Power

Electric machines need a power grid: generators feed power poles, and the poles supply every machine in their reach. You build your first grid in Epoch 1 with the research Steam Power, and it grows with you up to Nuclear Power.

How a grid works

• Poles connect themselves. A new pole links to the nearest poles within its wire reach, up to 5 wires per pole. Between two different pole types the shorter reach counts. All poles linked this way form one grid.
• Poles supply an area. A machine belongs to the grid if any of its blocks lies inside the square supply area of a pole, up to 4 blocks above or below the pole. Generators join the grid the same way.
• Everyone gets the same share. Each tick the generators offer what they can and the consumers ask for what they need. If there is not enough, every consumer gets the same percentage (the satisfaction), so every machine in the grid slows down by the same amount. Generators only produce what the grid uses, so they burn less fuel when demand is low.
• Machines without power show the status "No power". Machines on a weak grid show "Low power" and work slower. See Status Icons and Warnings.

Tip: to lay a line of poles, hold the build button and drag. A new pole is placed each time you reach the edge of the wire reach of the last one.

Power poles

	Small Power Pole	Medium Power Pole	Big Power Pole	Relay
Epoch	1	2	3	4
Unlocked by	Steam Power	Coal Power	Electric Energy Distribution	Advanced Smelting
Size	1 × 1	1 × 1	2 × 2	2 × 2
Wire reach	7.5 blocks	9 blocks	30 blocks	18 blocks
Supply area	5 × 5	7 × 7	3 × 3	19 × 19
Recipe	1 Wood + 2 Copper Cable → 2	2 Steel Plate + 2 Copper Plate + 2 Iron Plate	5 Steel Plate + 5 Copper Plate + 2 Concrete	10 Steel Plate + 5 Advanced Circuit + 5 Copper Plate

The Big Power Pole carries power over long distances but supplies almost nothing around itself. The Relay covers a whole block of machines at once.

The power window

Use a pole to open the power window. It shows:

• the reach and supply area of this pole type,
• the grid: number of poles, consumers and producers,
• current production (and how much the generators could deliver), current demand and satisfaction,
• the average over the last 60 seconds.

The world map has a "Power lines" layer that shows your cables.

Cables, Wirecutter and Power Goggles

The cables between poles appear on their own. You never place them by hand.

• Wirecutter (from the start, 2 Iron Plate + 1 Wood): right-click a pole, then a second pole. This hides the cable between them, or shows it again. It is only for looks: the poles stay connected and the grid does not change. Right-click the same pole twice to cancel.
• Power Goggles (from the start, 2 Glass + 2 Copper Cable + 1 Iron Plate): wear them as a helmet to see the supply areas of all poles within 48 blocks. They give no protection.

Steam power

The classic setup: a Water Pump feeds Water Boilers, the boilers turn water into steam, and Steam Generators turn steam into electricity.

	Water Pump	Water Boiler	Steam Generator
Epoch	1	1	1
Unlocked by	Steam Power	Steam Power	Steam Power
Size	1 × 2	3 × 2	3 × 5
Energy	none	1.8 MW from fuel	produces up to 900 kW
Throughput	1200 water/s	60 water/s → 60 steam/s	30 steam/s
Recipe	2 Electronic Circuit + 1 Pipe T1 + 1 Iron Gear	1 Brick Furnace + 4 Pipe T1	8 Iron Gear + 10 Iron Plate + 5 Pipe T1
Noise	–	30 per minute	4 per minute

Ratio: 1 Water Pump : 20 Water Boilers : 40 Steam Generators. One boiler feeds exactly two generators.

• Water Pump: place it at the shore while looking at the water. The walkway goes out over the water, the outlet faces you. It needs water under or in its walkway, and it needs no power.
• Water Boiler: water enters on the left and right of the back row and passes through, so you can chain boilers. Steam leaves at the back in the middle. Use opens a furnace-like window for the fuel; the bar shows the water level. Coal (4 MJ) lasts about 2.2 seconds at full load, Wood (2 MJ) half as long, Solid Fuel (12 MJ) three times as long.
• Steam Generator: steam runs along its right side from back to front, so two generators can stand directly in a row. It keeps running for 2 seconds after the last demand.

Pipes for water and steam are described on Fluids.

Other power sources

	Coal Plant	Solar Panel	Storage Cell
Epoch	2	3	3
Unlocked by	Coal Power	Solar Energy	Batteries
Size	4 × 6	3 × 3	2 × 2
Energy	up to 1.8 MW from fuel	up to 60 kW in full sun	stores 5 MJ, 300 kW in and out
Recipe	10 Steel Plate + 10 Stone Brick + 5 Iron Gear + 5 Electronic Circuit	5 Steel Plate + 15 Electronic Circuit + 5 Silicon + 5 Glass	2 Iron Plate + 5 Battery
Noise	40 per minute	–	–

• Coal Plant: boiler and generator in one, with no water and no pipes. It burns only as much fuel as the grid needs. It is very loud, see Noise and Unrest.
• Solar Panel: delivers power by day, following the sun. At night it delivers nothing. No fuel.
• Storage Cell: charges from surplus power and gives it back when the generators fall short. It shows whether it is charging or discharging. Solar Panels plus Storage Cells carry a grid through the night.
• For large amounts of power, see Nuclear Power.

Lamp

	Lamp
Epoch	1
Unlocked by	Steam Power
Size	1 × 1
Energy	5 kW, only at night
Recipe	1 Electronic Circuit + 3 Copper Cable + 1 Iron Plate

A Lamp lights up at night while it has power and uses nothing by day. It stays lit on a weak grid. You can switch lamps with the signal network.

Bunker Power Connector

The Bunker Power Connector stands outside, next to the stairs of the Bunker. It is a consumer of 30 kW. Supply it with a pole and the bunker gets light, ventilation and its terminal back. Its lamp turns green while it has power.

See also

• Fluids
• Nuclear Power
• Signals and Programmable Interface
• Noise and Unrest