Tutorial: How to Cheap and simple wire Solars (13 and 32 flowers)

Gorni · August 30, 2011 at 3:01 PM Official Post

Material Needed: 4 cables, 1 Batbox, 13 solars (+ cables for output on bottom)

This way, the 1eu packages from the solars will just have to travel 1 cable to reach the batbox. From there the energy will be emitted in 32eu packages, reducing the relativ loss.

OR if you want it to full capacity: (Designs by Viktor_Berg)
(Material needed: 1 Batbox, 12 cables, 32 solars (+ cables for output on bottom)

or if you aim for a better-looking more compact version:
(Material needed: 1 Batbox, 16 cables, 32 solars)

Flat versions: (33 solars, 1 solar will fill up a part of the storage during day, no problem that cant be handeled.)
Stage 1=bat box, cables 2 colors

Stage 2=Solars

And if you want to make bigger farms, you can connect multiple of the above Design: (a 132 solar flower with 4 batboxes.)

sirbrandino · August 30, 2011 at 3:40 PM

Interesting, have you tried testing panels in a flat configuration? I'm curious if ic2 allows that now.

Edit: Ah very nice! I LOVE flat arrays.

cvl4317 · August 30, 2011 at 3:42 PM

you know that you can still put 1 more solar in the center without the need of cable, right? also, insulated copper cable can go for 4 cable distance. so you can expand one more to the side, and put solar at the edge. allowing easy-to-calculate 61 solars in a flower.

Gorni · August 30, 2011 at 3:46 PM Official Post

I just made it this way so it will exactly produce what the batbox can emit, but 1 or 2 more solars would be okay, so it would accumulate during day and being emitted during night.

But the part with no cable i will edit for the 13 solar

Viktor_Berg · August 30, 2011 at 3:49 PM

Here is another 32-panel design, slightly more compact (7x7 instead of 9x9):

Alblaka · August 30, 2011 at 3:52 PM Official Post

Quote from Viktor_Berg

Here is another 32-panel design, slightly more compact (7x7 instead of 9x9):

I must say, this one looks beautiful :3

Gorni · August 30, 2011 at 3:56 PM Official Post

Quote from sirbrandino

Interesting, have you tried testing panels in a flat configuration? I'm curious if ic2 allows that now.

i HIGHLY disrecommend making wireplanes, this will cause your computer to get HUGE cpu spikes caused by the calculation of all possible wire connections, and at a certain point (about 5*5 plane) kill your game, rendering your world unloadable.

Adien_Alexander · August 30, 2011 at 3:57 PM Official Post

Quote from Gorni

i HIGHLY disrecommend making wireplanes, this will cause your computer to get HUGE cpu spikes caused by the calculation of all possible wire connections, and at a certain point (about 5*5 plane) kill your game, rendering your world unloadable.

Could always use the nifty painter item thing to make coloured cables. I may play around with that later...

Gorni · August 30, 2011 at 3:59 PM Official Post

that should work better.

Alblaka · August 30, 2011 at 4:02 PM Official Post

As well, Machines != Conductors.
Thus you can freely set up the flowers like mentioned above, as long as you keep the number of cables intersecting low.

5x5 grid = lots of 4er connections.
Solar panel above = 4 3er connections, nothing else

Player · August 30, 2011 at 8:08 PM Official Post

Quote from Gorni

i HIGHLY disrecommend making wireplanes, this will cause your computer to get HUGE cpu spikes caused by the calculation of all possible wire connections, and at a certain point (about 5*5 plane) kill your game, rendering your world unloadable.

This will be fixed in a later release

alesyx2000 · August 30, 2011 at 9:15 PM

Flat design max 5 distance:
Stage 1=bat box, cables 2 colors

Stage 2=Solars

Zane6888 · August 30, 2011 at 11:53 PM

I made a 61 eut flower using 4 batboxes and one MFE

its important to color these 5 cables

and a flat 13X14 one using colored cables

Alblaka · August 30, 2011 at 11:54 PM Official Post

I approve of excessive usage of cable coloring :3
Disapprove of TMI'd stuff though.

Drashian · August 31, 2011 at 2:33 AM Official Post

61EU flat array using only an MFE, taking advantage of the fact that:

61 x 1EU pulses don't combine to a 61EU pulse, and thus won't fry copper cable or a BatBox. (But I used an MFE anyway since a BatBox wouldn't be able to discharge as fast as it was being fed.)
Even if they did, none of the cables actually take >32EU anyway, because of the intelligent pathing in the energy net (and at the moment, cable colors, but that's just to save CPU - it'd work even without them). The sides of the MFE are only taking in 25EU, 5EU, 25EU, and 5EU.

11x11 square, but still 100% space efficient because they can be placed right next to each other diagonally. Yes, I TMI'd this, my real array is only a 32EU.

Gorni · August 31, 2011 at 6:35 AM Official Post

Guys.... CHEAP AND EFFECTIVE!
You will NEVER wire a solar system like this: Glassfiber is MUCH to expensive to just shoot 1eu blocks through. Sure, TMI and stuff, but that aint realistic for real gaming without cheating.

Cheap is: Copper Cables, Batboxes. All the rest aint cheap and thus not really usable for wiring solars.

Drashian · August 31, 2011 at 9:05 AM Official Post

Felt a pang of pride and had to share my new setup. Half an inventory full of iron ingots (legitimately mined, this is in my non-cheating map!) later, I've got a lovely 17x17 (diamond shape) 128EU setup based roughly on four of Viktor_Berg's aesthetically awesome design. 128 solar panels, 4 batboxes, and 1 MFE to collect my winnings. Throw in an LV transformer to turn it back to 32EU pulses so I can wire some of it to my other machines, throw whatever they're not using to a matter generator, and bam. I'm turning sunlight into diamonds. (Or iridium plates, as the case may be.) I can screenshot a disassembly of it if anyone wants, but it's pretty much just what's in this thread already. Awesome stuff.

Viktor_Berg · September 1, 2011 at 2:32 AM

A very nice array, although I am not the biggest fan of diamond-shaped arrays. Personally, I think I would have dealt with the loss of 1-2 EU/flower and used 4 of "my" solar flowers to make a square 14x14 solar array.

Nothing personal, though, okay?

Drashian · September 1, 2011 at 6:31 AM Official Post

Yeah, having a diamond array in a square world just looks awkward. But I'm too OCD not to have exactly 4x64 panels.

sugnaangus · September 7, 2011 at 7:31 PM

With 9 tin you can make 27 tin cables - enough for 81 solars