Energy Collector

The Energy Collector is a factory block in the Equivalent Exchange 2 mod that converts any light source into EMC. By placing EE2/Vanilla fuel items in the Energy Collector's inventory slot, it will convert the fuel into new fuels of progressively higher EMC value which means that over time, a cheap fuel such as charcoal (EMC value: 32) can be transmuted automatically into an expensive / high EMC value fuel like Aeternalis Fuel (EMC value: 8192).

The Energy Collector will transfer any excess EMC not being used to convert fuel over to an adjacently placed EE2 block such as an Energy Condenser or Antimatter Relay. It can also be used to power a Dark Matter Furnace or a Red Matter Furnace.



Recipe
Energy Collectors come in three Tiers. Each upgrade from the previous tier allows for additional EMC generation a second, light levels (They can act as a light source), and storage space.

Mark One

6 x 1,536 (Glowstone Block) + 1 (Glass) + 73,728 (Diamond Block) + 8 (Furnace) = 82,953 EMC each.

Mark Two

7 x 1,536 (Glowstone Block) + 139,264 (Dark Matter) + 82,953 (Energy Collector Mk1) = 232,969 EMC each.

Mark Three

7x 1,536 (Glowstone Block) + 466,944 (Red Matter) + 232,969 (Energy Collector Mk2) = 710,665 EMC each.

Progression of Fuel Conversion
The Energy Collector upgrades lower level fuel into the higher levels in this Progression: Charcoal (32) -> Redstone (64) -> Coal (128) -> Gunpowder (192) -> Glowstone Dust (384) -> Alchemical Coal (512) -> Blaze Powder (768) -> Glowstone Blocks (1536) -> Mobius Fuel (2048) -> Aeternalis Fuel (8192)

This process requires light to be above the Energy Collector, the amount of light will affect the speed at which this process happens (a good way to accelerate this process would be to place either a glowstone block or jack-o-lantern on top of the collector, as explained in the getting started in v6 page on the Equivalent Exchange Wiki). Fuel will cycle into the intake automatically from the internal storage on the left eventually pushing stacks of output back into the internal storage. Inserting one of these fuels into the rightmost box (with the target icon), the collector targets that fuel, directly converting whatever is input to that targeted fuel without converting to any possible intermediate fuels in the chain.

EMC generation
The amount of EMC produced is static based on the Tier level of the Energy Collector. Energy Collectors also produce Light level based on tier. (EMC/s tested at light level 15)

The light level above the Energy Collector determines the exact EMC gained (see internal details below). The EMC generated is used to progress fuels to the next step in the progression, all the EMC generated is put into the Input fuel moving the progression forward. If an item is taken out mid-conversion, the excess EMC generated is stored back in the collector (and displayed as passive EMC) and is instantly used on the progression of the next placed input item, possibly very quickly upgrading several lower EMC valued materials. Thus, generated EMC is conserved.

If an Energy Collector is not upgrading fuel and adjacent to a Relay all the EMC produced by the Energy Collector will be transferred to the Relay and stored. For further Information on this Mechanic see Antimatter Relay.

Energy Collectors not producing Fuel adjacent to a Dark Matter Furnace or Red Matter Furnace will power those as well.

Break Even Point
From an EMC only standpoint, Energy Collectors are a very long-term investment. In order to equal the cost of just the Energy Collector (not counting the Relays or Energy Condenser) it takes roughly 5 hours of non-stop energy generation at level 15 light level to recover the cost of the materials used to create one. Below is a chart of each tier and how many Real Time hours it must be lit and active until the Energy Collector has "paid for itself". (EMC/s tested at light level 15)

Internal details
The EMC/second produced is based on the level of light shining on the top of the Energy Collector. The light scale is 1 to 16, 1 being complete darkness 16 being Sunlight or Equivalent. The percentage of light reducing the effectiveness of EMC production.

For the purpose of the following example, we ignore the light the Collector emits.

''A single Energy Collector Mk1 is sitting in a field, open to the sky. During the day the light scale is 16 so 16/16 is 1 then that is multiplied by the output. We leave our collector under the Night sky (light scale 5) now our Energy Collector is at 31% efficiency (5/16) giving us 1 EMC/second (4*.31). In complete darkness our Energy Collector is producing 1EMC/second (our light scale stops at 1).''

Triva

 * Energy Collectors (Originally noted by Rar349) cannot be pushed with a Sticky Piston or a Piston.
 * To place a block above the Energy Collector (For example, Glowstone), one can achieve this with ease by holding down shift and placing the block. It will not open up the Energy Collector GUI.
 * Energy Collectors are used in the Power Flower structure.
 * Energy Collectors can be used to charge Klein Stars.
 * Mark 3 Energy Collectors do not need a Glowstone block above them to be fully efficient.

Video Tutorial
CrWlA0GJstQ