Unhinged: How do I having electrical engine only active when MJ is required?

Question

There are a large number of MJ consuming machines that I wish to have the attached electrical engine only active when the machine needs power.

How do I have an attached electrical engine turn off when not required? So, either a method of turning the engine on when there are items in the attached machine, or having the engine only active when the machine's MJ supply is not full.

My base is using specifically right now, the Forestry Squeezer and Centrifuge, the Liquid Transposer, and a Builcraft Refinery.

Answer 1

You'll have to make a gate using an assembly table and some lasers. Place the gate on the conductive pipe directly attached to the engine and set its conditional to "Power requested" -> "Output redstone signal". Whenever there is a need for more power on your pipe network, the gate will emit a signal, turning on the engine.

There is a little bit of lag in the engine turning on or off, btw. Nothing dangerous, just something to be aware of.