Energy is, in simple terms, the application of force to do work. There are several forms of energy in the Feed the Beast modpack to power various machinery, introduced by various mods. It is created by using a form of fuel, such as burning items like coal, or absorbing light from sources such as the sun. In most cases, there is energy loss in the transfer of energy from one location to another, but there are ways of minimizing this through use of better materials or certain techniques. There are four main forms of energy, as well as EMC. It should be noted that Redstone is not a form of energy, as it does not power machines through the use of fuel.
Blutricity[]
Blutricity is a form of electric current introduced by RedPower 2. It can be used to power blulectric machines such as the Blulectric Furnace and Frame Motors, and can be stored in both portable Batteries and Battery Boxes.
- include table here on energy production, if applicable.
Charge[]
Charge is a form of electric current introduced by Factorization. So far it's only power source is reflecting sunlight into a Solar Turbine. They are connected via lead wires to Factorization machines or battery blocks. Battery Blocks are capable of storing their charge when broken and picked up by the player, and their charge is used in certain instances as a crafting ingredient.
Energy-Matter Conversion[]
Energy-Matter Conversion, or EMC, is a form of 'currency' used by Equivalent Exchange 3 as a means to assign values to blocks and items. Objects can be converted into their EMC value equivalents, broken into multiple lesser value items, or merged with the EMC values of duplicate items of itself or others to make a more valuable item. There are two forms of EMC, one that is matter based, and one that is fuel based.
EE3 is currently in development and most of the features involving this have not yet been introduced.
Energy Unit[]
Energy Units, or EUs, are the main form of electric current introduced in IndustrialCraft 2, and its addons. They are transferred through wiring in various sized packets through various cables: low voltage (32 EU), medium voltage (128 EU), high voltage (512 EU), and extreme voltage (2048 EU). These 'voltages' are not of real life equivalence in their function.
Production[]
Generators[]
Generator | Mod | Energy Source | Max EU/t | Condition | Storage (EUs) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Generator (default) | IndustrialCraft2 | Furnace Fuels | 10 | When it has fuel. | 4000 | Most generators use this as a crafting component. |
Water Mill | IndustrialCraft2 | Moving Water | 1 | Water Buckets or Water Cells placed into it. | 0 | If water containers are not being placed into it, it can produce .01 EU/t for every water source block in it's immediate 3x3x3 area. |
Solar Panel | IndustrialCraft2 | Sunlight | 1 | There must be no blocks obstructing it's view of the sky. Only works during the day. | 0 | Output will deminish during rain and storms. |
Wind Mill | IndustrialCraft2 | Wind | 4 | How high it is and how many air blocks around it (9x9x7) determine it's efficiency. Will produce additional EUs in bad weather. | 0 | 4 EU/t is the safe maximum. 5 EU/t and up can break the Wind Mill and be destroyed. |
Geothermal Generator | IndustrialCraft2 | Lava | 20 | 480,000 | Lava can be pumped into it by Buildcraft Pumps directly or via Waterproof Pipes. | |
Advanced Solar Panel | Advanced Solar Panels | Sunlight | 8 | There must be no blocks obstructing it's view of the sky. | 32,000 | Outputs low voltage (32 eu), and will generate 1 EU/t during night and rainy days. |
Hybrid Solar Panel | Advanced Solar Panels | Sunlight | 64 | There must be no blocks obstructing it's view of the sky. | 100,000 | Outputs medium voltage (128 EU), and will generate 8 EU/t during night and rainy days. |
Ultimate Hybrid Solar Panel | Advanced Solar Panels | Sunlight | 512 | There must be no blocks obstructing it's view of the sky. | 1,000,000 | Outputs high voltage (512 EU), and will generate 64 EU/t during night and rainy days. |
Bio Generator | Forestry | Biofuel or Liquid Biomass | 16 | Max output produced with Biofuel, half that if Biomass. | 30,000 | Biofuel or Liquid Biomass can be pumped into it by Buildcraft Waterproof Pipes. |
Lightningrod | GregTech | In-game lightning strikes | 8192 | Requires an in-game lightning strike to hit it, or to hit a pole of iron fences on top of it. | Requires a Supercondensator to remove the energy from the reactor, and transformed down to high voltage for use. The higher it, or it's iron fences, rise, the higher chance they will be hit. | |
Steam Turbine | Railcraft | Steam | 50 | Requires a Turbine Rotor be placed in the machine. | Will scale its output based on the steam it's receiving. Requires 160 steam (four Golden Waterproof Pipes) to operate at 100% capacity. Turbine Rotors will eventually break after prolonged use (typically 40+ hours at 100% capacity), and need to be replaced. |
Reactors[]
Reactor | Mod | Energy Source | Max EU/t | Condition | Storage (EUs) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nuclear Reactor | IndustrialCraft2 | Uranium Cells | Read more here | If properly set up, are very productive. If improperly set up, are very destructive. | ||
Fusion Reactor | GregTech | Tritium-Deuterium or Helium3-Deuterium | 4096 | Requires 40,000,000 (40 million) EU to be fed into the reactor to initiate the reaction. It must also be surrounded by Fusioncoils. See it's page for details. | 100,000,000 | Requires a Supercondensator to remove the energy from the reactor, and transformed down to high voltage for use. |
Transfer and Storage[]
EU packets are transferred in various types of cables.
