Official Factorio Wiki - User contributions [en]

Achievements

2020-04-26T09:36:51Z

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'''Achievements''' are given to the player when certain events happen or criteria is fulfilled. Some achievements are meant to make the player feel invested in the game. Others are meant to guide the player to use different strategies and optional game mechanics. Achievements are available in both the [http://store.steampowered.com/app/427520/ Steam] and standalone versions.

== Disabling achievements ==
[[File:achievement_list.png|thumb|200px|right|Achievement list in-game.]]Achievements can only be unlocked in the default game mode, called ''Freeplay''. Any scenarios, such as the [[campaign]] or [[scenario system|custom scenarios]] disable achievements. Furthermore, using script or cheat commands in the [[Console#Scripting_and_cheat_commands|console]] disables achievements, however the user will be warned about this the first time they try to run such a command. Within the freeplay game, enabling peaceful mode or setting enemy bases to anything lower than default disables the following achievements: There is no spoon, No time for chit-chat, Raining bullets and Steam all the way. Any other changes to map generation or using the [[debug mode]]s does not disable achievements.

A separate instance of achievements will be used when mods are installed and earned achievements will not register with Steam. In multiplayer, achievements can only be earned if the player has spent more than 50% of the time online.

Re-enabling achievements again can be achieved by editing the binary data of a save. ([https://forums.factorio.com/58077 reference])

== List of all achievements ==
The search function of a browser may be used to find a specific achievement faster. This is usually {{keybinding|Ctrl|F}}


{| class="wikitable"
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! style="min-width:350px" | Achievement !! Notes !! Trivia
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| {{Achievement|getting-on-track}}
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| {{Achievement|eco-unfriendly}}
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| {{Achievement|tech-maniac}}
|| Completing infinite technologies of any level is not required. All non-infinite levels of technologies that have infinite continuations are still required.
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| {{Achievement|smoke-me-a-kipper-i-will-be-back-for-breakfast}}
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|| This line was spoken by Ace Rimmer from the British sci-fi comedy show ''Red Dwarf''.
|-
| {{Achievement|it-stinks-and-they-dont-like-it}}
|| This achievement is not disabled in peaceful mode, however it is impossible to achieve.
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|-
| {{Achievement|automated-construction}}
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| {{Achievement|you-are-doing-it-right}}
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| {{Achievement|automated-cleanup}}
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| {{Achievement|you-have-got-a-package}}
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| {{Achievement|delivery-service}}
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| {{Achievement|trans-factorio-express}}
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|| Refers to the ''Trans-Europ Express'', an international passenger railway company that served west and central Europe from 1957 to 1995.
|-
| {{Achievement|watch-your-step}}
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| {{Achievement|golem}}
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| {{Achievement|getting-on-track-like-a-pro}}
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| {{Achievement|mass-production-1}}
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| {{Achievement|mass-production-2}}
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| {{Achievement|mass-production-3}}
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| {{Achievement|circuit-veteran-1}}
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| {{Achievement|circuit-veteran-2}}
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| {{Achievement|circuit-veteran-3}}
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| {{Achievement|computer-age-1}}
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| {{Achievement|computer-age-2}}
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| {{Achievement|computer-age-3}}
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| {{Achievement|iron-throne-1}}
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|| These three achievements refer to the Iron Throne, a large throne in the fantasy novel series ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' made from many swords fused together with dragonfire.
|-
| {{Achievement|iron-throne-2}}
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| {{Achievement|iron-throne-3}}
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|-
| {{Achievement|solaris}}
|| The electric network may not have any electricity producers besides solar panels connected to it.
|| ''Solaris'' is a 1961 philosophical sci-fi novel written by Stanisław Lem, and a Unix-based computer operating system.
|-
| {{Achievement|steamrolled}}
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|| 'Steamroll' generally refers to a multiplayer match in which one team is performing significantly better than the other.
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| {{Achievement|pyromaniac}}
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| {{Achievement|run-forrest-run}}
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|| This line was spoken by Jenny Curran in the 1994 drama film ''Forrest Gump''.
|-
| {{Achievement|minions}}
|| This achievement requires follower robot count level 11 for a total of 100 robots. 6 rocket launches are needed to obtain the space science packs to get to and research level 11.
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|-
| {{Achievement|lazy-bastard}}
|| In multiplayer, the crafts of all players are counted towards this achievement. The minimum amount of items crafted by hand is 103 if the player uses the stone furnace in the starting inventory to craft the boiler necessary to power a lab for the [[Automation_(research)]] technology. Notably, [[Tree]]s and [[Rock]]s mined by hand are '''not''' counted against the player.
||
|-
| {{Achievement|steam-all-the-way}}
|| Only ''placing'' solar panels breaks the requirement of this achievement, simply crafting them does not disqualify the player from earning the achievement. Disabled when using peaceful mode or lower than default enemy base settings.
||
|-
| {{Achievement|raining-bullets}}
|| Only ''placing'' laser turrets breaks the requirement of this achievement, simply crafting them does not disqualify the player from earning the achievement. Disabled when using peaceful mode or lower than default enemy base settings.
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|-
| {{Achievement|logistic-network-embargo}}
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| {{Achievement|no-time-for-chitchat}}
|| Disabled when using peaceful mode or lower than default enemy base settings.
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|-
| {{Achievement|there-is-no-spoon}}
|| Disabled when using peaceful mode or lower than default enemy base settings.
|| This line was spoken by Neo in the 1999 sci-fi action film ''The Matrix''.
|-
| {{Achievement|so-long-and-thanks-for-all-the-fish}}
||
|| The last message left by the dolphins before leaving Earth in ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Also the name of the fourth book in the series.
|}

