User:Florb

Introduction

Understanding the intricacies of the power dynamic in the station is key to keeping the station in order. Many, especially the HoP, believe that the Captain is the seat of power on the station. This is untrue as having the Captain wired into the station's power grid provides minimal power at best.

The real source of power comes from Engineering because without Station Engineers to set up the power sources at the beginning of a shift, the station would cease to function normally and devolve into a degenerative society with no more power than a uncivilized horde of lowly Assistants, who, it should be noted, also provide even less power when wired directly to the grid.

Power Sources

The Stormdrive Engine

The Stormdrive uses input gases to output Power directly in the range of multiple Megawatts. Your best bet on producing more power is usually to juggle with the input gas mix to squeeze out more power.

The Nuclear Reactor

Similar to the Stormdrive it produces Power if provided with Cooling and Moderator gases. Its output ranges in the Megawatts. Similarly you may want to change the moderator input to produce more power.

Supermatter Engine

The supermatter is a giant pile of exotic material capable of emitting both ionizing radiation and (flammable) gases. While the generation of these elements is normally rather low, the supermatter can be "activated" into releasing more by, well, most anything: even gasses can start the delamination process if they hold enough energy (heat, usually). You see where this is going? That's right, self-induced chain reactions. Your main job as an engineer will be to cool the supermatter down to prevent it from exploding (luckily a very easy job), while simultaneously exciting it to harvest radiation pulses. It's not an unforgiving engine, some would say it's even too stable to sabotage in a timely manner; read the Guide carefully and it will be hard to mess it up.

The Radiation emitted from the crystal can be collected in Radiation collectors, but the Power gained by this only ranges in the hundreds of Kilowatts. On many ships the crystal is paired with a TEG to instead produce power that way.

Singularity Engine

The usable power emitted by a singularity takes the form of ionizing radiation pulses. These can interact with the mysterious substance called "plasma" so as to generate electricity. The more plasma available, and the stronger and more frequent the pulses, the more power is generated. The net power output can be measured directly by using a multitool on the collector's wire, checking the first SMES unit connected for available power, or by looking it up on a power monitoring console (though the latter will give skewed results if other power sources such as solars are connected).

Again an Engine reliant on Radiation, therefore relatively weak in comparison to the alternatives. This will also produce a couple of hundred Kilowatts.

Tesla Engine

This giant ball of incandescent energy regularly regurgitates power in the form of electric arcs. These arcs can be partially captured by tesla generators, and will generally flow along the most conductive/least resisting path. Metal structures are prime target for its strikes, and grounding rods are the safest there is, drawing arcs to themselves and subsequently dissipating them into the whole station. The latter are regularly used to direct lighting through tesla generators, and are best deployed between the engine and anything you hold dear.

As the Tesla produces Electricity directly with Telsa zaps going into grounding rods and striking the tesla coils it produces a lot more power. The tesla can make power in the range of a few Megawatts with multiple tesla balls.

Solar Arrays

See Solars.

The solar arrays act as a secondary power source. They are composed of 60 panels per array and there are 4 arrays on the station. Each panel can produce 1.5 kW of power for a total of 90 kW per array.

The solar arrays only produce power when directly facing the local star. (The star is off-screen from the station and cannot be located by the player directly.) A solar tracking module can be wired into the solar array circuitry and, with the help of a solar power console, the solar panels can be made to automatically track the local star, which maximizes the power generation for each panel. However, as the station revolves around the star (which, again, is unseen by the player), the solar arrays often land in the shadow of the station which negatively affects solar power generation at the affected arrays. This effectively gives the solar arrays a solar day-night cycle, where it generates power during the day cycle and does not generate power during the night cycle. Because of the solar cycle, a given array will be able to generate power about 50% (estimated but unconfirmed) of the time, which can be translated to an average 45 kW per unit time, rather than the full 90 kW.

The solar panels themselves can be, and often are, broken by debris floating in space. Each broken panel reduces the total power generation of the array.

The solar arrays can typically power the entire station on their own, once the arrays are wired properly.

