Editing Wiki/Game Mechanics/Electricity (section)

==Tips==

* Power drain with engine startup can be reduced by using a clutch; engine RPS on startup can be improved by this as well. Release the clutch (set its clutch pressure to zero), then try to start the engine. Only re-engage the clutch when the engine is above 3 RPS.
* To avoid crashing as a result of lightning or EMP, aircraft can be equipped with a vehicle parachute triggered to activate with a loss of power. For example, a laser distance sensor within the vehicle will report whatever distance is between it and some other point of the vehicle it is pointed towards; when the power goes out, it will report zero distance. A microcontroller or an equals and a delay logic block could be used to detect when the reported distance becomes zero and stays that way longer than 10 seconds (indicating EMP, not just lightning), and use that to trigger the parachute release without requiring power to do so.
* Gradual loss of power can deplete a vehicle's batteries and leave it unable to start if left unattended for too long. This can be prevented by using a circuit breaker. Connect your batteries to one end of the breaker, then connect everything that draws power to the other end of it. An open circuit breaker effectively separates two circuits and no electricity will be consumed by the connected circuit until the breaker is closed again.
* The unit of electricity in Stormworks is called Swatt (short for "Stormworks watt").
* Generators indicate their output in kiloSwatts (kW equivalent).