Sons of the Forest power guide: solar panels, batteries, lights

In Sons of the Forest, you’re usually getting by with whatever the island provides. Thankfully, that also includes electricity, which you can put to work in your base with items like solar panels or light bulbs. You’re not the first person to make themselves at home on this island, after all. Later in the game you can set up your own small circuits — not just to light up the dark, but also to 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

Power doesn’t just come out of the ground on an island like Sons of the Forest. Even though the Puffton family’s bunkers seem to have power, you can’t really make use of it.

As players, we need to find solar panels scattered across various camps around the island. Keep an eye out for tents left by previous visitors and you’ll spot some panels. They’re easy to recognize — their blue cells stand out against the forest’s greenery. Once placed, you can generate electricity with them.

But panels alone aren’t enough to make that power truly useful. To store energy overnight, you’ll also need to find large batteries. These are golf cart batteries found across the island. Look for golf carts — your best bet is the northeast, where the golf course is.

The third component for an electrical setup in Sons of the Forest is cables. You’ll find them pretty much everywhere, often in crates or lying around camps. The orange cables are required by many builds and are also used as the actual wiring.

Install solar panels, connect batteries, and run cables

To get familiar with panels, check your guidebook. It explains how to deploy them. You can mount or place panels on a flat surface or on a slope up to 45 degrees. It’s actually irrelevant whether they face the sun or not — the game doesn’t differentiate, thankfully. Roofs are a neat option, but you can just as well hide them under the floor.

Since solar panels only generate power during the day, you should always connect a large battery to buffer energy. That’s covered in the guidebook too. You can use multiple panels and link them to power more devices.

Take a cable roll from your inventory and connect one end to the bottom-right corner of the solar panel. Then you can route the cable; the direction is shown as a dashed white line. You can let the cable hang in the air to connect it to other parts of your base. For a cleaner look, wrap the cable around log beams to better conceal the wiring. Thanks to the intuitive building system, it’s usually clear where you can run cables — and where you can’t.

Use power: lighting, decor, and defense in Sons of the Forest

Install light bulbs: cable routing and power needs

The simplest use — and the one suggested in your guidebook — is installing light bulbs in your base. You’ve likely found a bulb or two already; now you need to mount them. First, run some cables horizontally along a beam. Light bulbs can only be attached to cables like this. You’ll see a downward arrow when you can screw in a 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 a standout decor piece. You can’t build it right away — first, find its blueprint. It’s located a bit south of the large river on the island’s east side, near an abandoned house and a mine entrance. Once built, the lamp must be connected directly to a power cable to light up.

Floodlights: blueprint, mounting, and aiming

Another lighting option for your base is floodlights, which you can mount on exterior walls. They’re much brighter than bulbs but shine in a fixed direction. You’ll need their blueprint too, found not far from the Leg Lamp. Follow the blue question mark on your GPS. Use the blueprint to place floodlights outside, then connect them with a cable.

Electric fence: defend your base with power

Once you’ve collected and placed enough solar panels, you can effectively defend your base with electric fences. First, build a regular fence in free build mode, then wrap the cable around the individual sticks. White arrows and lines show where cables can be routed. You’ll see the orange cables, and when powered, blue sparks. Caution: Don’t walk into your own fence — it hurts.

Large Cross: ward off demons with lighting

The last use for power cables is the Large Cross. Its blueprint is in the northern beach cave, where you should also look for the rebreather first. It also requires several light bulbs and is visible from far away once built. The cross can help keep weaker mutants and demons away from your base.

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

With power, you can give your base a fresh look and use far more effective light sources. Whether light bulbs, the grotesque Leg Lamp, or floodlights outside — for advanced builds it’s absolutely worth investing in solar panels. If you rent one of our Sons of the Forest servers, you can expand your base together with friends. Many items only become craftable later via blueprints, so it pays to explore the entire island. Along the way, you can find more light bulbs, batteries, and new panels.