== History ==
{{history|0.13.0|
* Introduced}}

== See also ==
* [[Console]]
* [https://www.factorio.com/blog/post/fff-125 Friday Facts #125 - Achievements]

Glossary

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__NOTOC__

This page acts as a general glossary of all terms used in Factorio and its community. We recommend searching the page with {{keybinding|CTRL|F}} to find specific terms. The page is also organized alphabetically.

Additionally, you can click a letter below to be taken to that letter in the list, if you wish to search manually.

[[##|#]] [[#A|A]] [[#B|B]] [[#C|C]] [[#D|D]] [[#E|E]] [[#F|F]] [[#G|G]] [[#H|H]] [[#I|I]] [[#J|J]] [[#K|K]] [[#L|L]] [[#M|M]] [[#N|N]] [[#O|O]] [[#P|P]] [[#Q|Q]] [[#R|R]] [[#S|S]] [[#T|T]] [[#U|U]] [[#V|V]] [[#W|W]] [[#X|X]] [[#Y|Y]] [[#Z|Z]]

== # ==

;1-1, 1-2-1, 2-4, 4-8-4 and similar : A somewhat ambiguous shorthand notation for train configurations. The first number is usually the number of locomotives at the head of the train, followed by the number of cargo wagons or fluid wagons, and optionally followed by the number of tail locomotives if it's a double-headed train. In general, the smaller numbers are the number of locomotives.

== A ==

; AP : Armor piercing, refers to [[Piercing rounds magazine]].
;Ammo : Ammunition, used for guns/rocket launchers/turrets, etc.
;Angel's mods : A term referring to the mods made by user ''Arch666Angel'', a popular modder who makes extremely popular difficulty/complexity mods that complement bob's mods.
;Angelbobs : A community term that means a game with both Angel's mods and Bob's mods installed.
;Assembler : Another word for an [[Assembling machine]].

