Mixing, Blending & Industrial Batch Processing worked example

Agitator Power with agitator motor shaft load of 6 kW: a worked example

Here is what the math looks like when conditions slip. We hold every other input steady and drop agitator motor shaft load to 6 kW, then walk the calculation through step by step. Estimate agitator energy cost per batch from connected motor load, runtime, electricity rate, and good batches produced.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Agitator motor shaft load: 6 kW (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 12)
  • Agitator runtime per shift: 8 hr (held at the documented default)
  • Electricity rate: 0.12 $ / kWh (held at the documented default)
  • Good batches produced: 20 batches (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Agitator energy cost = motor shaft load × runtime × electricity rate.
  • Energy cost works out to 5.76 $ / batch at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Energy used works out to 48 kWh at these inputs.
  • Cost per piece works out to 0.29 $ / piece at these inputs.
  • Hourly cost works out to 0.72 $ / hr at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where agitator motor shaft load sits at 12 kW and the headline result is 11.52 $ / batch, this scenario comes in 50% below the baseline at 5.76 $ / batch.
  • The practical read: the gap between this scenario and the baseline is entirely attributable to agitator motor shaft load, so recovering it is worth quantifying in dollars before considering equipment or staffing changes. It uses motor shaft load as a flat figure; real draw varies with viscosity, fill level and ramp-up, and it ignores motor efficiency losses unless you build them into the load value.

Results at a glance

  • Energy cost: 5.76 $ / batch (headline result)
  • Energy used: 48 kWh
  • Cost per piece: 0.29 $ / piece
  • Hourly cost: 0.72 $ / hr

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Agitator Power calculator, set agitator motor shaft load to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.