Codex Energy Battery Hall

Battery Hall

The Battery Hall is the large everyday store: a box of Reinforced Casing full of Battery Cells. Inverters decide how fast it charges and discharges, coolers keep it at a good temperature. It keeps its charge for a long time, loses a few percent on every transfer and must not get too hot.

How it works

1. Battery Cells store the energy; Inverters move it in and out.
2. Every transfer loses a little energy; the loss becomes heat in the hall.
3. Coolers carry the heat away, a little on their own and much more with cooling water.
4. When the hall gets hot, it gets less efficient and slower; at the disconnect temperature it stops until it has cooled down.

Building

Shown size: 5 wide, 4 high, 4 deep (adjustable: Width 4–16, Height 3–16, Depth 4–16).

One example of many: within the rules on this page, size and arrangement are up to you; the Build Projector shows the plan in every allowed size.

	Key	Block	Count
	A	Reinforced Casing	58
	D	Battery Cell	8
	B	Industrial Sight Glass	5
	H	Battery Cooler	2
	E	Inverter	2
	C	Energy Input Hatch (Tier 1)	1
	F	Energy Output Port	1
	G	Fluid Input Port	1
	I	Fluid Output Port	1
	0	Battery Hall Controller	1

Step by step

Each picture adds one layer, from the bottom up; the newest layer is bright. The controller wall faces you on the left.

Step 1: Layer 1

Parts in this step: Reinforced Casing (A) ×20

Step 2: Layer 2

Parts in this step: Reinforced Casing (A) ×7, Battery Cell (D) ×4, Industrial Sight Glass (B) ×2, Battery Cooler (H) ×1, Battery Hall Controller (0) ×1, Inverter (E) ×1, Energy Input Hatch (Tier 1) (C) ×1, Energy Output Port (F) ×1, Fluid Input Port (G) ×1, Fluid Output Port (I) ×1

Step 3: Layer 3

Parts in this step: Reinforced Casing (A) ×11, Battery Cell (D) ×4, Industrial Sight Glass (B) ×3, Battery Cooler (H) ×1, Inverter (E) ×1

Step 4: Layer 4

Parts in this step: Reinforced Casing (A) ×20

Rules

• Size: at least 4 wide, 3 high and 4 deep, at most perf.maxStructureSize (default 16, allowed 5–32) in every direction.
• Edges and corners: only Reinforced Casing.
• Walls, floor and roof: Reinforced Casing, Industrial Sight Glass, Inspection Hatches, the ports and the controller.
• Inside: air, Battery Cells, Inverters and Battery Coolers, in any arrangement.
• Needed: at least one Battery Cell and one Inverter.
• Controller: in a wall face (not on an edge), front facing out, with the inside directly behind it.
• Ports (each works only on its outer face):
• Energy Input Hatch: energy in.
• Energy Output Port: energy out.
• Fluid Input Port: cooling water in; Fluid Output Port: Hot Coolant out.

Operation in depth

• Capacity = cells × volt.batteryCellCapacity (default 8000000, allowed 1000–1000000000).
• Rate in each direction = the lower of inverters × 4,000 E per tick and cells × 1,000 E per tick: the cells also limit the current.
• Efficiency: 0.97 up to 45 °C, falling to 0.85 at 80 °C. The loss of every transfer (in and out) is taken from the store and heats the hall.
• Heat capacity: 300 HU per °C per cell. More cells heat up more slowly.
• Passive cooling: every cooler 1 HU per tick for every °C above 20 °C, the cells a little on their own.
• Water cooling: above 35 °C every cooler heats up to 10 mB of water per tick into Hot Coolant, 10 HU per mB. The water and Hot Coolant tanks hold 16,000 mB each.
• Derating: above 60 °C the rate falls, down to a fifth at 80 °C.
• Thermal disconnect: at 80 °C the hall disconnects ("Too hot: disconnected") and only reconnects below 50 °C.
• Self-discharge: 0.1 % per hour of game time.

Thermal disconnect and runaway

The S button switches the thermal disconnect. It is on by default and always on in the server's safe mode.

Caution

Thermal runaway With the disconnect off, cells above 80 °C heat themselves, faster the hotter they are. At 140 °C they burn through: the whole charge is lost and an explosion follows, stronger with more stored energy. It breaks blocks and sets fire only when the server allows it; see Incidents.

The screen

• Lines: Status, State and Protection ("Thermal disconnect on" or "Thermal disconnect OFF: cells can run away").
• Bars: energy and water.
• Values: cells, inverters, coolers, rate (each way), input, output, temperature, efficiency, loss heat, coolant flow.
• Button: S for the thermal disconnect.

State	Meaning
Idle	Nothing moves.
Charging	More comes in than goes out.
Discharging	Energy goes out.
Hot: rate reduced	Above 60 °C.
Too hot: disconnected	Disconnected until it is below 50 °C.

Automation

• Energy goes in through the hatches and out through the output ports; the ports share the rate.
• Pipe water in and take the Hot Coolant out, for example to a Heat Exchanger or simply into a tank.
• A Sensor Module reads energy stored, power output, temperature and state.

Error messages

Message	What to do
The controller must sit in a wall, front facing out	Put the controller into a wall face, front outwards, with the inside behind it.
Structure too small (…)	At least 4 wide, 3 high and 4 deep.
Structure too large or not closed near …	Close the wall there, or make the hall smaller.
Wrong block at … (expected: Reinforced Casing)	Only Reinforced Casing on edges and corners.
Wrong block at … (expected: …)	Only cells, inverters, coolers and air inside.
Missing parts: …	At least one Battery Cell and one Inverter.
Port not allowed here: …	Only energy and fluid ports work on the hall.

In the world

• While current flows, small status lights glint on the cells behind the glass; hot cells glow.
• Above 60 °C smoke and small flames at the controller warn of overheating.

Tip

Inverters and cells together One inverter carries the current of four cells. Add inverters until their rate matches what the cells allow, and one cooler for every few inverters you actually use at full rate.