How to connect: Power Grid

[Jet]

https://ibb.co/mCgRLa

So im trying to find out how this works. What I want to do is have the research stations and turret set up with a switch. When I click reconnect they always connect to the same conduit thats over the door. is it always based on proximity? Moreover I want to have batteries set up as emergency power, so i want them to only be on when connected to a switch and off when the switch is off. But when i turn the switch off, the turret connects to the main power grid just like the research stations seem to, and thus drain some of my power during the night, when my solar is offline. Other power sources will come in time, but for now wondering how to set up my grid without having to individually shut off each device in order to prevent emergency power drainage. Do I have to delete all conduits that are close to the switch until its the only thing left for those devices to connect to?

If I do have to delete those conduits one of the batteries will only have one blue line connecting to it, which I am unsure of whether it will affect its charge effectiveness?

[Bryan=0101]

Originally posted by Jet:

https://ibb.co/mCgRLa

So im trying to find out how this works. What I want to do is have the research stations and turret set up with a switch. When I click reconnect they always connect to the same conduit thats over the door. is it always based on proximity? Moreover I want to have batteries set up as emergency power, so i want them to only be on when connected to a switch and off when the switch is off. But when i turn the switch off, the turret connects to the main power grid just like the research stations seem to, and thus drain some of my power during the night, when my solar is offline. Other power sources will come in time, but for now wondering how to set up my grid without having to individually shut off each device in order to prevent emergency power drainage. Do I have to delete all conduits that are close to the switch until its the only thing left for those devices to connect to?

If I do have to delete those conduits one of the batteries will only have one blue line connecting to it, which I am unsure of whether it will affect its charge effectiveness?

if you want to shut a group off you use power switches

[Jet]

Originally posted by 101=5, bryan=5:

Originally posted by Jet:

https://ibb.co/mCgRLa

So im trying to find out how this works. What I want to do is have the research stations and turret set up with a switch. When I click reconnect they always connect to the same conduit thats over the door. is it always based on proximity? Moreover I want to have batteries set up as emergency power, so i want them to only be on when connected to a switch and off when the switch is off. But when i turn the switch off, the turret connects to the main power grid just like the research stations seem to, and thus drain some of my power during the night, when my solar is offline. Other power sources will come in time, but for now wondering how to set up my grid without having to individually shut off each device in order to prevent emergency power drainage. Do I have to delete all conduits that are close to the switch until its the only thing left for those devices to connect to?

If I do have to delete those conduits one of the batteries will only have one blue line connecting to it, which I am unsure of whether it will affect its charge effectiveness?

if you want to shut a group off you use power switches

thats what im trying to do, but they always connect to the main power grid.

[Bryan=0101]

Originally posted by Jet:

Originally posted by 101=5, bryan=5:

if you want to shut a group off you use power switches

thats what im trying to do, but they always connect to the main power grid.

when a conduit gets within a certain range of an object they'll connect to it the soultion is to place the power switch on the juction before this connection as the power switches block the flow to the other wires after it unless they connected to another part

[Bryan=0101]

looking at your pic again you got unneed wire going around the battery this may be for zttt events, you just need to put the 3 batteries into the big room out of range of other devices hook all 3 to one switch and that should do it.

[Jet]

Originally posted by 101=5, bryan=5:

Originally posted by Jet:

thats what im trying to do, but they always connect to the main power grid.

when a conduit gets within a certain range of an object they'll connect to it the soultion is to place the power switch on the juction before this connection as the power switches block the flow to the other wires after it unless they connected to another part

Its kinda strange since theres a switch thats in front of the conduits so if proximity based the devices should connect to it. So I guess I have to delete all conduits in that storage room, and only store the batterys there once fully charged elsewhere. Then they should connect to the switch - maybe along with a second switch connecting to the turrets+research tables?

[Lawlzer]

...No.
If you click on the thing that's being connected (research bench) and click "connect" (B is keybind), it'll connect to a different set of power. It's just initially distance based, to where it connects, but you can just use connect to switch it :D

[Jet]

Originally posted by AFK (Lawlzer):

...No.
If you click on the thing that's being connected (research bench) and click "connect" (B is keybind), it'll connect to a different set of power. It's just initially distance based, to where it connects, but you can just use connect to switch it :D

i mentioned that in my first post. And while its possible to manually flick each time its not efficient or practical in my case, specially with research tables

[Fishbones]

okay so... i think i understand what ur trying to do.
cant give you a step by step, but here's a tip thats probably useful.

things connect to conduits first based on power, then based on proximity.

they will connect to a far conduit with power in it even if there is one nearby that has no power. some switches might help u with this. :)

[Jamaican Castle]

Devices will never connect *directly* to a switch, only to a conduit. What you have to do is put down a switch with conduits connecting to it from two sides - one side connects to your main power grid, the other side is what you want the devices to connect to. The conduit on the "far" side can be any size or complexity it needs to hook up all the devices you want controlled by that switch.

As far as the batteries, you shouldn't need to do anything special to have them act as a backup. As long as your grid has power, they'll passively store the excess, then when it doesn't have enough power (due to a generator breakdown or whatever) they'll feed it back out automatically.

As far as I'm aware, conduits can take as much power as is available, there's no need to double up connections to batteries or anything else.

[Jet]

Originally posted by Jamaican Castle:

Devices will never connect *directly* to a switch, only to a conduit. What you have to do is put down a switch with conduits connecting to it from two sides - one side connects to your main power grid, the other side is what you want the devices to connect to. The conduit on the "far" side can be any size or complexity it needs to hook up all the devices you want controlled by that switch.

As far as the batteries, you shouldn't need to do anything special to have them act as a backup. As long as your grid has power, they'll passively store the excess, then when it doesn't have enough power (due to a generator breakdown or whatever) they'll feed it back out automatically.

Ohhh I see. That clears it up. So it goes research table+turrets-conduit-switch,shut off switch when you need to turn on all devices

Originally posted by jamaican castle:

As far as I'm aware, conduits can take as much power as is available, there's no need to double up connections to batteries or anything else.

Can anyone confirm this? Maybe the extra charge slots are for looks?

[Jet]

To add to your last point jamaican castle: Wouldnt turning off the switch then cause what was connected to it to use the energy from the main power grid? So it would use my backup power at night if my only source is solar?

I want to charge the bats fully before using them

[Jamaican Castle]

You should have your lab and turrets on one side of the switch, your main power grid on the other. When you turn the switch off, they'll stop drawing any power and turn off. When you turn the switch back on, they'll use your main power.

Your batteries shouldn't be on a switch, and they definitely shouldn't be on the same switch as the lab. If they are, you won't be able to turn the lab off, because it will draw from the batteries when the switch is turned off. (Things on the "far" side of the switch are still connected to each other.)

You want the batteries plugged in all the time. That way they'll charge up each day, and power your stuff at night.

[Jet]

Ive heard having batteries on switches is advised to avoid zzzt events. More bats attatched to power grid the stronger the explosion. And its as I feared, I have to have the batteries connected to my main power grid if I want them ready for emergencies and unless i remove the conduits next to themthey will share the same grid as the tables

[Jamaican Castle]

You can uninstall and reinstall your batteries like furniture if they're inconveniently placed. I'd put them out of the way somewhere, just in case they -do- explode.

As for preventing shorts, that shouldn't be a problem if they're just storing your solar power, since they shouldn't give off that much more to your grid than it normally carries.