Process Manufacturing worked example

Plant Pump Energy Cost with pump motor load of 11 kW: a worked example

Here is what the math looks like when conditions slip. We hold every other input steady and drop pump motor load to 11 kW, then walk the calculation through step by step. Estimate pump electricity cost from motor load, runtime, energy rate, and transferred volume.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Pump motor load: 11 kW (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 22)
  • Pump runtime: 6 hr (held at the documented default)
  • Blended electricity rate: 0.11 $ / kWh (held at the documented default)
  • Volume transferred: 18,000 gal (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Pump energy cost = motor load × runtime × electricity rate.
  • pump energy cost works out to 7.26 $ at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • pump energy used works out to 66 kWh at these inputs.
  • pump energy cost per gallon works out to 0 $ / gal at these inputs.
  • pump hourly energy cost works out to 1.21 $ / hr at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where pump motor load sits at 22 kW and the headline result is 14.52 $, this scenario comes in 50% below the baseline at 7.26 $.
  • The practical read: the gap between this scenario and the baseline is entirely attributable to pump motor load, so recovering it is worth quantifying in dollars before considering equipment or staffing changes. It uses the entered motor load as constant; it does not model varying load, motor efficiency losses, or power-factor penalties that can raise the true billed cost.

Results at a glance

  • pump energy cost: 7.26 $ (headline result)
  • pump energy used: 66 kWh
  • pump energy cost per gallon: 0 $ / gal
  • pump hourly energy cost: 1.21 $ / hr

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Plant Pump Energy Cost calculator, set pump motor load to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.