Difference between revisions of "Battery"

Revision as of 10:31, 2 November 2015

Large Ship / Station

Battery

 

Components

Required

 

 

Steel Plate

60

 

Construction Component

20

 

 

Computer

25

 

Power Cell

120

 

Construction Component

10

 

Steel Plate

20

 

 

Mass (kg):

0

 

Integrity:

0

 

Build time (seconds):

45

 

Active power consumption (MW):

12

 

Max power output (MW):

12

 

Max stored energy (MWh):

3

 

Dimensions (W x H x D):

1 x 1 x 1

Small Ship

Battery

 

Components

Required

 

 

Steel Plate

20

 

Construction Component

3

 

 

Computer

2

 

Power Cell

20

 

Construction Component

2

 

Steel Plate

5

 

 

Mass (kg):

0

 

Integrity:

0

 

Build time (seconds):

30

 

Active power consumption (MW):

4.32

 

Max power output (MW):

4.32

 

Max stored energy (MWh):

1.08

 

Dimensions (W x H x D):

3 x 2 x 3

Overview

Introduced in update Update 01.039.010, the battery is a single block that has a similar function to the reactors in that it will power blocks on a grid. It does not require any materials to be powered, however, it must first recharge and collect energy either from Solar panels, Large Reactors, and/or Small Reactors before it can be put to use. It may be placed on all grids (small ship, large ship, and stations).

With Update 01.105, a battery once built already has a ~30% charge meaning it can be used immediately this is balanced by the inablity to recover Power Cells placed into a Battery. It is now no longer possible to savage power cells from a battery, any power cells will be recovered as Scrap Metal, losing a significant amount of Nickel and Silicon.

Usage

The battery is a convenient solution to saving/reserving power, and using no material resources that reactors for example would otherwise require. Or in the case of an incident, provide emergency power while repairs are made.

The battery block may be placed anywhere and unlike Reactors does not need to connected to a Conveyor network. It also does not require that it be next to the object(s) that it is powering. Batteries can be used on small ships, large ships, and stations.

Note

• Batteries on a small ship take up 2x3x3 block space, opposed to 1 block on large ships/stations.

Control Panel

Recharging

Although a newly constructed battery will have some charge already available, providing power instantly once complete. The main purpose of the battery is to store and discharge power as needed. A ship may also recharge its battery through Connectors by drawing power from the other side while docked. This does not cost extra power.

• Indicators on the battery itself inform the player its status of stored power.

Charging State		Discharging State		Block Deactivated
Indicator Amount	Status	Indicator Amount	Status	Indicator Amount	Status
	Charging from 0%		Below 100%		Not Enabled
	Above 25%		Below 75%
	Above 50%		Below 50%
	Above 75%		Below 25%
	100% - full		0% - empty

Recharge Toggle

A Battery can recharge regardless of whether its Recharge setting is toggled or not, but if it's set to Recharge it will ONLY recharge and will not discharge or provide power. During this state, the battery will only draw power from the surrounding grid to store in its reserves. It will not discharge again till the player toggles "recharge" once again. Be aware that the charging process is not 100% efficient. Regardless of where the energy is coming from, only about 75% to 80% of the energy will actually be stored in the battery, the remainder being wasted due to inherent inefficiency.

Discharge Toggle

Once a battery has enough charge in it it may be set to only discharge it's stored power into the grid, the battery should take priority over reactors (using fuel) but not active solar panels - this may vary due to subgrids and etc. A battery can discharge its stored power whether the it's discharge setting is toggled or not, but toggling the discharge means it will ONLY discharge and not at all draw power from other power sources such as other batteries or reactors.

When neither Discharge or Recharge is toggled

During this state which is the default state of a newly built battery, it will recharge automatically if there is any surplus power it can draw from and discharge automatically if there is a shortfall in power supply that is if there is more power being drawn that otherwise available without the battery's reserves. This is unwise as it may if Reactors are present quickly recharge and then discharge this stored energy, since the battery's charging is inefficient you essentially lose fuel in the process.

Semi-Auto Toggle

This mode will enable the battery to automatically recharge when at 0%, and then discharge when at 100%. In other words, it will automatically recharge and power the grid without player intervention.

Charging with Reactors

While reactors can recharge batteries, the efficiency is only about 80%, as noted above. Reactors due to high output can recharge the battery quickly, however this is considered very inefficient and causes reactors to use 25% more fuel than is necessary.

Charging with Solar panels

While a single Solar Panel does not have the same power output as reactors, it is considered "free" energy since no fuel is spent to generate power. It should be noted that while solar panels draw power and recharge the battery at no cost, it does so at a much lower rate. A single solar panel will recharge a battery from 0-100% in more than a day on a large ship; small ship batteries will also recharge in more than a day. To recharge a battery using only solar power (at maximum output), it requires 100 panels for large ships and stations, or 144 panels on a small ship and will do so in 15 minutes.

While 30+ panels appears impractical for a shorter recharge, its more logical to create such things as recharge satellites that your ships can dock with to recharge their batteries.

Example of a solar recharge station. A small ship is docked and recharging its battery

Power Output

Once charged, the battery can begin to power the grid it is placed on. It has nearly the same output capabilities as a small reactor with an output of 12MW on large ships/stations, and 4.32MW on small ships. The battery life can vary depending on power usage. On a typical small ship can last anywhere from 2-4 hours while in constant use (moving, mining, etc). Large ships will use far more power, and a single battery will only sustain a default red ship for 2 hours while idling, or 15 minutes of constant movement.

Example of a battery providing power to a small construction ship

Media

Small ship battery block	Large ship/station battery block
Battery block interface on a small ship	Battery block interface on a large ship/station

Tips

• See Electricity for more information.

Known Issues

• While the power grid does correctly prioritize power sources for everything directly connected to it, once sub-grids (such as grids accessed through rotors, pistons, connectors, etc) also supply or draw power the battery can become confused.

Programming

(IMyBatteryBlock)
Actions: 4

Toggle block On/Off
Toggle block On
Toggle block Off
Recharge On/Off

Properties: 0

Update History