Hydro-Electric Dam

[WhenInDoubtShoo]

Now I do understand there is hydrogen and the electrolyzer, but that isn't what I am talking about. I mean a hydro-electirc dam that uses the flow of water to to generate power, much like the manual generators use a dupe running.

 

Now obviously this power source has the capabilty of being over powered due to hydro-electric dams not actually using water. Meaning it would be infinate, clean, constant power; however, setting it to have a intake and output liquid pipe can slightly adjust this, making it be only built from steel or other high grade construction matierals would help reduce rushing to it. Adding it to or past the "Renewable Energy" research tech would also align it to its proper tech level and reduce some "rushing."

 

As far as the intake and output, due to hydro-electric dams not using up water, I suggest having it take some number of kg/s of water(clean or polluted) and then give off the same amount much like the "Steam Turbine" however instead of cooling, the generator dam itself would heat the temperature of the water by a set amount, I know the dam I live near increases the temperature of the water that is sent through it by roughly 20-30*F however they use a cooling system (something a player could design using "Thermo Aquatuners") to cool the water back down before returning it to the river. The input and output pipes is simply to allow it to be a "flow" of water. I would suggest making it take roughly 4-5kg/s and of course returning the same amount back.

 

As for size of a hydro-electric dam in game, my first thought was for it to be 1 or 2 tiles high and dupes be able to walk ontop of it. And then at minimum 4 tiles wide; however, I would suggest being larger than 4, around 6 or 8 tiles wide, because the whole purpose is for it to be a "large" structure, not necessarily able to fit in any size base but is meant more for a large colony.

 

As for power generation, it would depend heavily on the amount of water that is required to be pushed through it. By using 4-5kg/s then a single liquid pump could run two dams nonstop. Meaning if a single pump is running two dams then each dam's power output should be slightly less than what it takes to run a liquid pump (240 watts) causing their combined power generation being able to run the pump and having extra power for elsewhere; whereas, if the dam takes closer to 8kg/s or more then a single dam should be able to run that liquid pump and produce a small amount extra power to be used elsewhere, perhaps in the cooling system. And so...

 

With all this said, I would like to mention, I have only skimmed some of the forum suggestions to see if this had been suggested and/or shot down already. If it has, I understand; however, from not seeing it during my skimming I am extremely curious as to how this isnt already a suggestion or in-development.

 

Thank you all for your time, enjoy watching as dupes starve, drown, boil, freeze, suffocate, and all in all struggle to find their way.

[Madbro]

Oh, yeah, that is what I want to have in the game.

\(•ω•)/

[WhenInDoubtShoo]

Alternatively, the dam could be set up like the hydro sensor or more accurately the steam turbine, having the dam submerged and when a predetermined amount of pressure is reached through the dam as a hole (1 tile tall by 5 blocks wide and pressure needed being 5kg so each tile of the dam would need roughly 1kg of water) to produce power and the heat production of the dam would act as the water temperature increase. This takes away the cost and extra hassle of piping the dams, however since the dam is no longer needing to power something to sustain itself then the power output would likely need to be lowered, or the construction cost be greatly increased.

[Rainbowdesign]

I have seen this idea before. Just one little question: How do you feed it with falling water? Build a pump pump water from the bottom and have 20 hydros below? Sounds too overpowered to me.

[WhenInDoubtShoo]

16 hours ago, Rainbowdesign said:

I have seen this idea before. Just one little question: How do you feed it with falling water? Build a pump pump water from the bottom and have 20 hydros below? Sounds too overpowered to me.

Say you have your 20 hydros being fed with water. 1. If instead of having output ports, have it so the water literally just drops out the bottom if the dam (reverse of a steam turbine releasing steam above it.) If the hydros have an input port then you will have to pump water to each, (just example) if a single pump can only supply 2 hydros then you are looking at 10 pumps, equally 50kg/s of water for the 20 hydros. If the hydros raise the temperature of the water fed through it by 20-25*F then you wont have long and that heated water/ any heat output will cause your water to start boiling. Gonna feed cooled water through the hydros, fair enough, but if a hydro only generates 300-350watts(600-700 watts generated by 2 hydros minus the 240 of the liquid pump supplying equals 360-460watts gain) then you wont be using a thermo aquaturner(1200watts) to keep that water cooled. And if you use thermo regulators and super cooled hydrogen to cool back down your water storage then you are looking at another 240watt lose from each regulator.

 

My point being that with the correct numerical values for each aspect and a hydro-electirc dam or 100 hydro-electric dams wont be able to climb to an overpowered status without having the right engineer behind the design.

 

Alternatively, this wouldnt reach an overpowered status any more than hydrogen generator/electrolyzer can. The tipping point for the electrolyzer being rockets to the ice planet or a cool slush geyser fed through a water sieve.

 

But thank you for asking the question, it makes me think further into how the design would be laid out if hydro-electric dams or any similar generator was implemented.

[lurkinglurker]

On 10/4/2018 at 8:16 AM, WhenInDoubtShoo said:

Alternatively, the dam could be set up like the hydro sensor or more accurately the steam turbine, having the dam submerged and when a predetermined amount of pressure is reached through the dam as a hole (1 tile tall by 5 blocks wide and pressure needed being 5kg so each tile of the dam would need roughly 1kg of water) to produce power and the heat production of the dam would act as the water temperature increase. This takes away the cost and extra hassle of piping the dams, however since the dam is no longer needing to power something to sustain itself then the power output would likely need to be lowered, or the construction cost be greatly increased.

This is the more excellent of the different ideas in here IMO... primarily because it works the most similar to how hydro-electrics should work: putting one of these under a liquid vent (any type, from cool steam to cold mush) and viola, free energy when the "water" flows into the top inputs to the bottom!

Also, as a balancing factor, instead of lowered power output, higher heat gained or greatly increased construction costs (construction costs makes the most sense of the three IMO), how about increasing the volume required to properly power the entire system? As in, it has a high power generation potential... but it also needs to "consume" a lot of water to reach there.

[Rainbowdesign]

sorry but i will not make that mod if you want to have nearly infinite power you will have to live with the nuclear power mod i will release ( and ofcourse with the radioactivity and the dangers that come with it)