Power transformer behavior inconsistent depending on number of power suppliers (causing overloads)

If you look on the transformer in the electric overlay; you see a little battery in the middle (1KJ for the little transformer and 4KJ for the big one).

This means that little tranformers are 1KW consumers. (this battery will fill up when you power up ur circuit).

You use a small wire (1KW max) to supply 2KW consumers. So the wire overload. It s normal. It's consistent.

 

Transformers are means to be supplied by heavy wire; like on the schema on your screenshot (the big transformers is a 4KW consumers anyway no choice here). Heavywire can be used to link multiple generator.

 

Edited July 4, 2019 by Anacross

I built a better testing setup, since I didn't feel that I was completely clear on what I felt the inconsistent behavior is. Put more simply: consumer transformers draw power differently if the suppliers are all transformers, versus if the suppliers are all generators. When the suppliers are all transformers, consumer transformers will consume more than their stated wattage in order to match the total output of all supplier transformers. When the supply is only generators, the consumer transformers will consume only up to their stated wattage. Details and screenshots are included below. If I'm overthinking this or generally misunderstanding how transformers work, and this is all working as designed, then the resolution might be just to explain them better in the game.

Setup Details

Basic setup is eleven 2kW circuits, twenty-one small transformers that act as suppliers when active, and thirty steam generators at full capacity (25.5kW).

• Configuration 1: all consumers connected directly to all generators. Each consumer transformer is drawing 1kW (as expected), for 11kW total consumed.
• Configuration 2: all consumers connected directly to all generators, with only six generators active (5100W). Five of the consumer transformers draw 1000W, one draws 100W. The transformers that get to consume power change each tick or second. This falls in line with how other buildings work in insufficient power supply.
• Configuration 3: all consumers connected to twenty of the supplier transformers. Each consumer transformer is drawing 1.82kW (more than would be expected based on in-game text); this is the 20kW provided by the supplier transformers split evenly between eleven consumers.
• Configuration 4: all consumers connected to all twenty-one of the supplier transformers. Each consumer transformer is drawing 1.91kW. Because the supplier transformers themselves have 25.5kW available, they can provide 21kW, which the consumers split between themselves. This causes overloads between the suppliers and consumers.

A variant of configuration 4 is to disable all but a few generators, in which case, there are no overloads, since the supplier transformers have less power available. Also, the behavior of the consumers is the same when they use large transformers; wires overload more, as expected.

I read this post after reading the one below. It appears that the transformers themselves are working fine, but the game's rounding is the issue. See my response in this below thread.

 

Changed Status to Known Issue

Thanks so much for the detailed explanation! Agreed, a 1000W transformer should not be consuming 1910W...

Changed Status to Fixed

Changed Note: to Found and fixed this issue for a future release - thank you for the detailed report!