Better Batteries

Started by Triklino, October 30, 2019, 08:00:19 PM

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Triklino

Hey guys. This game is fantastic, I've spent far too much time playing it, and the only complaint I have is how the game handles battery storage. I'm also a large scale battery storage operator, so I'm nitpicking details nobody gives a shit about but hey.

Charging/discharging

It would be nice to:

1. Set charge/discharge rates for batteries

2. Size storage units during construction, with the penalty for larger systems being a scaling factor of more resources. (With obviously a reasonable max size)

3. If 2 is not possible, then being able to aggregate blocks of storage units into systems would be great to reduce the micro-managing of individual units.

4. Create schedules for battery storage units. Example: "I'd like system A to only charge between 10:00 and 13:00, systems B and D to charge 12:00 to 17:00 and system C to only charge from 12:00 to 17:00 if total grid demand is < 75% of max system output and systems B and D are > 80% capacity" (I went into far too much detail in this one, if the first part of my example is all that's understood then that's all I really want anyway :) )

5. It'd be nice to designate what generating resource the battery is specifically charging from and what rate. This would allow us to tell a battery "Use 80% Solar, 5% Geothermal, 5% hydro and 10% traditional (Wood/Biofuel furnaces)" which would help when solar production stops and you don't want to start charging 50 battery units straight from primary grid power. Paired with idea #1, which will allow to fine-tune even further (rates of charging), it makes batteries a more viable utility. Also helps with intermittent resources, namely solar - allows the remaining 20% of solar output that the BESS's will not be using to contribute to grid power during the day instead of being wholly absorbed by storage.

6. Reduce the amount of "zzzt's", because it's unrealistic and annoying. A battery system won't discharge its full energy in a single instant, 35 km down the circuit by some random piece of equipment. Generally speaking, if a storage unit releases all of its stored energy at one time it has exploded/caught fire, and not some random piece of conduit. If you're going for a somewhat realistic scenario make heat a problem and not the random discharge of like 15 mW of energy at some random point down the circuit. If you want something to explode, either make it the battery itself or create an inverter, slap that baby on as an addition between storage unit and grid, have it act as a physical limitation on charge/discharge rates, and make that explode. This is honestly the most annoying thing, but I also make my living on making sure bad things don't happen - which means I have to know every bad thing that CAN happen, so take it with a grain of salt.

7. Degradation. Storage units degrade over time, whether it's overall available capacity or ability to manage power quality, there's a lifespan on these things. Typically determined by cycles, heat, and a TON of other variables, it would be easier to just put a daily timer on the system (or for a more dynamic approach, use total amount of energy discharged and charged over time [Which feeds into being able to smartly set charge and discharge rates, thereby extending lifetimes of systems]).

All this being said the game is amazing, and I think it would be cool to see the game with a more realistic energy-grid infrastructure.

NickU

I'm not sure you understand how batteries work in game (https://rimworldwiki.com/wiki/Battery), some of your questions don't make sense, unless I'm the one who doesn't understand them :)

Rimworld batteries do not 'load' the network as in real life.  ie They don't draw power, they simply store half of any excess produced.  So in answer to your questions:

1. Their charge rate is based on how much excess power is available.  While their discharge rate is based on the shortfall of generated power.  Why would you choose to charge/discharge them at any other rate?  For example they are already being charged at the maximum possible rate, what is there to choose?  To reduce that rate and waste power or increase that rate and cause other power consumers to black out? 

2. Size storage units?  You can do that manually, just cluster more batteries together.  Of course it takes more space, but that is generally one of the laws of physics.

3. Ok, I guess you are talking about powering the Deep Drill as I can't think of another reason that batteries need micro-managing.  This is not really an answer, but one battery will keep a Deep Drill running for 2.4 days continuously.  Alternatively, you could use a vanometric power cell (https://rimworldwiki.com/wiki/Vanometric_power_cell).

4. There is a useful mod with a timer switch that can be used for doing this - PowerSwitch mod:  https://steamcommunity.com/workshop/filedetails/?id=717632155

5. Here's where I think you misunderstand Rimworld batteries.  Power in Rimworld is like water.  You have generators pouring out x Gallons of Water per second.  Electrical devices (other than batteries) use that 'water' and any 'water' not used simply goes down the drain.  Batteries simply scoop up half of that wasted 'water'.  When your solar panals go off line, your batteries charge rate decreases, stops altogether or reverses (as they become a power source).

6. Yep zzzt are annoying. You need another mod - RT Fuse: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=728314182 then you can put fuses and circuit breakers into your circuits which drastically reduce zzzt.

7. There is another mod out there that causes everything to degrade over time unless your Constructor/Repairer is regularly seeing to them, the bonus is that things don't breakdown if your man is on the ball.  I tried it, hated it, it was so labour intensive that I had to have a pawn on it continuously.  Easier, to just drag a new component out to whatever broke down when it was needed.  There is a compromise between realism and tedium in a game.

LWM

QuoteGenerally speaking, if a storage unit releases all of its stored energy at one time it has exploded/caught fire, and not some random piece of conduit.

Well, THAT's a mod I could see getting behind!

QuoteIf you're going for a somewhat realistic scenario make heat a problem and not the random discharge of like 15 mW of energy at some random point down the circuit

Like....what sort of problem?  As in, batteries should give off heat ...when they're discharging?  Charging?  Sitting there charged and slowly self-discharging?


bugi

Quote from: Triklino on October 30, 2019, 08:00:19 PM
6. A battery system won't discharge its full energy in a single instant, 35 km down the circuit by some random piece of equipment. Generally speaking, if a storage unit releases all of its stored energy at one time it has exploded/caught fire, and not some random piece of conduit.
Considering how quickly the game's batteries can charge/discharge (and how much energy they can contain) (discharge can be "unlimited"), they are apparently better than our current day chemical batteries, which indeed can not release all the energy instantly. I.e. they are likely closer to (super-)capacitors, which can release their energy very very quickly. I don't find it unrealistic that these scifi batteries can cause an explosive level thing (i.e. insta-vaporizing a piece of the wiring) along the wiring while themselves be just fine. (Though 35km down would of course be affected by inductance, etc., but in these colonies the distances are merely tens of meters.)

What is unrealistic that these Zzzzzts happen at completely random moments, without reason, even when the power usage is lower than what has already been "tested" to work well. I'd understand if they happened at the times when power usage goes higher than ever before, or along a new wire (not yet "tested", sort of secretly bad piece of wire), or if some device also breaks first (short circuit in it), or some physical event damages either device or wiring, etc. etc.

And also, if the batteries are so good, they should already have built-in such trivial safety features like over current protection, or at least a fuse.

Without safety features, batteries and wiring should be usable as a defensive mine-like weapon, or wall-trap against those trying to break through... Just lay down a wire-field with lots of weak separators; when enemy walks over or makes cracks on the wall, separator breaks, and wires touch, short-circuit. ZZZZZT on the enemy. Considering how much damage these events can do, that would be one dead enemy (or more).

MeaganArky

#4
Hi...the lifespan of the battery depends on how you maintain the battery.  Keep it in a water-free environment and set an auto-discharging time. The battery should be fully charged and discharged once every 3 months to keep it activated.

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