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Chapter 15 ‐ Electricity part 2 ‐ Larger electric poles, solar power, and accumulators
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This electric pole has a 1 by 1 size and a 7 by 7 supply area, meaning that it can power a machine that is up to 3 tiles away, including diagonals. It has a wire reach of 9 tiles and is generally more useful than small electric poles for designing tightly packed factory areas. For example, two assembling machines can fit side-by-side in between two medium electric poles and have every tile around them supplied with electricity. This allows for building very compact assembling machine rows.
When you place medium electric poles in build lock mode, they are spaced out to provide maximum spacing wile still giving full area coverage.
This electric pole has a 2 by 2 size and a 4 by 4 supply area, meaning that it can only supply machines that are directly next to it. However, it has a wire reach of 30, which is much greater than other electric poles. This makes big electric poles the best option for carrying electric power over long distances. In build lock mode, they are spaced apart to use this high wire reach.
When connecting with other types of electric poles, a big electric pole must be placed within the smaller pole's wire reach.
A substation is a special type of electric pole that has a 2 by 2 size and a generous 18 by 18 supply area, which is the widest among all electric poles. Its wire reach is also 18, which means substations can connect with each other without their supply areas overlapping, but only if they are perfectly aligned with each other.
A solar panel unit is a 3 by 3 group of solar panel tiles, and it generates electricity from daylight when connected to an electric network. Its power output linearly decreases to zero in the evenings and then linearly increases to the maximum of 60 kilowatts in the mornings. Since days on Nauvis are considerably longer than nights, each solar panel supplies 42 kilowatts of power on average. The panels do not store any power and so electrical systems using them can run out of power unless they have accumulators or other power sources.
When compared to steam engines, solar panels have the advantages of requiring zero fuel and generating zero pollution. Their disadvantage is their relatively high cost in terms of raw materials and space usage. And of course, they do not work at night, but this can be solved with accumulators.
It is also common to use both power systems together in order to enjoy the advantages of both. The best part is that steam engines turn off by themselves and conserve fuel when solar panels are already supplying enough electricity to the network.
An accumulator is a 2 by 2 large electrical battery unit. It stores electric power by consuming it to recharge while the power supply is greater than the demand. It releases electric power when the demand overtakes the supply. The charging and discharging speeds are capped at 300 kilowatts and the battery capacity is 5000 kilo-joules. The devices are 100% efficient and do not lose capacity over time.
Accumulators are most commonly used alongside solar panels so that solar power systems supplies a factories without interruption. Hence they are key components of solar power plant designs. The exact ratio of accumulators needed to fully supply power through the night is 21 accumulators for every 25 solar panels, or approximately 4 for every 5.
In terms of priorities within an electric network, accumulators get recharged using the generation capacity left over after meeting all other power demands. Meanwhile, accumulators start discharging only after all generators in the network are being used at full capacity. However, it is possible to use a circuit network to make a group of steam turbines start working only after accumulators have been partially or completely emptied.