== B ==

;BP : Short for [[Blueprint]].
;Backed-up : Refers to a machine having no output, and so the input channel fills up. Can also refer to belts being backlogged due to low consumption. This is not necessarily a bad thing.
;Backpressure : What a machine, usually a belt segment or inserter, experiences when delivery stalls because its target is backed up.
;Belt balancer : This is a belt setup that balances multiple belts to contain the same amount of resources, to maximize throughput. See [[Balancers]].
;Belt compression : This term refers to ensuring that all items on a belt are right after each other, to ensure no space is wasted and highest throughput.
;Blackout : When your factory completely loses power. This typically happens at night when relying on solar+accumulator power, enemies destroying vital electric poles, or after a prolonged brownout when using electric mining drills and/or electric inserters (instead of their burner variants).
;Bob's mods : A term referring to the mods made by user ''bobingabout'', a popular modder who makes extremely popular difficulty/complexity mods that complement Angel's mods.
;Bootstrap factory : A factory that's made at the start of a new game in order to jump-start automation of basic equipment, climb the tech tree, and ultimately produce construction materials for a bigger, more organized factory, such as a megabase. The purpose of this factory is to allow you to grow your production to a decent size and then have a fresh start with all of the tech at your disposal, rather than building a giant factory from the ground up and then having to refactor parts of it.
;Bots : Shorthand version for [[Construction robot]] or [[Logistic robot]]. Sometimes also refers to the combat robots created from capsules (unlocked by researching Combat robotics 1–3).
;Bottleneck : A term that means a single point where resources are constrained, such as a slow part of a belt that slows down everything.
;Braiding : The space-saving technique of alternating between two or more different underground belt types (basic, fast and express) in a straight line, one tile wide. The different types of underground belts don't interfere with each other, and inserters can interact with the belt entrance and exit entities.
;Brownout : When your factory's machines are running slower than normal because you're not generating enough electricity.
;Buffer: A place where a stockpile of items is stored to be available when the production stops. Typically a chest.
;Bus : Short for [[#M|Main bus]].

== C ==

;Capacity : Maximum amount of items/fluid that can exist within something.
;Catchup : Period where a player joining a game is required to replay recent changes quickly, so they can be merged into the running game smoothly. Often happens on slow connections, or on servers with a lot going on.
;Chokepoint : Artificial or natural geography that funnels attackers into a narrow, movement-constricting area, making it more difficult for them to breach fortifications. Examples: peninsulas with narrow connections to the mainland, artificial land bridges to islands, nearby lakes, corridors through thick forests.
;Coin : An item used in the Tight Spot campaign.
;Compression : Like Capacity but applies to belts only.
;Computer : Unused item, does nothing beyond existing.
;Contaminated : A belt with incorrect items on it (such as coal on an iron belt). Can also refer to pipes with mixed liquids.
;Cracktorio : A community term referring to the addictive qualities of Factorio, jokingly comparing the game to crack cocaine.

== D ==

;Daisy chaining : Some entities allow inserters to insert and remove items from the same slots, including fuel in boilers, ammo in gun turrets, science packs in labs, modules in beacons, robots in roboports, and any items in chests. 'Daisy chaining' is a technique that makes use of this mechanic in order to supply some machines with consumables (i.e. fuel, ammo or science packs) without having to use belts. You simply chain multiple machines together with inserters that take the items out of the previous machine and insert them directly into the next. It's sometimes referred to as 'stealing', as in 'coal stealing' or 'ammo stealing'.
;Death world : A world generation configuration that results in a large quantity of [[enemies]], to increase the game's difficulty.
;Double header : This is a term that refers to a train with [[locomotive]]s on both ends, making the train capable of driving in both directions. Opposite of a single header, or standard train.
;Dragon's teeth : A series of alternating stone wall pillars outside the main wall fortification with the purpose of delaying the biters from reaching the wall. Named after the similar fortification wall from the 1997 game [[Wikipedia:Total Annihilation|Total Annihilation]].

== E ==

;Entity : Anything that can be manipulated in-game. Nearly everything in factorio is an entity. Any device, items, trees... Even the player is just an entity.
;Evolution : The development and growth of the native population. Over the course of a game, biters and spitters become bigger and more powerful. See [[Enemies#Evolution]].

== F ==

;FFF : The weekly blog that the developers make to talk about the development of Factorio. Expanded, it is Factorio Friday Facts, posted every Friday.
;FPS : Visual rendering speed, "Frames per second". When this is reduced beneath 60, the game may stutter visually, jitter, or otherwise appear unstable. Low FPS will not necessarily result in low UPS, but they are loosely tied together.
;Factorissimo : A popular mod that allows for factories to be built within buildings added by the mod.
;Fuel : Refers to any burnable item that can be used to fuel burner devices, such as [[wood]], [[coal]], etc.

