Advanced Technical Ceramics worked example

Ceramic Firing Energy Cost at 66% billable-to-customer firing share: a worked example

This worked example runs the ceramic firing energy cost numbers for a tougher week than the baseline: 66% billable-to-customer firing share instead of the typical 92%. Estimate firing or sintering energy cost from kiln energy use, energy price, chargeable share, and fixed utility or atmosphere cost.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Kiln energy consumed per firing: 1,450 kWh or therms (held at the documented default)
  • Utility energy price: 0.13 $ / energy unit (held at the documented default)
  • Billable-to-customer firing share: 66 % (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 92)
  • Controlled-atmosphere and utility setup cost: 180 $ (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Chargeable firing energy cost = kiln energy used × energy price × chargeable production share.
  • Ceramic firing energy cost works out to 304 $ firing energy at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Energy price works out to 0.21 $ / energy unit at these inputs.
  • Chargeable firing energy cost works out to 124 $ firing energy at these inputs.
  • Atmosphere and utility setup cost works out to 180 $ at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where billable-to-customer firing share sits at 92% and the headline result is 353 $ firing energy, this scenario comes in 13.87% below the baseline at 304 $ firing energy.
  • Use it when quoting a fired ceramic part, allocating shared-kiln energy across customers, or auditing why a part's energy cost is higher than expected. A result at this level usually justifies acting on the stressed input before touching anything else, because every other figure in the table is downstream of it.

Results at a glance

  • Ceramic firing energy cost: 304 $ firing energy (headline result)
  • Energy price: 0.21 $ / energy unit
  • Chargeable firing energy cost: 124 $ firing energy
  • Atmosphere and utility setup cost: 180 $

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Ceramic Firing Energy Cost calculator, set billable-to-customer firing share to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.