I don't know how to fix my serious power overload issues.

[redxlaser15]

I have a lot of different things running at the same time, and as such, I need a lot of power generation, however, my wiring keeps overloading. I placed two transformers, but I must not understand how they work, since they don't do anything.

The overload tends to make it so about twice the maximum amount of power is traveling through the regular wires.

[mathmanican]

 

[lunazone]

The power transformers simply give as much power as the power networks needs, so if you have a big wire going in that has 1100 W but the network only needs 960 W, then it will grant the network that amount. You need to put the end with a lot of power in it into the fat end of the transformer and have a small wire coming out of the small end.

 

You only need one for the current base you have.

[Gracefulmuse]

If you are still having trouble, let me know. I will be home later and can make a really simple explanation. Mathematicians post is fantastic, but goes into more detail then might be necessary to grasp the basics. 

[Weyred]

The transformers let you step down from higher capacity lines to lower capacity lines. 

 

It looks like you are mixing regular wire and heavy wire in the same circuit, which isn't going to help. You also have the transformers inline with each other.

 

You want to run heavy wire from your generators to your transformers' input, then regular wire from the output to machines. The transform divides the input and output sides into separate circuits. Make sure that the total draw on the wire is less than it's capacity to avoid overload.

[LucidFugue]

In addition to the points raised above, you've effectively bypassed your transformers because the circuit is also connected through the research station room and printing pod room. Transformers should be used to isolate consumers from the rest of the grid, so you can use lower capacity wiring without overloading. 

[redxlaser15]

Ah okay, I think I'm at least starting to get it. I'm pretty new to the game and this is the first time I've run into this issue. Power Transformers sounded like they'd help, but I had no clue how they worked, so I basically just shoved wires into it and hoped.

As I really don't want to deal with rejiggering (very technical term) my whole wiring system, as well as better designate areas for the heavy wiring, batteries and such, I'll probably just restart.

Probably very unnecessary, but I'd prefer to do that instead.

[LucidFugue]

3 hours ago, redxlaser15 said:

As I really don't want to deal with rejiggering (very technical term) my whole wiring system, as well as better designate areas for the heavy wiring, batteries and such, I'll probably just restart.

A very common compulsion, I assure you! 

FWIW having all the generators together away from the rest of the base (particularly farms) is a good plan. They generate a lot of heat and it's also where you need space for transformers and batteries as your power needs expand. 

[wd_]

4 hours ago, redxlaser15 said:

As I really don't want to deal with rejiggering (very technical term) my whole wiring system, as well as better designate areas for the heavy wiring, batteries and such, I'll probably just restart.

 

I completely understand the desire to restart, but just to practice it at the very least, and maybe get more used to the way it should be, there's a very simple thing you can do in your current base to fix your problems.

1) Replace the wires in the red region to heavi-watt only, as shown on the screenshot.
2) Deconstruct ALL normal wires in the red region (that means you'll have to unpower the airlocks, but that's fine for now, they are generally a bit clunky with the heavy wires).
3) Place a single power transformer on the border of the red region and the rest of your base (green circle). It doesn't have to be at that exact spot, just make sure that red zone is connected to its top-left connector and the rest of the base is connected to the bottom-right.
4) DO NOT connect red zone and the rest of the base anywhere else, only through that one transformer.

You can leave wires in the rest of the base as is and it should work (unless you add more consumers).

Spoiler

 

 

[Lutzkhie]

you need transformer
Supply --> Battery --> Transformer --> Load

as easy as that

[bobucles]

Don't ever connect heaviwatt wire to normal wire. The rest is something like this.

[hypoeffort]

Generator>Battery>Transformer

(when needed)>Circuit.    You can have your heavies feed into your tranformers and have 1kw or 2kw wires coming off.

  I like putting a big Heavy watt network outside the perimiter of the base and feed in seperate circuits as needed.   Then when your out exploring or setting up industry,  just plug it into the heavy watt wire as it can take 20kw.

[Derringer]

The most interesting property of transformers is that they are the only machine that can move power from one battery to another. They are the key to builds that actually ship energy from local storage at the generation site to local storage at the use site.

I usually keep heavi-watt circuits in local areas if possible, and use a standard conductive wire distribution line to ship energy. A distribution line has no directly attached consumers (transformer intake counts as a consumer, so it's a no-go here) and therefore cannot overload; taking energy from the distribution line is done by means of shutoffs to switch batteries from being connected to the distribution line to charge, then to the local circuit to discharge. It's a bit of a complicated technique - a substation that provides uninterrupted power is larger than a large transformer (4 by 4 is typical, possibly wider for heavi-watt consumers), and multiple automation logic gates are required to synchronize shutoff action and prevent shoot-through overloads.

At least, that's what I do when power delivery otherwise becomes an intractably hairy mess. Running more than three parallel conductive wire circuits in a central stairwell, or having multiple generation stations scattered around the map like surface solar and deep petrol, is the threshold that usually gets me to do something about it.

Steam turbines deployed primarily to delete heat can make a viable contribution to a high-tension line as well, though local heavi-watt and storage batteries feeding a transformer are advisable rather than directly connecting the steam turbine to the high-tension line. Energy delivery on such a line is very "bursty".