Solar Power Generated

Maximum		Average
per panel	per array	per array
1500 W (1.5 kW)	90000 W (90 kW)	45000 W (45 kW)

Gas Turbine Generator

See: Incinerator

The gas turbine generator is a tertiary power source that was recently installed in the incinerator. By utilizing the temperature differential between very hot air and very cold air, the turbine generator is able to create a nominal amount of electricity. The hot air is created by burning plasma and oxygen gas mixtures. The cold air is creating by passing air through cooling tubes located in space.

Although it's usually the last power source set up on the station, it's the only power source that can be accessed by Atmospherics. Also, they're the only ones who can turn on and mix the gas feed needed to sustain the generator without the use of gas canisters. The exact gas mixture for optimal power generation is unknown at this point, but some Engineers have reported values as high as 100 kW and in typical Engineer fashion forgot to write down their recipe. Be prepared to field questions from overprotective proactive AIs who notice plasma in the mixtank.

Portable Generators

Portable generators are failsafes when all other systems fail. They require fuel that is fed directly into the generator by hand. The type of fuel is dependent which type of generator is being used.

Portable generators can be upgraded using parts created by a protolathe. New ones can also be constructed with printable Boards once researched.

Fuel Required by Portable Generator Type

Type	Fuel	Power produced
P.A.C.M.A.N. Portable Generator	Plasma	40 kW - 160 kW
S.U.P.E.R.P.A.C.M.A.N. Portable Generator	Uranium	120 kW - 480 kW
M.R.S.P.A.C.M.A.N. Portable Generator	Diamond	320 kW - 1.28 MWs

One PACMAN generator is located in the SMES room, with plasma located in secure storage, and it is suggested to use it while setting up the singularity or tesla to prevent early release.

Power Distribution

Power Grid

To most people they're just wires that burn the shit out of you when you try to cut them without wearing insulated gloves. But really, the power grid is the electrical backbone of the station, powering everything from the emitters containing the singularity to the APC that controls the bathrooms in the locker room that you never go to. Also, it burns the shit out of you if you try to cut it without wearing insulated gloves.

BUT HOW MUCH DO YOU NEED?

There are two different grids on a regular ship; Let's call one a high wattage Grid and the other a low wattage grid.

• Reactors/Engines are wired to the high wattage one and connect to the input of the smeses, as well as the Armour well and on some maps even a shield generator and Phasers. The Armour well needs a constant supply of 3MWs, the Shield generator 15MWs. Lastly for the energy weapons : They are adjustable in their power draw in three levels for the lasers and five levels for the phase cannon. Each level uses 75kWs of Power.

• The low wattage grid is connected to the output of the smeses and powers apcs on the whole ship. This one is very important to keep powered as people actively need apc charged so their machines lights and doors work. A regular Consumption ranges from only around 60 kWs on smaller ships like the eclipse to 170kW or higher on bigger ships. Consumption will rise as new machines/lights etc. are built. (These values can be calculated by simply summing up the power draw of each apc on the ship on a power monitoring console)

SMES

A Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage (SMES) Cell is the spess version of a giant rechargeable battery. The standard set-up for an SMES involves:

1. a wiring input from an Engine/Reactor (high wattage), or from the power grid itself

2. a wiring output to the local power grid (low wattage), or to a closed system like the AI or mining stations

SMES Properties

SMES have a modifiable storage capacity, dependent on the power cells installed in the SMES upon fabrication. All SMESs present at the beginning of a typical shift have a default capacity of 3.33 MW.

SMES input (charging) and output levels can be modified using capacitors. All SMESs present at the beginning of a typical shift have a basic capacitor with default i/o levels of 200 kW.

SMESs will only charge when the input power is equal or higher to the input levels specified on the SMES settings panel.

Likewise, SMESs will only output when the level of charge is above the output level specified on the SMES settings panel.

APCs

APCs, or Automated Power Controllers, are found on the walls of the room they're powering or, more likely, in maintenance just outside the room. They can be used to toggle the room's equipment, lighting and environmental (a.k.a. ventilation) systems on and off.

