Energy efficiency and usage of steam boiler

  • Hi, there !


    Currently I'm playing All the mods which consists of IC2 also.


    Now I'm interested in steam boiler system but recently I realized a simple problem.


    The energy efficiency of steam generation system is totally same as stirling generator.


    If I provide 100HU/t than the final kinetic generator generates 50EU/t.


    Well, someone can claim that we cannot provide 100HU to stirling but the amount of energy problem can be solved easily by just using a number of stirlings.


    Also, currently I'm using liquid fuels and for this liquid fuels, actually the semifluid generator shows totally same efficiency.


    Therefore, we can conclude that using semifluid generator is more easy and the energy efficiency is same.


    In this point of view, the usage of steamboiler is only for nuclear reactors by using thermal exchanger and hot coolant.


    If I'm right, I want to quit IC2.


    Is there any other suggestion of using the steam boiler?

    • Official Post

    The energy efficiency of steam generation system is totally same as stirling generator.


    If I provide 100HU/t than the final kinetic generator generates 50EU/t.


    Well, someone can claim that we cannot provide 100HU to stirling but the amount of energy problem can be solved easily by just using a number of stirlings.

    Only if you only use normal steam. If you use superheated steam the efficiency increases drastically, although the whole steam system was never really finished very well as Thunderdark had to move house, but in terms of current usage normal steam is really only useful for making lots of distilled water very quickly.

    Also, currently I'm using liquid fuels and for this liquid fuels, actually the semifluid generator shows totally same efficiency.


    Therefore, we can conclude that using semifluid generator is more easy and the energy efficiency is same.


    In this point of view, the usage of steamboiler is only for nuclear reactors by using thermal exchanger and hot coolant.

    It very much depends on what you want, there's nothing that allows converting EU to HU very efficiently. So if your EU power is naturally fuel based then it's much better (twice using the default configs) to use a liquid firebox to generate any heat that is needed. The semifluid generator being less efficient than the liquid firebox would mean it would have no purpose, and vice versa, hence they generate the same amount of energy (in different forms) for the same amount of fuel).


    It's important to remember the stirling generator is inherently inefficient too, if you did EU -> Electric Heater -> HU -> Stirling Generator -> EU using the default configs you'd end up with a quarter of the energy you started with. Converting between different energy types isn't encouraged when it's avoidable, this applies to real life as much as IC2.

    145 Mods isn't too many. 9 types of copper and 8 types of tin aren't too many. 3 types of coffee though?

    I know that you believe that you understood what you think I said, but I am not sure you realise that what you read was not what I meant.


    ---- Minecraft Crash Report ----
    // I just don't know what went wrong :(


    I see this too much.

  • Thank you for your kind reply. (Oh, you are a northern man...)

    If you use superheated steam the efficiency increases drastically

    If I want to use superheated steam, as I know, I should supply 200HU/t.


    Currently I just managed to supply 100HU/t by using biogas. (Actually I want to claim on the speed of fermenter also but we can talk about this later)


    As mentioned on the wiki, heat exchanger and electric heater are the only way to supply more than 100HU/t.


    Maybe, I can include electric heat generator by accepting some energy lose if the efficiency of superheated steam is very big.


    Can you tell me how strong the superheated steam is, i.e. like normal steam output is 200KU/t, what is superheated steam output?


    This information would help me to design.


    Thank you !

    • Official Post

    Northern UK ;)

    Can you tell me how strong the superheated steam is, i.e. like normal steam output is 200KU/t, what is superheated steam output?

    Superheated steam requires double the heat compared to normal steam for the same amount of output, but because using it in the steam turbine gives double the KU output as well as normal steam out instead of distilled water, it allows you to chain turbines in pairs to boost output. Generally using it will get you half as much again, so if you had 200 KU/t using normal steam you'd have 300 KU/t using superheated steam.

    145 Mods isn't too many. 9 types of copper and 8 types of tin aren't too many. 3 types of coffee though?

    I know that you believe that you understood what you think I said, but I am not sure you realise that what you read was not what I meant.


    ---- Minecraft Crash Report ----
    // I just don't know what went wrong :(


    I see this too much.

  • Thank you for your mention.

    if you can only supply 50 HU per machine

    This is the point.


    Actually, simple oil only can provide 16HU/t and the biogas provides only 32HU/t.


    Because there is no Buildcraft currently, this is the maximum of oil based heat generator.


    Recently I realized that the easiest way is using Radioisotope Heat Generator by putting Pellets of RTG Fuel.


    Hmmm... It is easy way but less interesting for me.


    Anyway now I implemented 50EU/40mb simple oil based steam generator.


    Thank you for your supports, all of you.