to 150W on a tall structure. Works at night but requires height.
Wired electric (small generator, gas-fueled) — consistent 100W+ but needs fuel input.
Solar is the default for most farms. Wind is best if your base sits on a cliff. A hybrid setup (solar + wind) covers the night gap.
Power consumers
Plan your draw before sizing the source:
Ceiling Light — 1W each. One per planter for 100% light.
Sprinkler — 10W each. One per 1-2 planters depending on layout.
Smart Switch — 1W. Letss you cycle sprinklers from a phone (clan ops).
Electric Heater — 25W. Keeps temperature at 100% in cold biomes.
Water Pump — 5W. For automated water sourcing.
Powered Water Purifier — 5W. For pure-water source.
Sample setups
4-planter solo farm: 4 ceiling lights (4W) + 2 sprinklers (20W) + 1 heater (25W) = 49W draw. Cover with 1 small solar panel + 1 small battery for night.
8-planter pair farm: 8 lights (8W) + 4 sprinklers (40W) + 1 heater (25W) + 1 pump (5W) = 78W. 2 small solar panels + medium battery.
16-planter clan farm: 16 lights (16W) + 8 sprinklers (80W) + 2 heaters (50W) + 2 pumps (10W) = 156W. 1 medium solar + 1 small + large battery, or hybrid wind setup.
Need to fit your farm room into a base footprint that suits your group size? Browse curated Rust base designs by group — many builders explicitly carve out farm rooms that match the planter counts above.
Battery sizing
Batteries store solar/wind output for night-time use. Two main sizes:
Small Rechargeable Battery — 9 minutes of buffer at 5W draw. Good for low-power setups (4 planters).
Medium Rechargeable Battery — ~25 minutes at 10W draw.
Large Rechargeable Battery — ~50 minutes at 20W draw. Standard for 8+ planter farms.
Batteries lose 5W to internal conversion. Two large batteries in parallel double the capacity but each still has the 5W loss — for big farms, prefer one large battery + larger solar input.
Wiring fundamentals
Electrical Branch — the most important component. It splits power: a configurable amount goes to one path, the rest to the other. Lets you give 1W to a light and 9W to a sprinkler off a single 10W line.
Always wire critical loads first. Lights and sprinklers are non-optional; switches and timers come second.
Plan for power-outage. Bad weather drops solar to ~10W. If your battery + reduced solar can't sustain at least the lights, plants stop growing.
Common mistakes
Running 4 sprinklers off one Small Solar Panel. 40W draw on a 50W max source has no headroom for night.
Forgetting the heater in cold biomes. Plants suffer when temp drops; one Electric Heater keeps the room at 100% temp condition.
Mixing voltage sources without an Electrical Branch. Direct merge can blow your battery's input.
Not using a Smart Switch for sprinklers. Manual sprinkler tuning gets old fast; a switch lets you cycle on/off to hit 75% saturation.
Use the Farm Planner to size your electrical needs from your target output. It calculates power draw automatically.