== G ==

; GJ : Giga joule, a measurement of energy.
;Ghost : A translucent preview image that designates a position for the construction of an entity. [[Ghost]]s are created when you shift+click with an entity under your cursor, when you use the [[Rail_planner#Ghost_Planner|ghost rail planner]], when an entity is destroyed after you've researched construction robotics, and when you place a blueprint. Construction robots automatically attempt to construct ghosts within their logistic or personal roboport network, and if unable will create an alert for missing construction materials.
;Gigabase : An even larger megabase, typically has SPM counts > 10k.

== I ==

;Inventory : The ability for an entity to hold items within it. Almost all entities have inventories.
;Item : An item is another form of entity, representing the un-built version of a machine, tools, etc. Typically, items are found on belts, in the player's inventory, and inside machines. Items can be provided to recipes to create other items.
;Item explosion : A phenomenon when a lot of items are spilled on the ground in a square-like fashion. Usually due to accidentally removing power armor when having a full inventory.
;Item request slot : A special request slot for machines with module slots that allows them to request the modules in the blueprint from which they were constructed. The deconstruction planner has a filter for canceling these requests.

== K ==

; kJ : Kilojoule, a measurement of energy.
;Kovarex : The founding father of Factorio and where [[kovarex enrichment process]] gets its name from.

== L ==
;Lane : One side of a transport belt. Each belt has two lanes.
;Lane balancer : This is a belt setup that balances the two lanes on a belt to be equal, to maximize throughput. See [[balancer mechanics]].
;Legs : [[Exoskeleton]]
;Loader : An abandoned concept for a belt-based mechanism that continuously loads and unloads machines, as an alternative to inserters. Functional loader entities can still be found in the editor, and some mods give them a proper texture and make them available in regular games. Loaders are used in the official Team Production scenario.

== M ==

; MW : Mega watt, a measurement of power.
;Main bus : The opposite of spaghetti, this refers to placing multiple belts side by side containing one resource, and branching off of it in order to create setups. Allows for organized layout of resource transportation.
;Mall: Also known as store. A location in a factory that produces many types of different items that the player needs but in relatively small amounts.
;Map exchange string : A long piece of text that encodes the settings used to generate a map. See [[World generator#Map Exchange String]].
;Market : A building where you can buy items using coins. It's available in the editor and used in the Tight Spot campaign.
;Mats : Shorthand for materials.
;Megabase : A community term referring to a significantly large base that has been built over a significant time/effort. Often, these bases are quantified in terms of science packs per minute, or "SPM". A base typically is considered a megabase when it can maintain 1k SPM.
;Mod : This term refers to a script or collection of scripts that change how the game acts, adds new items/entities, etc.
;Modpack : A community term referring to a collection of mods that work well together.

== N ==

;Nauvis : The planet that Factorio takes place on. Only named in the files, not in-game.
;Night steam : The strategy of relying on solar panels to generate electricity during the day and steam engines during the night.
;No path : A common error that means that a train cannot find a valid route to a train stop. See [[Railway#No_path]].

== O ==

; Outpost : A small base created far away from a [[#B|Bootstrap base]], usually to serve a single purpose like mining or production of a specific resource.

== P ==

;Priority splitter : A splitter design that directs as many resources as possible from a bus to an offshoot before letting excess items flow past. This is in contrast to a splitter that always distributes some percentage of items to both sides (depending on the particular arrangement of splitters).
;PAX (train) : Short for passenger train or player access station, another name for the [[Glossary#S|Shuttle]].

== Q ==
;QoL : Quality of life, often refers to mods that increase ease of play.

== R ==

;RORO : Abbreviation for "Roll on, roll off" in the context of train station design. It means that trains arrive at the station at one end and leave the station at the other end (driving past the train stop), as opposed to terminus stations.
;RPM : Shorthand for rockets per minute.
;Rainbow belt : A transport belt with many different types of items on it, rather than the easier-to-manage one or two types of items. See [[#S|Sushi belt]].
;Ribbon world : A world which has been set up to have limited space in one dimension (width or height), adding a new challenge. The smallest ribbon world in which you can launch a rocket is a map limited to a width or height of 9 tiles, the size of the rocket silo.
;Roundabout : This term refers to a type of path for trains, to allow the trains to enter the circle, and exit onto the exit rail that they path to. Generally recommended against, due to throughput and self collision issues.

