Power

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Power is a resource that some  buildings require to function. It is measured in hp . It can be stored in Gravity Battery.

In Timberborn power can be broken down into the following parts. The power grid and buildings that require power.

Power grid

In Timberborn a power grid is the combination of power generation, storage, transmission, and distribution.

A power grid can be as small as 50 hp . An example of this is a  power wheel directly attached to a  lumber mill. As long as a  beaver is assigned to both, the power wheel and lumber mill, and it is also during working hours, the power grid will be active and will be generating, transmitting, and distributing power. Power grids can also be much, much larger and more complex than this simple example.

What hp a player will need in their power grid will depend upon the number of and which powered buildings a player wants to use. The player will also need to remember that power generation buildings are not always 100% efficient and take that into consideration when developing their power grid.

Generation

Power generation in Timberborn can be very sporadic in terms of efficiency and in terms of actual generation of power.

Power generation buildings

Building	Max Power Produced hp	Consumes	Workers	Availablity in Faction
Power Wheel	50	None	1	Folktails,  Iron Teeth
Water Wheel	135 hp/cms	None	0	Folktails
Compact Water Wheel	60 hp/cms	None	0	Iron Teeth
Large Water Wheel	270 hp/cms	None	0	Iron Teeth
Windmill	150	None	0	Folktails
Large Windmill	300	None	0	Folktails
Engine	400	Logs	1	Iron Teeth

Generation efficiency

Some power generation buildings do output consistently. The  power wheel, and, if continually fed  logs, the Iron Teeth's  engine. Both of these  buildings output their stated hp .

The less consistent power generation buildings are the water wheels and the Folktails' windmills. The power generation ability of these buildings is at the mercy of nature.

If a  fluid is not flowing, water wheels will not produce power and if the flow of water is not fast (strong) enough, water wheels will not produce power at it's max capacity.

The same is also true for the Folktails' windmills. If the wind is not blowing, no power is produced, and if the wind is not strong enough there is power production, but at a reduced rate.

Storage

The additional hp can be stored in Gravity Battery.

Transmission

Transmission of power from the generation buildings to the buildings that require power can be accomplished multiple ways. Power generation buildings can be connected directly to the buildings that need power or something more complex can be used if required.

If the transmission of power requires covering a long distance power shafts are a viable option. They are not the only option for long distance transmission of power.

Power shafts

Power shafts are an alternative way to transfer power. Power shafts transfer power when they are properly connected to a power source, other power shafts or buildings that are powered.

•  Straight power shaft
•  Power shaft turn
•  Power shaft t intersection
•  Power shaft intersection
•  Upward power shaft
•  Vertical power shaft
•  Downward power shaft

Distribution

Distribution of power is accomplished when a power generation buildings' generated power is transmitted through power shafts and/or buildings that share power to the buildings that require power.

Players should be aware that buildings that are both, stackable and power sharing, will distribute (share) power with stacked buildings that are also capable of sharing power.

Buildings that share power

•  Bakery
•  Bot assembler (only at the middle)
•  Bot part factory
•  Builders' hut
•  Carousel (just the 3 blocks at the back)
•  Charging station
•  Deep mechanical water pump (just from two sides)
•  Dirt excavator
•  Control tower (just the first level)
•  District center
•  Explosives factory
•  Forester
•  Gravity battery
•  Gear workshop
•  Gristmill
•  Grill
•  Hauling post
•  Housing
  • Barracks
    •  Barrack
    •  Large barrack
  • Lodges
    •  Lodge
    •  Lodge (mirrored)
    •  Mini lodge
    •  Double lodge
    •  Triple lodge
  • Rowhouses
    •  Rowhouse
    •  Large rowhouse
•  Inventor
•  Lumber mill
•  Mechanical water pump (just from two sides)
•  Monuments
  •  Laborer monument
  •  Flame of progress
  •  Tribute to ingenuity
•  Mud bath
•  Numbercruncher
•  Observatory
•  Paper mill
•  Printing press
•  Refinery
•  Smelter
•  Wood workshop

Roofs share power only at their bottom surface.

Powered buildings

Powered buildings are buildings that require access to power in order for them to function.

List of powered buildings

•  Bot assembler: 250 hp
•  Bot part factory: 150 hp
•  Carousel: 400 hp
•  Charging station: 50 hp
•  Deep mechanical water pump: 700 hp
•  Dirt excavator: 200 hp
•  Explosives factory: 150 hp
•  Gear workshop: 120 hp
•  Gristmill: 60 hp
•  Lumber mill: 50 hp
•  Mechanical water pump: 700 hp
•  Mud bath: 50 hp
•  Numbercruncher: 400 hp
•  Observatory: 200 hp
•  Paper mill: 80 hp
•  Printing press: 150 hp
•  Smelter: 200 hp
•  Tribute to ingenuity: 600 hp
•  Wood workshop: 250 hp

Powered buildings efficiency

Powered buildings are not guaranteed to always run at 100% efficiency. The same is also true for power generation buildings. If a powered building receives 100% of the power it requires it will be 100% efficient, but if a powered building receives less than 100% of the power it requires that building will have less than 100% efficiency.

These inconsistencies should be considered by a player when planning their production chains and power grid(s).

Comparison to Real Life HP

Since the unit hp can easily be confused with the real life horse power, the following calculation will clear up the difference between the two on the basis of the Gravity Battery.

Assumptions

• one block ingame equals 1 m³
• the gravity battery weight is equal to 2 m³ of iron
• general laws of physics apply
• the Timberborn planet has the same gravity as planet earth

Actual energy stored in the Gravity Battery

Assuming the weight is 100% iron with a density of 7,874 g/cm³, this equals a total weight of 15.784 metric tons.

Calculating the stored potential energy with the formula E = m*g*h where m is the mass in kg, g is the gravitational acceleration of 9,81m/s² and h is a height of 1m results in a total potential energy of:

15784kg * 9,81m/s² * 1m = 154.84 kJ of stored energy per meter height.

Energy transfer rate

If we now compare this to the given stored energy ingame of 2.000 hph (hp -hours) per block of height, one hph equals to 77.42 J/h.

Comparing to the real world

Using the energy transfer rate of the classical Horse Power given to be about 2,684.52 kJ/h, we can deduct, that the hp is roughly equal to:

0.07742 kj/h / 2,684.52 kJ/h == 0.00288% of a standard horse power.

This implies the hp is roughly a one-35.000th of the power a horse can deliver

Hamster power?

Another suggestion was that hp stands for "hamster power", referring to the power a hamster would generate in a hamster-sized power wheel.

According to Wikipedia (though that fact is marked "citation needed"), a hamster can generate 500 mW, which is 1800 J/h. So if the assumptions above hold, an actual hamster produces 23.24 hp . Still, it's a better match than a horse, and by changing some of the assumptions (e.g. the weight of the battery might not be 2 m² of iron, but a smaller volume of a lighter material), we can close the gap further. (Also, maybe it could be the average over a whole day of hamster activity.)