Codex Energy Solar Array

Solar Array

The Solar Array makes energy from daylight with no fuel and no moving parts. It is a field of PV Modules in any shape, collected by one Solar Array Controller. It is a tier I plant: cheap and silent, but idle at night.

How it works

1. The controller collects every PV Module that touches it face to face, directly or through other modules.
2. Every module with open sky above it makes volt.solarModuleOutput (default 6, allowed 1–10000) E/t in full sun.
3. The sunlight follows the game's sky brightness: 100 % at a clear noon, less in the morning, the evening and in rain or thunder, nothing at night and in dimensions without a sky.
4. The controller pushes the energy into all its neighbours.

Output = modules under open sky × 6 E/t × sunlight × volt.generatorOutputMultiplier (default 1.0, allowed 0.01–100.0). Fractions of an E are carried over, so even a small array at dawn gets exactly what it earns.

Building

Shown size: 6 wide, 1 high, 4 deep (adjustable: Rows 1–16, Columns 1–16).

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	PV Module	20
	0	Solar Array 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: PV Module (A) ×20, Solar Array Controller (0) ×1

Rules

• Shape: any. Modules count when they touch the controller or another counted module with a full face: side by side, on top of each other or in steps. A diagonal touch does not connect.
• Size: up to volt.maxSolarModules (default 256, allowed 1–4096) modules, and none more than 32 blocks away from the controller in any direction.
• Open sky: a module only produces when the block above it gets full sky light: solid blocks, leaves or water anywhere above it block it, clear glass does not. Which modules see the sky is counted when the array forms and then every 10 seconds.
• Controller: one per array, anywhere at the edge or inside the field. It needs no sky itself.
• No ports: the controller itself is the energy output.

Energy output

The controller pushes its energy into all six neighbours: a Pipster cable, an Energy Cell or a machine. Other blocks can also pull from it on every side. Its buffer holds 200,000 E, enough to carry a small base through the night if you take less than you make during the day.

The screen

• Status: "Formed", or what is wrong (see below).
• Energy: the bar of the buffer.
• PV modules: how many modules belong to the array.
• Under open sky: how many of them see the sky.
• Sunlight: the sun factor right now.
• Output: the energy made in the last tick.
• Peak output: what the modules under open sky make in full sun.

Error messages

Message	What to do
Missing parts: PV Module	Place at least one PV Module touching the controller.
Too many modules (limit …) near …	The array has more than 256 modules; remove some, or give the rest a controller of their own.
Part of the structure is not loaded (…)	Load the chunks of the whole field.

Building the parts

Glass Pane	Glass Pane	Glass Pane
Lapis Lazuli		Lapis Lazuli	→ PV Module

	Redstone Dust
	Redstone Comparator		→ Solar Array Controller

Tip

Size it for the night Over a whole Minecraft day an array delivers about half of its peak on average: full output around noon, nothing for most of the night. For a steady supply, build about twice the modules you need and store the surplus, in the controller's buffer for small loads or in an Energy Cell or a Capacitor Bank for more.