== S ==

;Scenario : A map that has been saved via the [[Map editor]]. Special scripting can be added to make simple "events".
;Seed : A number associated with each map that determines the outcome of certain pseudo-random processes, like terrain generation. All other settings being equal, different seeds result in vastly different terrain features. The seed is included in [[#M|Map exchange strings]].
;Shuttle : A train for personal transportation around the factory. Sometimes called a taxi.
;Sideloading : This is a commonly used term that refers to running the end of a [[Transport belt]] into the side of another, so that only the lane on the side of the belt that the other belt is on is filled. This is typically done to create a belt that carries two different resources side-by-side on the same belt.
;Small plane : Unused item, does nothing beyond existing.
;Smart furnace : A smelting setup that can process multiple materials (e.g. iron ore, copper ore, iron plates, stone).
;Spaghetti : A community term referring to the "spaghetti" look of many belts/entities placed in a disorganized fashion. Typically created by new players to Factorio. Generally, it will be moved away from as soon as the player realizes the logistical problems it causes. Note that not all "spaghetti" factories are necessarily inefficient.
;Speedrun : A term referring to attempting to quickly finish the game as soon as possible. At the time of this writing, the singleplayer record is just over two hours.
;SPM : Shorthand for science packs per minute. Measured per type, so 1k SPM will mean production of 1000 of each science pack type per minute, though military science is often excluded. Usually used to measure the size of very big bases, see [[#M|Megabase]] and [[#G|Gigabase]].
;Stacker : Also known as '''Parking lot'''. A waiting bay for trains, allowing them to wait on different parallel tracks and not block each other until their destination becomes free. Recommended in front of large, multi-platform stations.
;Supply train: A train that usually for personal use that is used to carry mostly building materials like rails, conveyor belts, inserters, assembly machines etc..
;Sushi belt : The strategy of mixing many different types of items on transport belts to supply machines that need some or all of those items. It sacrifices throughput for compactness (and beauty). It looks colorful and diverse like a tray of sushi. Its perhaps most popular application is supplying labs with science packs. Sometimes called sushi bar or rainbow belt.

== T ==

;TINS : Abbreviation of "There Is No Spoon", the name of the in-game achievement.
;Terminus : A train station design where trains come in and leave from the same side, thus requiring double-headed trains, unlike RORO stations.
;Throughput : A term that refers to the maximum amount of resources that can travel through something (such as a belt) in a certain amount of time. Usually quantified in items per second.
;Tick : The smallest measurable amount of time in Factorio. There are 60 ticks per second (when running at 60 UPS), and 3600 ticks in a minute.
;Tile : A piece of map. It is not really known how big it is, but for simplifying things we can assume that a tile is a quadratic with side of 1 meter.
;Time : Game time is normally identical with real time, one second in the game is one second in reality, but it can be faster or slower. For example, when the calculations for an update takes longer than a tick, the game slows down (aka UPS). Alternatively, a mod can provide ways to let the game run faster.
;Train bus : A popular alternative to the [[#M|main bus]] pattern. Instead of using a belt bus to provide materials for various production cells, a large rail system allows many trains to route materials between more distant cells, sometimes called subfactories. It's a UPS-friendlier strategy for large factories such as megabases.
;Trash can : A simple 'public utility' of sorts, which is an active provider that players can dump unwanted items into. Logistic robots pick them up and store them away. It's useful if you need to get rid of large quantities of items (such as wood or landfill) and your logistic trash slots are full.
;Turret : Stationary defense weapon. There are four types of turrets in Factorio, the [[laser turret]], [[gun turret]], [[flamethrower turret]] and [[artillery turret]].
;Turret creep : The tactic of leap-frogging with turrets into hostile territory. It's very effective due to the strength and range of turrets. Typically done with laser turrets, blueprints and personal roboports, but can also be done by manually placing gun turrets and inserting ammo.

== U ==

;UPS : Internal clock speed, "Updates Per Second". The game tries its best to maintain the ideal 60 UPS, but it is affected by the size and complexity of the game world and your computer hardware. A lower UPS means that the simulation runs slower. At 30 UPS everything would take twice as long as under ideal conditions. This is a common concern on megabases or when playing with many mods active. It can be set to more than 60 UPS by changing the game speed via script, processing power permitting. The Transport Belt Madness and Tight Spot campaigns are examples where the game speed can be increased.

