Actually, surprisingly, fast inserters use less energy than regular. Fast inserters have a higher power usage while moving, but they're so much faster that they move for much less time and overall use less energy to get the same job done.NeoForce wrote:You don't need fast inserters, just use regular inserters for this. It uses less energy
Someone has done a test using an accumulator powering inserters moving items and the fast inserter can move more items than the regular for the same stored energy. There was a thread somewhere, which hopefully someone else can find.
They use more energy when they are working, yes, BUT: They work a lot faster and so need less time for completing their tasks thus less energy (or in this case more or less the same energy for handling one item)
... Therefore I favor simplistic selfcontained solutions (easier to blueprinting as well) where each furnace is able to work on it's own not caring about what the others next to it do... because if I accidently tear down an electric pole it won't shut down the entire production line which renders maintenance much easier. I learned that the hard way since I'm somebody who's changing layouts quite often because of new ideas and not to forget also because I lack driving skills eventually driving into something that's crucial for my factory. xD