v.12 pipe question

[dinodod]

All the factorio docs I have read are old and I am having an odd issue that I am not sure if it's because of v.12 or not.

I have noticed that my steam factories have a poor performance status but 100% water levels, 9.2 water / s, 100 Degrees Temp, and 100% available performance. At first I thought my steam engines scaled back due to the power consumption of my factories but then I looked at my power report and now I'm more confused.

My power report says:
Consuming: 10 MW
Producing: 10 MW (But the green bar is about 30% full)

So I thought I needed more steam engines but I'm not seeing any improvement in my performance. What's happening???

Also, I read an article regarding storing steam in tanks for use later. Is this still a valid way to save power or are solar / accumulator farms the best??

Any newer guides out there?

Thanks!

[Ranakastrasz]

Main thing to remember is that the two bars are misleadingly labled, if technically accurate.

If production is less than maximum, it means that you are not producing at your full capacity since it is not nessesary.
If consumption is less than maximum, it means you aren't producing enough power to supply your machines.

Ideally, consumption will be maximized, and production will be less. Which is depressingly counterintuitive.

[regex]

My power report says:
Consuming: 10 MW
Producing: 10 MW (But the green bar is about 30% full)

That means you're producing about 30% of full capacity, so your engines should have a total capability of around 30MW. Since you're only consuming 10MW with your factory you have ample reserve and don't need more power production (at this time).

[dinodod]

ok, thanks. A bit confusing.

[ssilk]

It's all explained: https://forums.factorio.com/wiki/inde ... infoscreen