== V ==
;Vanilla : Regular version of the game with no mods.

== W ==

;Wube : The company based in the Czech Republic that develops Factorio.

== Z ==

;Zoo : A group of biter or spitter nests around which the player has built a safe containment zone, i.e. a circle of turrets. Reasons for doing this include exploiting the nests' pollution absorption and automating the destruction of items (using requester chests near the nests).

Chemical science pack/de

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{{:Infobox:Chemical science pack}}

Das '''Chemische Wissenschaftspaket''' ist ein [[Science pack/de|Wissenschaftspaket]], welches von [[Lab/de|Laboren]] verbraucht wird, um [[Technologies/de|Technologien]] zu [[Research/de|erforschen]].

== Historie ==

{{history|0.17.60|
* Chemisches Wissenschaftspaket benötigt nun [[sulfur/de|Schwefel]] anstelle von [[Solid fuel/de|Festbrennstoff]].
}}

{{history|0.17.0|
* Der Name von Wissenschaftspaket 3 wurde zu Chemisches Wissenschaftspaket umbennant.
* Das Rezept wurde angepasst zu 3 [[Advanced circuit/de|Erweiterter Schaltkreis]] + 2 [[Engine unit/de|Motoreinheiten]] + 1 [[solid fuel/de|Festbrennstoff]] -> 2 [[Chemical science pack/de|Chemische Wissenschaftpakete]].
* (Davor: 1 [[Advanced circuit/de|Erweiterter Schaltkreis]] + 1 [[Engine unit/de|Motoreinheit]] + 1 [[Electric mining drill/de|Elektrische Erzförderer]] → 1 [[Chemical science pack/de|Chemische Wissenschaftpakete]].
}}

{{history|0.15.7|
* [[Science pack 3]] braucht nun [[Electric mining drill/de|Elektrische Erzförderer]] anstelle von [[Assembling machine 1/de|Montagemaschinen 1]].
}}

{{history|0.15.0|
* Forschung wurde grundsätzlich überholt, wobei vier neue Wissenschaftspakete eingeführt wurden: [[Military science pack|Militär]], [[Production science pack|Produktion]], [[Utility science pack|Hightech]] und [[Space science pack|Weltraum]].
* Das Rezept wurde zu [[Assembling machine 1/de|Montagemaschine 1]] + [[Advanced circuit/de|Erweiterter Schaltkreis]] + [[Engine unit/de|Motor-Einheit]] → Wissenschaftspaket 3. (Zuvor [[Battery/de|Batterie]] + [[Plastic bar/de|Kunststoffstange]] + [[Filter inserter/de|Filternder Greifarm]] + [[Advanced circuit/de|Erweiterter Schaltkreis]] → Wissenschaftspaket 3.)
}}

== Siehe auch ==
* [[Research/de|Forschung]]
* [[Science pack/de|Wissenschaftspaket]]
* [[Technologies/de|Technologien]]

{{IntermediateNav}}
{{C|Science packs}}

Sulfur

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{{:Infobox:Sulfur}}

'''Sulfur''' is a component in the production of [[Chemical science pack]], [[Sulfuric acid]] and [[Explosives]], with the latter two also being intermediate products used in higher-level recipes.

Sulfur is a solid item in a chain of otherwise fluid-based manufacturing: [[Crude oil]] → [[Petroleum gas]] → Sulfur → [[Sulfuric acid]]. It is thus recommended to keep an eye on sulfur production early on to make sure it does not become a bottleneck.

== History ==

{{history|0.17.60|
* Now used in the production of [[Chemical science pack]]}}

{{history|0.9.0|
* Introduced}}

== See Also ==
* [[Battery|Batteries]]

{{IntermediateNav}}
{{C|Materials}}

Electric system

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The '''Electric system''' is used to power a lot of different machines; the game can hardly be played without using electricity. Every machine has its own internal electric capacity. When energy is produced, it is evenly distributed to all machines in the network that need electricity. Electricity is one of two ways machines can be powered, the other being [[burner devices]] running off of [[fuel]].

