Temperature Management plays a huge role in every aspect of Oxygen Not Included. Whether it is the plants or the duplicants, all of them depends on the temperature being perfect for them. A little too cold or too hot temperature shift can cost you your plants, items, and duplicants. You need to be very focused when maintaining the temperature as it’s not just one thing that causes the change. Your duplicants, items, resources, and the biome itself – everything plays its part in affecting the temperature of the environment.

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Heat output is shown by DTU per second in the game. DTU per second is equivalent to Joule per second or Watt.

Oxygen Not Included Temperature Management

If you are stuck in a colder environment and want to tone it down a little to the hotter side then it is much easier than doing the opposite. Be it the Duplicants or the plants or even the items you possess all of these things to produce and spread heat. Hence, it is easier to heat the environment.

  • Oxygen Diffuser
    Produces 1.5 kDTU/s of heat.
  • The Power Transformers
    Produces 1 kDTU/s of heat.
  • Ceiling Lamp
    Produces just 500 DTU/s of heat at 10W of power. Fits right above Sculpting Block.
  • Space Heater
    Produces 18 kDTU/s heat at the cost of 120W of power. Not worth using as its only other effect is meager 10 Decor.
  • Coal Generator
    Produces 9 kDTU/s of heat, or 1.5 kDTU per 100 Watt produced. Utilizing it can be tricky, due to a large amount of Carbon Dioxide in the exhaust.
  • Charged Battery and Jumbo Battery
    Produces 1.25 kDTU/s of heat when charged. They’re small, short, clean and useful in other ways and so a good way to provide extra heat.
  • Electrolyzer
    Produces 1.25 kDTU/s of heat, but its output gases are 70 °C. Has a disadvantage of producing Hydrogen, which quickly cools down, if it is cold, due to its relatively high thermal conductivity.
  • Cool Steam Vent
    Outputs steam at 110°C. It can be cooled down into 90 degrees Water, which then can be piped around the colony, for example to Shower. The heat will then radiate from the pipes.
  • A nearby Biome can provide a surprising amount of heat or cold. Biomes do not keep their temperature after map generation, so this is a temporary source.
  • Hot Environment
    If the environment is more on the heated side then it can be more troublesome and there aren’t many ways to cool it down. Some ways to cool down the temperature include:
  • Steam Turbine
    Converts heat above 125°C into electricity.
  • Ice-E Fan
    Occupies a duplicant and uses up water. It cools the gas at 32 kDTU/s.
  • Anti Entropy Thermo-Nullifier
    Provides quite a lot of cooling by consuming hydrogen.
  • Wheezewort
    Works rather slowly in most gases and natural setups and cannot be mass-produced, but does not use any power. It’s cooling is equivalent to 12 kDTU/s in the best circumstances.

As you can see, there aren’t many ways to conquer the heat here. So what you should do is, from the starting of the game you should take measures that are going to move the hear away. This way you wouldn’t have to deal with the temperature change of this level later in the game. These measures include:

Plant irrigation is one of the worst places to misplace extra heat. Dump excess heat in cold biome. Acquire cold gases and cold water from cold biomes. Do not use hot water to irrigate cold-loving plants (Bristle Blossom).

  1. Use insulated pipes in the sections that need to stay cool.
  2. Pre-cool the water by winding pipes carrying it through cool areas.
  3. If you have no choice, use valves to avoid storing excess hot water in farms.
  4. Avoid create machines like Polymer Press or Metal Refinery, but Ranch critters instead.
  5. Use Igneous Rock pipes for hot fluids/gas in early-mid game. At late game use Ceramic and insulation when managing really hot fluids/gases.

Specific Heat Capacity

This property quantifies how much an object’s temperature changes if one adds or removes an amount of heat energy, per unit mass. Its unit is Joules / (Gram * Degree Celsius). Objects with larger specific heat capacity can hold more heat or coldness.

An object’s heat capacity is the specific heat capacity times the mass of the object. Conversely, the specific heat capacity of an object is equal to its total heat capacity divided by its mass.

Thermal Conductivity

This property defines how quickly heat can be exchanged between two objects – where walls, resources, gas, liquids, plants, and items – all are objects. The rate at which two objects exchange heat is defined by the lower thermal conductivity value of both objects.

Its unit is DTUs / (Meter * Second * Degree Celsius). In this game, a Tile is considered to be one meter high and wide.

General Tips

  1. Use Wheezeworts: Wheezeworts can help remove heat from the vicinity. However, they are finite and must be collected under poor conditions.
  2. Utilize Cold Biomes: Construct buildings in cold biomes or send gases or liquids through pipes made out of a conductive material in a cold biome for more effective cooling.
  3. Hydrogen Gas in Radiator Array: Use hydrogen gas in a radiator array kept cold with thermo regulators for cooling.
  4. Drip Liquid on Hot Objects: Dripping liquid on hot objects can help in cooling them down.
  5. Use Thermo Regulators: Thermo regulators can be used for cooling gas, but it may not be very sustainable.

Advanced Tips

  1. Steam Turbine: Convert hot steam above 125°C into electricity, while cooling the steam into 95°C water.
  2. Thermo Aquatuner: Remove 14°C from its input liquid and apply the heat to itself. Pair this with a Steam Turbine to convert its own heat output to energy.
  3. Ice-E Fan: Occupies a duplicant and uses up ice, cooling the gas at 32 kDTU/s.
  4. Ice Maker: Deletes 20% of the heat in the water it cools and releases the rest into its surroundings.
  5. Anti Entropy Thermo-Nullifier: Provides around 80 kDTU/s of cooling by consuming hydrogen.

Avoiding Heat

  1. Use Cold Biomes: Dump excess heat in cold biomes and acquire cold gases and cold water from them.
  2. Avoid Using Hot Water for Irrigation: Do not use hot water to irrigate cold-loving plants. Use valves to avoid storing excess hot water in farms and use insulated pipes in sections that need to stay cool.
  3. Use Igneous Rock Pipes: Use Igneous Rock pipes for hot fluids/gas in early-mid game and Ceramic and insulation for really hot fluids/gases in the late game.
  4. Use Heavi-Watt Wire: Power things in an insulated hot area and use a Gas Pump to create a vacuum chamber between the two Heavi-Watt Joint Plates to avoid the need for Power Transformers.