For as long as electricity has made its way into our homes, we have heavily relied on it for most of our daily lives. Electricity is what makes essential things like turning on the lights to playing the game we’re talking about, and that also applies to the real-life aspect of Project Zomboid’s gameplay. Like any natural, or in this case, unnatural disaster, power and water will be severely affected, making for a time where you have nothing to run if you have no electricity, and while water is mostly doable to fix, power isn’t that easy.

By the time your favorite TV show isn’t on or that fridge isn’t keeping your food fresh and edible, you’ll have to find a way to power your home, which means you’ll need to fix up your new source of power during the end times, a Generator. Doing so would require you to be a skilled enough Electrician by means of leveling the Electrical skill tree, and this list will help you know how to level your craft in order to keep the power of your base alive. Now, grab your Screwdriver and start hunting for these items that can make your skill tree a little more… zippy.

For this list, the list is made at the time of the games’ latest version (ver. 41.78 Steam) and is based on my experience in a friend-hosted multiplayer server and items listed are from the vanilla version of the game, meaning no mod items are included. Some data may not be present as they are either unavailable or incomplete. The entries are a subjective list and it’s in no particular order.

8. Digital Watch

You can’t lose your sense of time just because the world ended

Why is the Digital Watch Great?

A much better upgrade to the classic watches you’ll see around the world, these have way more value in the overall context of leveling your Electrical skill. While you only need one to use for yourself, the duplicates will provide the same use case as the following.

• Lightweight – Barely increases carry weight
• Scrap Electronics – These are the main materials you’ll gain
• Easily Found – Plenty of these are scattered across the game

We already have a separate piece as to why the watches are good on their own and a must have for your run, so we’ll just need to get into what makes the Electrical leveling part important: it’s disassembly. Given that you’ll kill a ton of zombies, it’s a guarantee that you’ll get one for every three or so zombies, making a metric ton of Digital Watches a possibility.

Given its size, you won’t gain a whole lot of experience, but given Project Zomboid’s emphasis on every resource being important, even a single Scrap Electronic being extracted can fix a small percentage of your Generator, which is vital for your off-grid survival chances.

How to Find Digital Watches?

• Corpses
• Shelves
• House cabinets
• Dressers

Digital Watches Stats:

• Item Weight: 0.1
• Raw Components: Scrap Electronics

7. ValuTech PortaDisk

Online streaming won’t be a thing in a zombie apocalypse.

Why are the ValuTech PortaDisk Great?

It may not be the most important electronic, nor the most useful for its name, but it is still a decent way to get some levels into your character. It’s another filler item that serves another purpose, but there are the odd niche cases where it can help you, specifically the things below.

• Reduces Boredom - Entertainment CD’s reduce your character’s Boredom debuff
• Scrap Electronics – These are the main materials you’ll gain
• Fair Availability - These are usually found in areas that are often barren or non-important

Admittedly, you’re not likely to take this home to turn into your afterworld music source as more capable, useful, and reusable sources such as the Radio prove better. So why does this make the list despite its limited usefulness? Simply put, leveling is hard in Project Zomboid, and this music player does as well as many smaller electronics.

It yields one more scrap electronic, than its smaller counterparts, which can help get a few percentages on a Generator for example. As an Electrician, it may not be the biggest prize for your Electrical skill, but it’s something, especially if you have to start from nothing.

How to Find ValuTech PortaDisk?

• Houses
• Cars
• Corpses

ValuTech PortaDisk Stats:

• Item Weight: 0.3
• Raw Components: Scrap Electronics

6. Phone Booths

It’s time to call in the big gains.

Why are the Phone Booths Great?

While they couldn’t function as what they’re called in the game, they serve a decorative yet simple purpose. This is a one-time deal for XP gains, but they are good enough to give you other benefits like the ones below.

• Early XP Gains – Gives big XP gains on lower levels
• Useful Areas – These are commonly in important areas such as Police Stations
• Fairly Common – Most establishments have these

If you were expecting to get components from a big old phone booth, then sadly, you’ll be disappointed. These are merely cosmetic bonuses to any establishment, but they do yield decent XP gains when talking about leveling up your Electrical skill from zero. As a side note, these Phone Booths are found near points of interest where good items can be found, such as guns, food, and tools. If you see one, chances are they are next to things that can make you last the next day or two of zombie-less living while gaining some knowledge and skills on the Electrical side, and that is a call you’d take any day.

How to Find Phone Booths?

• Police Stations
• Prisons
• Town Halls
• Gas Station Convenient Stores

Phone Booths Stats:

• Item Weight: N/A
• Raw Components: N/A

5. Walkie-Talkies

You want some XP gains? Over.

Why are Walkie-Talkies Great?

In addition to making the game more immersive, this is also a fairly standard item to find around the world. With many of the items being low yielding, this one has a lot more going for it for the mere fact that this electronic is far more useful than others, and it makes for some amazing uses as an Electrician, such as the following.

• Materials – They give a lot of resources once dismantled
• Useful Areas – These are commonly in important areas
• Early XP – Great for stacking up on XP

With five different radios, the material you’ll get will be depend on what kind of radio you loot. For the most part, you’ll get a Radio Receiver or Radio Transmitter, while the rarer, more premium ones are heavier but can give you additional stuff like Light Bulbs. In any case, you’ll still be able to level up your Electrical skill far better than many portable, common electronic item in this game, making up a sizeable chunk of your levels if you can find many of them.