== Network mechanics ==
=== Generators ===

There are four ways to produce electricity. More details about each method are available on the [[Power production]] page.

# [[Steam engine]]s – Most common, requires [[Boiler|Boilers]] (which consume [[Water]] and fuel).
# [[Solar panel]]s – Free energy, but only works during daylight. Usually used with Accumulators.
# [[Accumulator]]s – Energy storage, see below
# [[Steam turbine]]s – High-power Steam engines. Used to generate power from a [[Nuclear reactor]].

If a network consumes less power than is produced, its Steam Engines and Turbines will slow down so that no power is wasted.

=== Storage ===
[[File:electrical-network-example-2.png|thumb|256px|Accumulator array consisting of 48 accumulators and a substation providing 240 MJ storage capacity.]]

Energy can be stored in:
* [[Fuel]]. It can be burnt to generate power.
* [[Accumulator]]s. Accumulators charge using excess power generated, and discharge when demand exceeds normal production.
* [[Steam]]. It can be created in [[boiler]]s or [[heat exchanger]]s and stored in the [[storage tank]], allowing steam engines or steam turbines to operate on-demand.

==== Steam tanks as power storage ====
A storage tank filled with [[heat exchanger]] 500°C steam stores around 2.4GJ; a storage tank filled with [[boiler]] 165°C Steam stores 750MJ.

There are several advantages to storing energy in storage tanks compared with storing it in an accumulator:
* The energy density of a storage tank tile is much higher than it is with accumulators.
** For 165°C steam (produced with [[boiler|boilers]]), a single storage tank stores as much as 150 accumulators: <code>750MJ / 5MJ = 150</code>
** For 500°C steam (produced using [[Heat exchanger|heat exchangers]]), a single storage tank stores as much as 480 accumulators: <code>2400MJ / 5MJ = 480</code>
* A [[nuclear reactor]] always fully burns a fuel cell, releasing 8GJ (or more with the multiple reactor bonus) even if power demand is lower. The excess energy can be stored as steam.
* A single [[accumulator]]'s maximum discharge rate is 300kW. On a very heavy load (e.g. laser turret firing), a small accumulator array may not discharge fast enough, causing power disruptions. A steam engine can produce 900kW of energy from the stored steam (3 times faster discharge rate), and a turbine can produce 5800kW (6.4 times faster discharge rate). In other words, a number of turbines or steam engines with steam storage can cope with much higher bursts than the same number of accumulators.
* Steam can be transferred via trains and then consumed remotely via turbines or steam engines. This essentially "transports electricity" using trains.

=== Distribution ===
[[File:Electric-network-1.png|thumb|256px|Simple example of a small electric network.]]
Power poles are used to transmit energy. There are 4 types of power pole, each having differently configured properties. The properties are coverage area (area in which machines are placed to be affected by the pole) and wire reach (the distance across which a pole can connect with another pole). If two poles of different wire reach are to be connected, the smallest of either applies.

# [[Small electric pole]] – Second smallest coverage area, shortest cable length, available without research.
# [[Medium electric pole]] – Second largest coverage area, average cable length.
# [[Big electric pole]] – Smallest coverage area, longest cable length.
# [[Substation]] – Largest coverage area, second longest cable length, but most expensive to build.

=== Consumption ===
The majority of machines in Factorio consume electricity. There are two aspects to a machine's energy use.

* Energy consumption – The energy consumed by the machine while it is actively carrying out a process (crafting an item, moving an item, etc). If an electric network does not have enough power generation to supply all the machines in it, the electricity will be evenly spread across all machines in the network (based on each machine's demand), and all machines will slow down proportionally to the power available.
** For example: If an [[Assembling machine 3]] (210kW) and an [[Electric mining drill]] (90kW) are on a network (90+210 = 300kW), but the network only has 3 [[Solar panel]]s (3×60kW = 180kW) to power them, the Assembling machine and Mining drill will both run at 60% speed (180/300=0.6).
* Drain – The energy consumed by the machine whether it is active or not. Most machines consume a small amount of power just being connected to a network. This is usually negligible, but can become notable in small factories where power is limited. Drain is cumulative with energy cosumption - for example, an active [[Assembling machine 2]] will consume 155 kW (150kW energy consumption + 5kW drain).