Use[]
IC2 machines require a certain amount of EUs to run, and have an internal buffer of storage. They may be supplied through portable energy items, or by cables. These machines can only accept so much energy, and if they receive too high a voltage, will explode. For these situations, it is best to use a transformer to step down the voltage, though they can also be used to step up the voltage as well.
Minecraft Joule[]
Minecraft Joules, or MJs, are the primary energy unit native to Buildcraft, but is also used by Forestry, Railcraft, and Thermal Expansion. Each of these mods has ways to produce MJs, as well as uses of this energy. Blulectric energy and EUs can both be converted into Minecraft Joules for use by these machines, and it is the only form of energy that does not have a way to harness the sun's energy directly (if including the fact that EE2 was able to).
Production (Engines)[]
Engines are the primary means of producing MJs, but draw their power from a variety of sources. Engines only pump out their stored MJs at the end of their stroke animation, and if directly hooked to a machine, may not output all their energy into it, leading to higher heat levels. The hotter an engine is, the faster it's animation and the quicker it will run, often more efficiently. The four typical colors of engines, in order of coolest to hottest, are blue, green, yellow-orange, and red. Outside Redstone engines, if an engine's color is red, it is prone to exploding in a short time and should be taken offline to cool, if not diagnose and alter the system.
Typically, engines will only run if receiving a redstone signal.
Engine | Mod | Fuel Options | Max MJ/t | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Redstone | Buildcraft | None (no fuel required) | 0.05 | Can not chain or connect to wood energy pipes. Will not explode. Best used in conjunction with Wooden Transport or Waterproof Pipes. |
Stirling | Buildcraft | Furnace Fuels | 1 | Formerly known simply as "Steam Engine," but likely renamed to avoid confusion. |
Combustion | Buildcraft | Fuel Biofuel Oil Lava |
6 5 2 1 |
Requires constant supply of water to remain cool or will overheat and explode. |
Peat-Fired | Forestry | Bituminous Peat Peat |
2 1 |
Has the byproduct of producing Ash |
Biogas | Forestry | Biomass Creosote Oil Seed Oil Water + Lava Liquid Honey Milk |
5 4 3 1 1 1 |
Requires lava to start the engine at activation, unless using water in which case it will constantly use lava. |
Electrical | Forestry | EUs | 6 | Can be upgraded to produce more MJ/t. |
Hobbyist's Steam | Railcraft | Steam Furnace Fuel + Water |
2 1.6 |
Only Railcraft engine that does not require a Boiler. |
Commercial Steam | Railcraft | Steam | 4 | Requires a Gold Waterproof Pipe or two Cobble/Stone Waterproof Pipes to operate at full capacity. |
Industrial Steam | Railcraft | Steam | 8 | Requires a dedicated Gold Waterproof Pipe to operate at full capacity. |
Blulectric | Redpower 2 | Blutricity | 32 | Will alter it's output based on how much MJs will be accepted by the system, as well as it's input accordingly. |
Steam | Thermal Expansion | Furnace Fuel + Water | 2 | Can be configured to not require a Redstone signal to operate. Will overheat if run when unable to release its energy and stop running, but not explode. |
Magmatic | Thermal Expansion | Lava | 4 | Can be configured to not require a Redstone signal to operate. Will overheat if run when unable to release its energy and stop running, but not explode. |
Transfer and Storage[]
MJs are moved primarily through the use of Conductive Pipes, or Redstone Energy Conduits.
Use[]
See here for a list of machines that run on Minecraft Joules.