Finding one is just about the same, with the better yielding, rarer ones in useful areas like an Army Surplus. Whatever the case, if you’re prioritizing Electrical as your main skill, it’s better to hoard a few of these and rip them up for their materials at base instead of bringing all the potentially heavy scrap to your grave. 

How to Find Walkie-Talkies?

• Corpses
• Car Trunks
• House cabinets
• Army Surpluses
• Police Stations

Walkie-Talkies Stats:

• Item Weight: 1.0-3.0
• Raw Components: Amplifier, Radio Transmitter, Radio Receiver, Light Bulb, Green Light Bulb (US Army)

4. Extractor Hood

Got to let some steam out to cool down.

Why is the Extractor Hood Great?

They might seem like just another decorative ornament for the game’s atmosphere, but they play a good part in increasing your Electrical skills. Grab your screwdrivers, get ready to tinker with them, and reap the rewards you can get from their benefits below.

• XP Gains – Extractor Hoods gives a decent amount of XP when disassembled
• Useful Areas – They can be found in restaurant kitchens
• Fairly Common – Most establishments have these

Now that the entire population prefers human flesh over actual dishes, you have no worries about dismantling these in the kitchens you can find them in. They may only serve as aesthetics for rooms, but the amount of XP you get from them helps a lot in raising your character’s Electrical skills. Once you do tear them apart, you won’t be left empty-handed; they provide Scrap Electronics which can be used for repairing Generators or crafting items under the Electrical category.

How to Find Extractor Hoods?

• Restaurants
• Diners
• Spiffo’s
• Pizza Whirled

Extractor Hood Stats

• Item Weight: 5.0
• Raw Components: Scrap Electronics

3. Large Modern Oven

Things can get heated for experience gains.

Why is the Large Modern Oven Great?

Whether it’s for cooking or for raising your Electrical skills, this item has you covered. For those who need to level up their skills as fast as possible, get ready to dismantle them and make the most of what it has to offer down below.

• XP Gains – This item gives a good amount of XP when disassembled
• Fairly Common – Most establishments have them
• Useful Areas – They can be found in restaurant kitchens

Not only does the Large Modern Oven give a good amount of XP once dismantled, but also, since it’s located in kitchens around the commercial areas of Kentucky, it’s surrounded by other items that can be used to level up your Electrical skills, like the Extractor Hood, making it all the more worthwhile to find and tinker with.

If by any chance you don’t fancy disassembling this item, given that you meet the Electrical skill level to pick it up, you can grab it and bring it to your base, whether for aesthetic purposes, functionality, or to be fodder for other players that want to raise their skills.

How to Find Large Modern Ovens?

• Restaurants
• Diners
• Bakeries
• Pizza Whirled

Large Modern Oven Stats:

• Item Weight: 20
• Raw Components: Scrap Electronics

2. Radios

Tune in and get ready for those sweet gains

Why are Radios Great?

As much as they’re important for gathering information about the weather, lore, and whatnot, you’ll only need one Radio and the rest is fair game. Release your inner Electrician and unravel the benefits you get when dismantling these down below.

• Materials – They give a lot of resources once dismantled
• Easy to Find – They can be found in a lot of places
• Useful Areas – These are commonly in important areas
• Specific Drop – Ham Radios also give extra materials

Whether it’s a ham radio or a regular one you choose to dismantle, they can provide different materials that can be used for crafting Electrical related items or simply used for other essentials that you may need to carry around with you like flashlights. Given that they’re a common item, they won’t be hard to find, leveling up your Electrical skills from zero won’t be such a hassle. From residential areas to commercial ones, you’re sure to get your hands on these, and you’re good to go, unless you have to make sure that the area is zombie-free at least.

How to Find Radios?

• Vehicles (Regular, Ham Radio)
• Houses (Regular)
• Trailer Homes (Regular)
• Military Surplus Stores (Ham Radio)
• Military Checkpoints (Ham Radio)

Radios Stats:

• Item Weight: 1.5 (Regular) / 2.0 (Ham)
• Raw Materials: Scrap Electronics, Light Bulb, Radio Receiver, Amplifier, Aluminum, Electric Wire, Radio Transmitter (Ham), Green Light Bulb (Ham).

1. Television

Keep your eyes peeled for those experience gains.

Why is the Television Great?

Televisions are an everyday appliance, which means there’s no shortage of them. Since you only need one to watch either Life and Living or VHS tapes to level up other skills, every other TV available can be dismantled for Electrical skills. Prepare your screwdriver to enjoy the benefits listed here.

• Materials – They give a lot of resources once dismantled
• Easy to Find – They can be found all over the place
• Good XP Gains – One of the best items for leveling Electrical

Once the world truly starts to fall apart, television broadcasts will soon end, and once the power grid follows, all those TVs sitting in living rooms will be of no use anymore. This grants you a lot to disassemble and enjoy, both the experience gains and the resources you get from tearing them into pieces. All of those will be of use to your group, so you don’t have to feel bad about barging into a random household and tinkering with their now non-functioning Television.

How to find Televisions?

• Houses
• Trailer Homes
• VHS Stores
• Storage Areas

Television Stats:

• Item Weight: 10
• Raw Materials: Aluminum, Electric Wire, Scrap Electronics, Amplifier, Light Bulb, Green Light Bulb, Red Light Bulb

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