=== Connection ===
[[File:Disconnect power pole.gif|frame|right|An individual connection is removed by redrawing the connection with copper cable.]]
A network is created by placing electrical generators (such as [[Steam engine]]s or [[Solar panel]]s) and electrical consumers, then ensuring a connection between the generator and consumer can be made using Distributors (such as [[Small electric pole]]s) that are connected together. Electric poles cover differently sized areas depending on their type. The area of coverage appears as a blue overlay around the pole. If two poles are placed close enough, the poles connect automatically. A building is connected if one tile of the building is in a covered area. Hovering the cursor over a pole reports the current satisfaction of power demands in that pole's network, and clicking on a pole will provide a detailed GUI about that pole's electric network. (See below)

* Use shift-click on a existing pole to remove all its connections to other poles.
* Unconnected poles can be connected with a single [[copper cable]] dragging from pole to pole (Left click on the ''bottom'' of the pole with the cable in hand.)
* Individual connections can be removed by "connecting" them with copper cable. This will not consume the cable.
* You can use place-key (default left mouse) while running/driving to auto-place poles at their greatest connectible distance while covering all unpowered entities on the way. This allows for complete efficiency when connecting long distances. If connecting over long distances, using [[Big electric pole]]s is recommended.

A newly-placed electric pole will be automatically connected to nearby poles according to the following rules:
# It will be connected to other available poles, starting with the closest one.
# It won't be connected to 2 poles connected to each other (it won't form a 3 pole triangle).
# It will not be connected to more than 5 other poles.

== Electric network info screen ==
[[File:Electric network info screen.png|thumb|400x400px|The Electric network info GUI]]

The Electric network info GUI can be accessed by left-clicking any electric pole nearby.

'''You can see only the info from the electric network to which that pole is connected!''' Unlike the production-info (press P) the electric network info is not measured globally, but by network.

# '''Satisfaction''' – The current amount of energy consumed by the network. This bar should be full. If it is not full, it means that the machines connected to the network are consuming more power than is produced, and the bar will change color to yellow (>50%) or red (<50%).
# '''Production''' – The current energy produced by the network. This bar should never be full. If it is full, it means that the machines connected to the network are consuming all available energy. The less full this bar is, the more surplus energy is available.
# '''[[Accumulator|Accumulator]] capacity''' – How much energy is currently held inside of the accumulators connected to your network. Measured in [[Units|joule]]s; 1 Joule = 1 Watt * 1 second (see also [[wikipedia:Joule]]). This bar should be able to fill fully before emptying again.
# '''Timespan''' - Set the [[Time|time]] span for the graphs below. "5s" means over the last 5 seconds.
# '''Detailed Consumption''' – A list of consumers from highest power consumption to lowest. In the picture example, 210 [[Electric mining drill|drills]] consume the most power, at 2.2 MW.
# '''Detailed Production''' – A list of producers from highest power production to lowest. In the picture example, 26 [[Steam engine]]s produce all the electricity in the factory.
# '''Consumption Graph''' – Shows the consumption of the different parts of the network over time.
# '''Production Graph''' – Shows the production of the different producers of the network over time.

Note that the timeframe influences the shown detailed production/consumption: the displayed watts is the total average power production or consumption over the full time. Setting longer timeframes also allows seeing the past production or consumption of machines even if they are not currently connected to the network.

== Network priorities ==

Electricity is provided on a priority basis. The demand for energy is satisfied by generators in following order:

* [[Solar panel]]s – Top priority; they always work at maximum performance available, unless they can cover all demand of the network, in which case they match demand.
* [[Steam engine]]s and [[Steam turbine]]s – They match whatever demand solar panels cannot satisfy; note that Engines and Turbines do have the same priority, leftover demand is equally divided among both.
* [[Accumulator]] – Last resort. They are only discharged when demand cannot be met by other means. They are also only charged when all demand is met, and there is yet more power available.

There may be situations where different behaviour is desired (such as solar panels combined with accumulators for night-and-day delivery), in which case clever use of a [[power switch]] and the [[circuit network]] is in order.

== See also ==
* [[Tutorial:Producing power from oil|Producing power from oil]]
* [[Power production]]
* [[Fluid system]]
* [[Units]]