Since version 5.0 (for Minecraft 1.7.2) GregTech has it's own Energy System since GregoriusT wasn't satisfied with IC2 Experimental's Energy System.
Voltage and Amperage
GregTech uses terms like "Voltage" (V) and "Amperage" (A) to describe its new Power system. One "Volt" is very similar to IC2's one "EU packet" and "Amperage is simply the number of these packets transferred in one tick.
EU/t is the total EU received. For example, if a machine receives one 32V packet and another 24V packet, the total EU/t received is 32 + 24 = 56 EU/t.
Most GT Machines can accept up to 2A. Some do accept up to 3A though.
You do need to be careful when trying to power machines:
- Machines that get a higher Voltage than they can handle explode.
- Excess Amperes fed into machines have no effect as long as the voltage is below the machines' limit.
GT has 10 Voltage Tiers as from version 5.0:
| Short | Full | Voltage or EU/t |
|---|---|---|
| ULV | Ultra Low Voltage | 8 |
| LV | Low Voltage | 32 |
| MV | Medium Voltage | 128 |
| HV | High Voltage | 512 |
| EV | Extreme Voltage | 2048 |
| IV | Insane Voltage | 8192 |
| LuV | Ludicrous Voltage | 32768 |
| ZPMV | ZPM Voltage | 131072 |
| UV | Ultimate Voltage | 524288 |
| MaxV | Maximum Voltage | 2147483647 |
GT transformers will output 1A if used to step-up Voltages and output 4A if used to step-down.
Battery Buffers in-/output 1A per Battery inside.
EU accepting machine blocks accept either 2A or 3A input and can output 1A.
Cables and Loss
Given that GregTech has its own power system now, you will need to use GT cables for powering GT machines. Do note that the only machine capable of accepting IC2 EU in GT is the Transformer (Not to be confused with the IC2 Transformer).
All GT Cables have a max Voltage, max Amperage and a Loss:
- Cables that get packets higher than their max Voltage will catch fire and melt.
- Cables that have more Amperes travelling through them will catch fire and melt.
Do note that packets can rebound. Even if the logical path that a packet dictates that EU should not travel in that direction, you should not take for granted that your cables will not have some stray EU packets travelling through them. - The loss of a cable is per Block a EU package travels.
For example a 32V package is sent trough a Tin Cable which has a loss of 1EU per block to a machine 8 blocks away.
After 8 blocks of cables the 32V Package is down to 24V when it arrives at the machine. Should the machine need for example 30EU/t to operate. A second package sent in the same tick is needed every 4 Ticks. Thus a 2A supply is needed for the machine with this setup.
Cable losses are applied to each EU Package, netting you a 2x power loss.
Each Material has 1x, 2x, 4x, 8x 12x and 16x uninsulated Wires and 1x, 2x, 4x, 8x and 12x Insulated Cables.
Do note that Uninsulated Wires have 2x the loss as Insulated Cables.
Here is an example:
A 1x Tin Cable can handle 1A and 32V at a loss of 1V/m. This means that the EU packet can travel 32 blocks before it dies.
A 1x Tin Wire can handle 1A and 32V at a loss of 2V/m. In this case, the EU can travel 18 blocks only.
Below is a table of the current properties of various types of cables in GregTech:
| Material | Max Voltage | 1x Insulated Cable Max Amp | Loss/m in EU | Efficency compaired to Tin Wire | Lenght until 0 Power |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tin | 32 | 1 | 1 | 1.00 | 32 |
| Cobalt | 32 | 2 | 2 | 0.50 | 16 |
| Lead | 32 | 2 | 2 | 0.50 | 16 |
| Zinc | 32 | 1 | 1 | 1.00 | 32 |
| Soldering Alloy | 32 | 1 | 1 | 1.00 | 32 |
| Iron | 128 | 2 | 3 | 1.33 | 43 |
| Nickel | 128 | 3 | 3 | 1.33 | 43 |
| Cupronickel | 128 | 2 | 3 | 1.33 | 43 |
| Copper | 128 | 1 | 2 | 2.00 | 64 |
| Annealed Copper | 128 | 1 | 1 | 4.00 | 128 |
| Kanthal | 512 | 4 | 3 | 5.33 | 171 |
| Gold | 512 | 3 | 2 | 8.00 | 256 |
| Electrum | 512 | 2 | 2 | 8.00 | 256 |
| Silver | 512 | 1 | 1 | 16.00 | 512 |
| Blue Alloy | 512 | 2 | 1 | 16.00 | 512 |
| Nichrome | 2048 | 3 | 4 | 16.00 | 512 |
| Steel | 2048 | 2 | 2 | 32.00 | 1024 |
| Tungstensteel | 2048 | 3 | 2 | 32.00 | 1024 |
| Tungsten | 2048 | 4 | 2 | 32.00 | 1024 |
| Aluminium | 2048 | 1 | 1 | 64.00 | 2048 |
| Graphene | 8192 | 1 | 1 | 256.00 | 8192 |
| Osmium | 8192 | 4 | 2 | 128.00 | 4096 |
| Naquadah | 32768 | 4 | 1 | 1,024.00 | 32768 |
Also any GT Block and Battery outputting Energy has an energy loss on output. This means there is no such thing as lossless cables in GregTech.
A power outputting machine will take (8 * 4 ^ Tier) + (2 ^ Tier) EU from its storage and output only (8 * 4 ^ Tier) EU.
The energy lost is therefore (2 ^ Tier).
An example:
Say a turbine is supposed to output 32V.
output = 32 = (8 * 4 ^ Tier).
Solving for Tier gives you 1. The energy loss will then be (2 ^ Tier). In this case it is 2.
So the turbine takes 34 EU from its storage, outputs 32 and then voids 2 EU per packet output.
Here is a table documenting some of the cable properties in GregTech:
| Tier | Output | Loss | Loss in % | Energy used |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ULV | 8 | 1 | 12.5 | 9 |
| LV | 32 | 2 | 6.25 | 34 |
| MV | 128 | 4 | 3.125 | 132 |
| HV | 512 | 8 | 1.5625 | 520 |
| EV | 2048 | 16 | 0.78125 | 2064 |
| IV | 8192 | 32 | 0.390625 | 8224 |
| LuV | 32768 | 64 | 0.1953125 | 32832 |
| ZPMV | 131072 | 128 | 0.09765625 | 131200 |
| UV | 524288 | 256 | 0.048828125 | 524544 |
Machine explosions
Using GregTech machines without thought and care can be fairly unsafe. If a machine gets contact with rain, it will explode. If a machine gets lit on fire, it will explode.
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