Beacons: Friend Or Foe In The War On Pollution?

Beacons in Factorio are devices that transmit module effects to nearby machines while boosting said modules' effects. They can be used to transmit effects to multiple machines, and multiple beacons can affect the same machine. Beacons can be particularly useful when there are many compatible machines in a dense area, as their effects can reach multiple machines, allowing the player to save materials from crafting modules. Beacons can also be beneficial when a single machine must operate at an extreme speed, such as in the case of mining drills where an ore patch is small but rich. By using multiple speed module beacons, the speed of an individual drill can be increased to make up for the low quantity of drills.

While beacons have their advantages, there are some scenarios where they may not be the best choice. For example, if the boosted machine(s) operate infrequently, beacons can lead to power waste as they always consume power, even when the machines they are boosting are halted. Additionally, beacons cannot be used to boost non-module-compatible machines, as only buildings with module slots can benefit from their effects.

One of the key considerations when using beacons is their impact on power consumption and pollution. Beacons themselves consume a significant amount of power, and when used with certain modules, they can increase the power consumption and pollution of the affected machines. Efficiency modules, for instance, are generally not effective in beacons as they only reduce the base energy consumption of the machine, which is already low due to the effects of the beacons. On the other hand, speed modules can be useful in beacons when combined with productivity modules in the affected machines, as they can increase the efficiency of the machine in terms of items produced per watt or per pollution generated.

Overall, the decision to use beacons in Factorio depends on various factors, including the density of machines, the required speed of operations, power consumption considerations, and the type of modules being used.

Efficiency modules reduce pollution

Efficiency modules in Factorio are used to reduce pollution and conserve power. They are especially useful in the mid-game to reduce the need to increase power while everything else scales up, or in outposts to reduce the need for heavy defence and power sources.

Efficiency modules are also very useful in deathworld games, where there is a lot of combat with the Nauvians. In this scenario, efficiency modules can be used to reduce pollution and avoid agitating nearby biters. They are also useful when paired with solar panels, as they are more cost-effective for reducing pollution than building more panels.

Efficiency modules are inserted into machines, and they reduce pollution by the same percentage that they reduce electric usage. They are capped at 80%.

Efficiency modules are also useful in mining drills, where they can significantly reduce the pollution produced by the drills.

Beacons can be used to boost efficiency

Efficiency modules are recommended for when you want to reduce pollution. They are also useful when playing on a "Death World" (with bugs settings cranked up to the max). They are also useful when resources are scarce.

Efficiency modules are not considered as useful as speed and productivity modules. They are also generally not considered to work well in beacons. They are also not considered useful in the late game when you have huge mining productivity bonuses.

Efficiency modules are, however, a good candidate for sticking into miners, which normally generate a huge amount of pollution. They can also be used to slow down things like mining drills which can only use speed modules (for better ratios).

Speed modules can be used to boost productivity

Speed modules are a type of module in Factorio that can be used to enhance the capabilities of existing buildings. They increase the speed of a machine by 20% and its energy consumption by 50%. This means that, at the cost of energy, the machine produces more items per minute.

Speed modules can be very useful when a resource is infinite but the amount of resource pools is low. For example, one player used speed modules on oil deposits to double (or more) the trickle of oil they were getting. Another good place to use speed modules would be for assembly machines that make products that take a long time to make, such as engine units. Using speed modules allows for more compact setups, as one machine can provide materials to more consumers than normal.

Speed modules can also be used in conjunction with productivity modules to increase the efficiency of a machine in terms of items produced per watt of energy or per pollution generated. For example, one player used speed modules in beacons surrounding a rocket silo with productivity modules inside, which resulted in 40% more progress for no cost. Another player used speed modules in beacons to boost green circuit boards that were full of four productivity modules, resulting in 40% free stuff and a faster run time.

Speed modules can also be useful if a player didn't plan their production line well and one of their intermediate assemblers can't keep up with demand. However, it is always better to just make a second assembler instead of speeding up the old one.

Productivity modules can be used to reduce resource usage

Beacons are devices that transmit module effects to nearby machines, boosting their efficiency. However, they are not suitable for reducing pollution as they consume a lot of power themselves (480 kW to 750 kW) and boost the power consumption of the affected machines. This leads to more pollution, negating any potential positive impact. Beacons can only use speed and efficiency modules, and not productivity and quality modules.

Productivity modules, on the other hand, can be used to reduce resource usage. They add a second production bar to item-producing buildings and labs, which, when full, produces an extra set of outputs. This results in more items being produced from the same amount of resources. While productivity modules increase resource efficiency, they also decrease crafting speed and increase energy consumption.

When used in conjunction with speed modules in beacons, productivity modules can be highly effective. The speed debuff from productivity modules is offset by the speed boost from the beacons, resulting in faster crafting speed and extra free items. This combination leads to a smaller factory footprint and reduced resource usage.

For example, in a 1K SPM base, using productivity and speed modules can reduce the number of electric furnaces required for smelting iron plates from 1500 to 600, achieving the same output with fewer machines and resources.

Productivity modules are particularly useful for intermediate products that are used in other recipes and cannot be placed directly. They are also beneficial for labs, as they have no pollution to multiply, resulting in reduced pollution and increased research output.

In summary, while beacons are not effective for reducing pollution due to their high power consumption, productivity modules can be used to reduce resource usage, especially when combined with speed modules in beacons. This combination results in increased efficiency, reduced factory size, and lower resource consumption.

Modules are expensive

The three types of modules in Factorio are speed, productivity, and efficiency modules, each with three tiers of effects. Higher tiers have stronger effects but are more expensive. The effects of multiple modules are additive, not multiplicative, so there are no diminishing returns (except that consumption is capped at -80%).

Speed modules increase the speed and energy consumption of a machine. They are useful when a resource is infinite but the amount of resource pools is low, such as with oil deposits. They are also useful for assembly machines that make products that take a long time to craft, like engine units. Using speed modules allows for more compact setups because one machine can provide materials to more consumers than normal. If used with productivity modules, they can also increase efficiency in terms of items produced per watt or per pollution generated.

Productivity modules add a purple "productivity bar" when placed inside item-producing buildings and labs. Each time the machine finishes crafting the recipe, an amount is added to the bar equal to the percentages of the productivity modules inside the machine. When the bar reaches 100%, an extra set of products is immediately generated without consuming any resources. Productivity modules are recommended when resources are scarce. They will increase the overall amount of products per time but will also increase energy consumption. Productivity is especially useful in recipes that consume a lot of resources per second, such as electronic circuits, as this will result in a lot of free items being created and quickly cover the cost of the module.

Efficiency modules reduce the required electricity to run the machine. They are recommended for electric furnaces as these use a lot of power. Note that making higher-level efficiency modules may not be worth it in terms of power saved vs materials used to build a solar panel setup with the same power output. Efficiency modules are also able to control pollution, as pollution depends on energy usage. So reducing a machine's energy usage will also reduce its pollution. However, if used with productivity modules, a speed module can sometimes provide better efficiency gains due to the machine producing more items per second. Efficiency modules also generally don't work well in beacons.

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