Sons of the Forest power guide: Solar panels, batteries, lamps

In Sons of the Forest you usually get by with primitive means, surviving with whatever the island provides. Thankfully, that also includes electricity, which you can use in your base thanks to items like solar panels or light bulbs. After all, you’re not the first person to try and make themselves at home on this island. Later in the game you can set up your own small electrical circuits to not only shed light on the darkness, but also power a few traps! Today we’re taking a closer look at power in Sons of the Forest – how to generate it and what to use it for.

Power sources in Sons of the Forest: find solar panels, batteries and cables

On an island like Sons of the Forest, power doesn’t just come out of the ground. Even though the Puffton family’s bunkers seem to have electricity, that won’t do you much good.

As players we need to find solar panels, which are scattered across various camps on the island. Keep an eye out for tents left by previous visitors and you’ll come across a few panels. You should spot them easily as their blue cells stand out against the greenery of the forests. You can then generate power by setting the panels up.

However, the panels alone aren’t enough to make effective use of the electricity. To store power overnight, you’ll also need to find large batteries. These are the batteries from golf carts, which can be found around the island. Look for golf carts – your best bet is the north-east of the island, where the golf course is located.

The third component of a power circuit in Sons of the Forest is cables. You’ll find these pretty much everywhere, usually in crates or around camps. The orange cables are not only needed for many builds, they’re also used directly as your wiring.

Install solar panels, connect batteries and lay cables

To familiarise yourself with the panels, take a look at your guide book. You’ll find instructions on how to use them there. You can mount or place panels either on a flat surface or on a slope of up to 45 degrees. It’s actually irrelevant whether they face the sun or not – the game doesn’t differentiate, thankfully. They fit nicely on a roof, but you can just as well hide them under the floor.

Because solar panels only generate electricity during the day, you should always attach a large battery to buffer the energy. That’s described in the guide book too. You can use multiple solar panels and link them together to power more devices.

Take a cable reel from your inventory and connect one end to the bottom right corner of the panel. You can then route the cable; the direction is shown as a dashed white line. You can let the cable hang in the air and connect it to other parts of your base. For a cleaner look, wrap the cable around beams made of logs to hide the wiring. Thanks to the intuitive building system, it’s usually clear where you can lay cables and where you can’t.

Using power: lighting, decor and defence in Sons of the Forest

Install light bulbs: cable routing and power needs

The simplest application, and the one suggested in your book, is installing light bulbs in your base. You’ve likely already found a lamp or two and now need to place them. First, you must run cables horizontally along a beam. You can only attach light bulbs to cables set like this. You’ll see a downward arrow once you can screw in the bulb. Each solar panel can power up to ten light bulbs. If you want more lighting, you’ll need additional panels.

Leg lamp: find the blueprint and connect it

The leg lamp is definitely an unusual decorative piece! You can’t build it straight away, as you first need to find the blueprint. It’s located a little south of the large river in the east of the island, near an abandoned house and a mine entrance. Once built, the lamp must be connected directly to a power cable in order to light up.

Floodlights: blueprint, mounting and aiming

Another option for lighting your base is floodlights, which you can mount on the outside of your building. They are significantly brighter than light bulbs, but only shine in a specific direction. You’ll also need to find the blueprint for these first, which is not far from the leg lamp. Follow the blue question mark on your GPS. Use the blueprint to place the floodlights outside and then connect them with a cable.

Electric fence: defend your base with power

With electric fences you can effectively defend your base once you’ve collected and set up enough solar panels. First build a normal fence in free build mode and then wrap the cable around the individual sticks. White arrows and lines show you where you can run the cables. You’ll see the orange cables and, when powered, blue sparks. Caution: don’t run into your own fence – it hurts!

Large cross: ward off demons with lighting

The final way to use power cables is the large cross. You’ll find the blueprint in the beach cave in the north, where you should also first look for the diving gear. It also requires several light bulbs and can be seen from far away once built. The cross can help keep weaker mutants and demons away from your base.

Conclusion: power, solar panels and lamps in Sons of the Forest

With power, you can give your base a new look and use much more effective light sources. Whether light bulbs, the grotesque leg lamp, or floodlights for outside – for advanced builds it’s well worth investing in solar panels. If you rent one of our Sons of the Forest servers, you can expand your base together with your friends. Many items only become available later through blueprints – so it’s worth exploring the entire island. At the same time, you can find light bulbs, batteries, and new panels!