Which one is more efficient? Redstone cell or UEC?

[Dregor]

I've got both but recently starting using the redstone energy cell. The energy cubes are relatively cheap to make (up to elite) but after getting around to creating a factory floor that can process obsidian I finally got around to making the redstone cell.

Was wondering which one is better to use in the long run. I had to completely relearn the modpack, but finally things are coming together.

You can imagine the learning curve when the last version played was back when Technicpack had Millenaire and Better Than Wolves.

[Lethosos]

I'll have to look at UEC, but I don't think they have the flexibilty that moving Cells around gives you. A lot of people love being able to carry that kind of junk around, so combining the two would be ideal. Just drop the UEC where you want to pernamently keep your energy storage and refill the Cell from that whenever you need to drop some energy on the spot.

[Stone Rhino]

UEC's are great, but do loose power over time (i think elites do not). However I am finding them unreliable as it requires chunkloading to operate when offline. Even then, its iffy at best.

REC's require no chunkloading to emit.

[shubob]

UEC's do keep their power when you break them, but I have also found them to be pretty unreliable, and often stop receiving power at all. Also, the output rate is very low compared to a REC. Being able to set the in/out rates of REC's, and toggle them with redstone has made them the choice for me when dealing with large amounts of energy, and distributing it sanely to bases/quarries.

I had a computer running my power supply and turning on generators as needed. For this the UEC's seemed ideal, as they count as a computercraft peripheral, letting you see their power state. However, without constantly breaking and replacing them, they would always just freeze up. Instead, a world sensor card reading the light level by a REC gave me a rough idea of the remaining power.

[Otrillion]

UEC's do keep their power when you break them, but I have also found them to be pretty unreliable, and often stop receiving power at all.

I found if you connect the UEC to your generator with Redstone energy conduit this is the case, however if you use the Universal Cable it works fine very time. The Universal cable has some bugs of it's own, especially when merging in several generators to a supply pipe. So what I do is use Redstone energy conduit on all but the very last block before a UEC, which I put in 1 Universal cable to connect the UEC with. It works perfect, and the Ultimate Cube holds 4x as much as a REC. Not only that but it powers things like a quarry at stuper speed.

[shubob]

Thanks, that's some really useful information! I might have to go redesign my power station now...

[Thoran]

Personally I only use REC and Redstone Conduits. RECs can be set via Redstone signals to output energy when needed, they hold a lot of power, you can take them with you and they keep all their energy (use the omniwrench and shift click to keep the power stored). You can even recharge them in your inventory when you have a generator in your Power Suite. The only drawback is they are hard to make at the start but after that ... best battery in game.

[LupusVindex]

UECs work exactly the same, they also store their energy when picked up by a omniwrench and recharge in your inventory with a powersuit on. There is no difference between the two types of energy storage really. The output from the UEC will out perform an energy cube as well. However, you have to use some universal cabling like previously talked about - otherwise they leak power. Just need to choose which type of power you want to use and store and go with that set up. My preference is the mekanism way for one simple fact - universal cabling is easier to make and run lines with. That is the only reason I choose it over TEs power storage/transport.

[Stone Rhino]

REC's have problems with Uni-cable for one reason. Its faces are both input and outputs, hence the use of redstone conduit is required. It will loose power over time if you use Uni-cable. Pick a power system and stick with it, mixing the types has drawbacks.

REC's have a huge advantage over other power systems. You can regulate and throttle the power coming in, and out of it.

[shubob]

That's very useful information, I've added it to the wiki