Power and water on ZA-Z: is the grid on, and when does the water shut off?
Yes, the power is on, and it stays on. Survivors restarted the Knox County grid at the Rosewood South substation on Day 51, and the server's electricity shutoff now sits 9,999 days away. Mains water is different: taps, sinks, showers and toilets in map buildings run until 07:00 on Day 150 (5 December 1993), then go dry. Buildings you build yourself never get grid power, and a lamp with a dead bulb looks exactly like a power cut.
#Is the power still on in Project Zomboid on ZA-Z?
| Utility | ZA-Z | Vanilla default |
|---|---|---|
| Grid electricity | On, no shutoff scheduled | Dies between day 14 and 30 |
| Mains water | On until 07:00 on Day 150 | Dies between day 0 and 30 |
| Generator range | 25 tiles, 3 floors up and down | 20 tiles |
| Generator fuel use | 1.0 (ten times the default) | 0.1 |
| Light bulb lifespan | 3.0 | 2.0 |
The day count is in the server name (Day N) and in every emergency bulletin. A day takes 3 real hours, but the clock stops while the server is empty, so Day 150 has no fixed real-world date.
#When does the water shut off?
Mains water stops at 07:00 on Day 150. The emergency broadcast on 107.8 MHz (AEBS Radio) warns you first:
| From | Knox Water Authority notice on the radio |
|---|---|
| 07:00, Day 148 | Pressure fluctuations detected |
| 07:00, Day 149 | Pressure failing across the network |
| 07:00, Day 150 | Mains supply offline |
Before then, fill every pot, bottle and barrel you own. After it, your water comes from:
- Rain collector barrels. A storm fills them fast (see Weather and Events), but rainwater counts as tainted in Build 42: boil it before you drink it.
- Rivers, lakes and ponds. Endless and tainted. Boil it.
- Stone wells. Clean water that slowly tops itself up with rain.
- Hand pumps, if you find one. Clean, and they never run dry.
#Why is my lamp off when the power is on?
Its bulb burned out. A lamp with a dead bulb will not switch on, which looks just like a power cut; the tell is that other lights in the building still work.
- What burns out: lamps you can pick up and move, such as desk and floor lamps, outdoor lights, neon and lit shop signs. Ordinary room lights on a wall switch never do.
- How fast: a lit lamp rolls for burnout every in-game hour. A map lamp lit since Day 1 fails about 1 time in 200 per hour by Day 100, and worse as the world ages. A fresh bulb cannot fail until it has been lit for about 167 in-game hours (around 21 real hours).
- The fix: carry spare Light Bulbs, right-click the lamp and pick Add Light Bulb. Coloured bulbs work too.
#How far does a generator reach, and how much fuel does it use?
A generator powers everything within 25 tiles and 3 floors above and below it, indoors or out, so it can even run a gas pump. You need to have read Magazine: How to Use Generators to hook one up. ZA-Z runs generator fuel use at ten times the game's default, so budget for fuel:
| Running | Share of a full tank per in-game hour |
|---|---|
| The generator itself | 0.2 % |
| Fridge with freezer | 1.3 % |
| Fridge or freezer on its own | 0.8 % |
| TV, radio or other appliance | 0.3 % |
| Each light | 0.02 % |
A generator feeding one fridge-freezer uses 1.5 % an hour, so a full tank lasts about 67 in-game hours: a little over 8 real hours of play.
Generators wear out too: each in-game hour brings a 1 in 30 chance of losing 1 or 2 condition. Below 40 % one starts to backfire, a bang zombies hear 40 tiles away. At 20 % or less, each hour carries a 1 in 10 chance of fire and a further 1 in 20 of an explosion. Repair it long before that, and never run one indoors: the fumes fill the building.
#Why does my base have no power?
Buildings you build yourself never get grid power in Build 42; only a generator can power them. For the light switches in your own building to work, it must count as a real room: fully enclosed (doors and windows count as walls) and roofed over every tile. If you finish the roof after placing a switch, relog so your game links the switch to the room.
#Why can't I see the power after it came back?
Your game keeps the power settings it received when you joined. If the grid comes back while you are online and you joined during the outage, you see a blackout until you log out and back in; the nightly restart around midnight South African time fixes it for everyone else. For the same reason a cut is never made live (connected players would be stuck with lights frozen on or off): a planned cut lands at a restart. More fixes on Troubleshooting.
#Why won't my shower or sink give water?
Sinks, showers and baths you place yourself never draw mains water, even ones picked up from a map building and put back down. Two fixes:
- Plumb it. Put a rain collector barrel on the floor directly above the fixture, then, with a Pipe Wrench on you, right-click the fixture and choose Plumb. It draws from the barrel (tainted rainwater: boil it for drinking).
- Use the right shower. The Wall Shower is decoration and never gives water. The White Shower floor unit works.