Smart Battery

The Smart Battery is an automation-capable battery used to manage power generation more efficiently than a regular Battery. In addition to storing electricity, it has two configurable charge thresholds that determine when it sends automation signals: a Low Threshold and a High Threshold. When its charge drops below the Low Threshold, it outputs a Green Signal to request charging; once it reaches the High Threshold, it switches to a Red Signal and keeps that output until the charge falls below the Low Threshold again.

This hysteresis makes the Smart Battery especially useful for controlling generators, such as Coal Generators, so they only run when power reserves are low. A common setup is to connect the generator and the Smart Battery with both power wires and automation wires, then set the High Threshold to 90% and the Low Threshold to 50%. In that arrangement, the generator turns on when the battery falls below 50% and turns off again at 90%, reducing fuel waste and avoiding constant generator cycling.

• The automation output is based on the battery’s stored charge percentage. If multiple batteries share a circuit with a Smart Battery, the signal effectively reflects the combined charge of the circuit.
• Batteries on a grid are drained evenly by consumers, so equalizing their charge can make Smart Battery control more reliable for prioritizing power sources.
• Because of the built-in hysteresis, very close settings such as 50-49 can be useful when fine control is needed.
• Smart Batteries have low power loss compared to their usefulness, but they still produce heat at the same rate as a lamp.
• This setup does not work properly with Jumbo Battery, because its larger capacity prevents it from fully charging on a circuit regulated by a Smart Battery.