Blow Molding & Hollow Plastic Products worked example

Energy per Bottle with blow molding line connected load of 360 kW: a worked example

What does the result look like when blow molding line connected load reaches 360 kW? The full calculation is worked below with real intermediate numbers. a blow molding operation needs to estimate energy cost per bottle, container, or hollow part for a production run

The inputs for this scenario

  • Blow molding line connected load: 360 kW (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 145)
  • Production runtime: 12 hr (unchanged)
  • Blended electricity rate: 0.12 $ / kWh (unchanged)
  • Accepted containers processed: 42,000 units (unchanged)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Blow molding energy cost = blow molding line connected load × line runtime × blended electricity rate) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 518 $ for blow molding energy cost, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 4,320 kWh for blow molding energy used.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 0.01 $ / bottle for energy cost per bottle.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 43.2 $ / hr for hourly blow molding energy cost.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where blow molding line connected load sits at 145 kW and the headline result is 209 $, this scenario comes in 148% above the baseline at 518 $.
  • A figure at this level is achievable when blow molding line connected load is genuinely sustained, not just peaked for a shift. It treats connected load as a flat average; real draw swings with start-up heat soak, mold changes and idle dwell, so a single load figure can understate or overstate true kWh.

Results at a glance

  • Blow molding energy cost: 518 $ (headline result)
  • Blow molding energy used: 4,320 kWh
  • Energy cost per bottle: 0.01 $ / bottle
  • Hourly blow molding energy cost: 43.2 $ / hr

Run it with your numbers

  • Every input above is editable in the live Energy per Bottle calculator, which recalculates instantly and can be shared with the inputs intact.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.