When should an Agra footwear component unit replace a rewound motor, and what do speed drives save?

The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) says rewinding can drop a motor's efficiency by 3 to 5%, and advises replacing motors rewound three times or more with International Efficiency class 3 (IE3) motors, at a simple payback of 2 to 3 years. Variable speed drives usually save 20 to 50%, and up to 20% on extruder motors.

What TERI prints

• Rewinding may drop motor efficiency by about 3 to 5%. The profile does not say whether that is percentage points or a relative drop.
• Motors rewound three times or more should be replaced with energy efficient motors of the IE3 efficiency class, with a simple payback of 2 to 3 years.
• Variable speed drives (VSDs) usually save 20 to 50% where they fit. On extruder motors the saving is up to 20%.
• On injection moulding hydraulics, a servo drive motor could save about 30%, and is called one of the best options. Optimising process cooling can cut cooling costs by 10 to 25%.
• Compressed air: savings of up to 40% in some cases; leaks, which are more than 20% in most cases, can be cut to about 5%; one bar lower pressure saves 5 to 6%. Other pages here quote different figures from other sources and plant types, for example 6 to 10% per bar on the compressed air pressure page.

These are potentials, not measurements

TERI writes them as opportunities for the cluster. The profile does not report the saving on any named unit. Use them to decide what to measure first, then check your own kilowatt hours (kWh) before and after. The compressed air figures are TERI's; the live compressed air pressure page gives 6 to 10% per bar from a different source, so expect the figures to differ.

A short list of what to find out

1. For every motor over about 5 kilowatts: rating, hours run a month and how many times it has been rewound. A motor repair slip or the shop's card often shows this.
2. Which motors drive a load that varies, such as the extruder screw and the hydraulic pump, because that is where a speed drive or servo motor fits.
3. Your monthly kWh, so a replacement shows up as a fall against the same production.

Example: extruder motors on a speed drive

• Extruder motors use 4,000 kWh a month (an example)
• Up to 20% saving: 4,000 x 0.20 = 800 kWh a month
• Emissions: 800 x 0.675 kilograms of carbon dioxide (CO2) per kWh for financial year (FY) 2025-26 = 540 kilograms (kg) a month, or 6,480 kg a year

The 4,000 kWh is an example. 20% is TERI's upper figure for extruder motors, so the real saving may be lower.

What Senseible does here

Senseible reads fuel invoices and electricity bills into records by billing period, so kWh before and after a motor change are in one place. It does not meter individual motors.

• Agra footwear component cluster energy
• Electricity per pair for an Agra shoe unit
• Compressed air pressure reduction savings
• Green loan readiness check

Sources: TERI, Cluster profile: Agra footwear industries (2015, data for 2014-15), CEA, CO2 Baseline Database for the Indian Power Sector, version 22.0

Last reviewed 2026-11-06. The profile is TERI 2015, with data for 2014-15. Savings are the profile's potentials. Get a current quote and a measured baseline before you rely on a payback.