Factorio Forums

I really like the game, but I have found some errors with the electricity generation with the steam turbines.

In the game water is heated up by the boilers to 100C and leaves the boilers as liquid water. However as the name says steam turbines require steam, so the water should exit the boiler as steam.
Furthermore steam of just 100C at 1 bar cannot be used for power generation in an open cycle like this(water is used from the environment and steam is released to the environment at 1 bar) and in reality it’s heated up by the boilers to a minimum of 400C at 30 bar(in 2014), but this can go up to 585C at 165bar.

So what should change is

• Boiler exit temp: minimal 400C
• Boiler exit substance: Steam

Also maybe an extra pump, because the standard offshore pump would in reality not bring the pressure up to the required pressure.


By the way this system is very simplified and is not what is used in reality for power generation. Firstly because you would not use river or lake water in the turbines since it’s polluted and would damage the turbine blades. Secondly you would not throw steam of 100C in the atmosphere, since it still contains energy which can be extracted.

However both these changes would require a closed circuit, which would add multiple elements (condenser, pumps, cooling towers) to the system and therefore will probably be too complicated for the game.

The game also has as "Diesel Locomotive" despite being operated with wood or coal

Well, the temperature goes up to 100, but nowhere is it said it is 100C. it could be 100% of what it should be

I think the current setup is good for the complexity intended in the game. Maybe they could add a little more (perhaps in a higher-tier power plant?), but I wouldn't want it to be too much. It's not a power-plant simulator, after all

But maybe someone would want to make a mod with more realistic power plants - I think what you describe is possible with the current modding capacity, but I'm not sure.

Well, the temperature goes up to 100, but nowhere is it said it is 100C. it could be 100% of what it should be

Haha, well since it's exiting the lakes at 15 it's probably in Celcius ;p.

I think the current setup is good for the complexity intended in the game.

I agree that adding more objects to the steam setup would likely be overkill, I just gave a little bit extra information for fun.

I would like to see a change however in the boiler exit temp and the exit substance, because it makes no sense at the moment.

What's the ambient water temperature on this foreign planet?

Does the pump have a filter in it?

Does the pump supply enough water to pressurize the pipes? How much water pressure can it provide?

Do you even know? How can you?

I would love a mod or a higher tier power production system that was more complex.

Yes i hope we get some more stuff for generating power and a colling Tower would be really cool but its a game so maybee not so important but i think it would be cool to have other enrgys too, so maybee fluid oil burners /gas /nuclear energy or my favorit biomass energy from the aliens