Power Cells

Power cells are used to power devices smaller than the station such as APCs and cyborgs. Constructed with a protolathe, typical power cells come in several different flavors, in increasing capacity: the default power cell, the high-capacity power cell, the super-capacity power cell, or the hyper-capacity power cell.

There are also atypical cells such as a potato cell and a slime core cell.

Power Capacity by Type of Cell

Type	Capacity (W)
Typical Cells
Power Cell	10000
High-Capacity Power Cell	15000
Super-Capacity Power Cell	20000
Hyper-Capacity Power Cell	30000
Atypical Cells
Potato Cell	300
Slime Core Cell	10000

Concepts

System Power

System power is the amount of power available to the station at any given time. Power is made available through charged SMESs outputting power and through immediate power from power sources wired directly to the grid.

(System Power) = (Total Output Power of SMESs) + (Power Sources Wired to the Grid)

Power Queue

To maintain a stable source of power for station equipment, the station power grid follows a power queue where an electrical component with higher rank on the queue has its power draw from the grid evaluated before an electrical component with a lower priority. APCs are typically the lowest priority since they only draw power, while the power sources on the station are the highest priority since they only produce power.

Power Queue
Rank	Category	Location
1	All Power Sources
2	Power Sink	You wish I told you
3	Solar SMES #1	Starboard Forward Solar Access
4	Solar SMES #2	Port Forward Solar Access
5	Solar SMES #3	Starboard Aft Solar Access
6	Solar SMES #4	Port Aft Solar Access
7	Singlo SMES #1	SMES Room
8	Singlo SMES #2	SMES Room
9	Singlo SMES #3	SMES Room
??	Gas Turbine SMES	Incinerator Access (Gas Turbine Power Room)
10	Backups SMES #1	Electrical Maintenance
11	Backups SMES #2	Electrical Maintenance
12	Station APC Queue
Isolated SMESs
N/A	Gravity SMES	Gravity Generator Chamber
N/A	AI SMES	AI Chamber
N/A	Mining Output SMES	Mining Outpost
N/A	North Mining Output SMES	North Mining Outpost
N/A	West Mining Output SMES	West Mining Outpost

Power Output and the Power Queue

The most visible effect of the power queue is that if there is not enough output power available on the grid because a component with higher rank is requesting it, then a lower rank component will not charge. For example, if the Backup SMESs are set to input 200 kW each from the grid and the APCs draw 150 kW, but the grid only provides 250 kW total, then the second Backup SMES will not charge and around two out of three APCs will go unpowered as well.

SMES Charging and the Power Queue

File:SMES Room markup.png

The three Singlo SMESs in the SMES Room.

Similarly, if a higher rank component has a high enough output level to handle the station's power draw, then the station will draw all of its power from the higher rank component instead of splitting the draw with a lower rank component. This phenomenon is seen often when the singlo is set up. An unaware Engineer will purposefully set all three Singlo SMESs to output at a very high value, say 100 kW, or 300 kW, thinking that this will be more than enough to power the station. While this is technically correct, it isn't advised since it slows down the time it takes until all SMESs are completely full.

An example is the best way to see this. The total power draw on the station is usually near 150 kW. This means the station will draw 100 kW from Singlo SMES #1, 50 kW from Singlo SMES #2, and 0 kW from Singlo SMES #3, resulting in different charging rates of the SMESs. Since SMESs have a capacity of 3,333,333 W (3.33 MW) and assuming an input level of 200 kW, it should take 33.3 cycles before all the SMESs are completely charged (9.99 MW total power stored).

Singlo SMES Non-optimized Charging for 150 kW Power Draw

				Charge at n Cycles
Singlo Cell	Input Level	Draw	Charge Rate	17	23	34
SMES #1	200 kW	100 kW	100 kW	1.70 MW	2.30 MW	3.33 MW
SMES #2	200 kW	50 kW	150 kW	2.55 MW	3.33 MW	3.33 MW
SMES #3	200 kW	0 kW	200 kW	3.33 MW	3.33 MW	3.33 MW
Total	600 kW	150 kW	450 kW	7.58 MW	8.96 MW	9.99 MW

A better way is to set output levels on Singlo SMESs #1 and #2 to a third of the total power draw of the station (here, 50 kW), while allowing the remainder (also, 50 kW) to draw from Singlo SMES #3, which would be set higher than that to account for power fluctuations. For the same case where the total draw was 150 kW, we would set SMES #1 and #2 to 50 kW and SMES #3 to something higher like 200 kW. This would have all three SMESs charged in 22.2 cycles -- 33% faster than the situation above.

