Editing S1ice's General Guide to Wiring (section)

== Wire Merging ==

{| class="wikitable"
! NO !! YES
|-
|[[File:s1ice_power_1.jpg|frameless|center]] || [[File:s1ice_power_2.jpg|frameless|center]]
|-
|The wires will attempt to split their flows straight and to the side at the same time, causing them to flow into each other, reducing the power flow of the circuit. || The power will go into the Redstone Block, and because <b>Redstone Blocks can only output power through wires</b>, all the power can flow in one direction.
|}

This concept is crucial for managing efficient circuits, and should be present in any wiring system, especially for [[Solar Panel]] grids and large power plants, as they’ve been implemented as the main source of power generation & storage for a while.

With that idea in mind, it becomes easy to visualize combinations for larger numbers of inputs, like this one here.
[[File:s1ice_power_3.jpg|frameless|upright]]<br>
'''Gold block = Power Source (crafting table)'''<br>
'''Diamond block = Destination (note block)'''

This is an example of how 4 power sources can merge into 1 power line.

And the largest benefit of this system is that it’s very simple to replicate, as the pattern builds on itself.

The images below are all good examples of wire merging for 6 outputs. 
(They all produce the same power/sec)

<gallery mode="packed>
File:s1ice_power_6.jpg
File:s1ice_power_7.jpg
File:s1ice_power_8.jpg
</gallery>

All of these exist using the same idea as before - only allow the power to exit a merge through 1 point. 
(I’m personally a fan of the second one)

=== Common Mistake: Branch Splitting ===

[[File:s1ice_power_4.jpg|frameless|upright]]

This is a common mistake that I’ve seen happen (and used to do myself) in wiring systems many times.

The issue with this setup is that every time the power goes through a sponge, power has a 50/50 chance either go to the side or straight ahead.

Meaning that every sponge is half as likely to transfer power as the previous sponge.

Let’s look at the numbers here:<br>
[[File:s1ice_power_33.jpg|frameless|upright]]<br>
The last input is as likely to get the original input’s value divided by two, 4 times.

This is why merging correctly is so important, because otherwise each output receives increasingly less power than the previous one, which can lead to a large disparity between rows of machines, with some having no power and some being full on power.

Luckily though, we don't have to worry about this problem with inputting power. Power banks aren't using any of it, so it doesn't matter how much or little each bank has.