File:SMES Output v Cycles to Full v01.png

The optimal number of cycles it takes to charge the singlo SMESs is dependent on both not outputting too little, and not outputting too much.

Singlo SMES Optimized Charging for 150 kW Power Draw

				Charge at n Cycles
Singlo Cell	Input Level	Draw	Charge Rate	17	23
SMES #1	200 kW	50 kW	150 kW	2.55 MW	3.33 MW
SMES #2	200 kW	50 kW	150 kW	2.55 MW	3.33 MW
SMES #3	200 kW	50 kW	150 kW	2.55 MW	3.33 MW
Total	600 kW	150 kW	450 kW	7.65 MW	9.99 MW

ENGINEERING WHY ARE WE LOSING POWER

Sooner or later, on every barely functional space station, the power will go out. This is where you - YES, YOU, YOU LAZY FUCK - come in and call out to recall that shuttle because you can fix it! Power can go out for many reasons. Your first port of call should be the Power Monitoring console in engineering, assuming it still exists. Then, ask yourself what's going on:

• Power goes out everywhere, in under 10 seconds or so? This is most likely a power sink. Power sinks have the odd quirk of still powering the area they are placed in, so your best bet is to get searching for somewhere where the lights are still on, or if it's in maint, where you don't have to crowbar the doors.
• Power goes out everywhere, but gradually, section by section? This means there's a problem in Engineering itself as the rest of the station is being topped up with charge. It'll be immediately obvious if the engine isn't on/has escaped. Your next port of call should be the SMES cells. Check they're outputting enough power to overcome the drain OR if no APCs are showing on the Power Monitoring computer, it means a wire has been cut either inside or immediately outside the Engineering area and is not being supplied to the rest of the station.
• Power is out across a small area? This is most commonly a broken wire, the easiest way to find it is with familiarity with the power-net and using that in conjunction with the power monitoring computer. If an area has had all wires sending power to it snipped, its APCs will no longer show on the power monitoring computer. For example, if Medbay as a whole has lost power and isn't showing any of its APCs on the power monitor, the wire cut is most likely in the maint tunnel behind Medbay. The more familiar you become with the power nets, the quicker you will be able to work out where the break is and be able to recognize common spots used.
• Power is out across 2 small rooms or in one room? This is most likely an APC that has been tampered with in some way. Either hacked by an AI/Saboteur, destroyed somehow or just had its cell ripped out. Again, if the APC doesn't show up on the Power Monitoring computer, it means it's been severed from the power net and wire either inside that room or very close to the APC has been cut.
• Power is intermittent across the station. Stuff turns off for a while, starts working, then goes off again? Your SMES aren't outputting enough power to keep the APCs charged. This happens most often when the output is just under the drain so therefore some APCs get enough power, while others don't.
• The smes'es cycle between getting power and not getting power for seemingly no reason Bug. admin help it. Can be fixed by admins by restarting the master controller.
• Power isn't actually out? Either someone is crying wolf or something else has happened to make it look like power went out, most likely an electrical storm.

Now that you know what's wrong with power, it's your job to fix it! If the singularity is about to be fucked, TURN OFF THE PA IMMEDIATELY (it may be worth asking the AI) and wire solars, if they aren't already wired. It might also be necessary to replace equipment. There is a PACMAN located in the SMES room and a spare SMES unit located in Electrical Maintenance, both of which no one ever remembers. You could also rebuild everything. The tools to build a new SMES are located in Tech Storage, and cargo can order new solar equipment and even a new goddamn PA! ...Assuming they haven't already done so and pointed it your way, that is.