How much electricity and CO2 does pumping groundwater from a borewell take per kilolitre?

kWh per kL = 9.81 x total head in metres / (3,600 x pump and motor efficiency). Lifting water 50 m at 40 percent efficiency takes about 0.34 kWh per kL, or about 0.24 kg CO2 per kL at India's grid factor of 0.710. Deeper water and worn pumps raise it.

Where the formula comes from

Lifting 1 kL (1,000 kg) of water by 1 m takes 1,000 x 9.81 = 9,810 joules, or 0.002725 kWh. Multiply by the total head and divide by the wire-to-water efficiency of the pump and motor together.

Total head is more than the borewell depth

• Pumping water level: the level while the pump runs, below the resting level because of drawdown.
• Delivery height: from ground up to the overhead tank inlet.
• Friction in the rising main and pipes, often a few metres; more in long or narrow pipes.

Efficiency of the pump set

Submersible pump sets lose energy in the motor, the pump and the cable. A worn or oversized set can fall below 40 percent wire-to-water. Measure it from input kW against flow and head, or ask an energy auditor. A correctly sized, efficient set can reach well above that, which cuts kWh per kL in proportion.

Measure it on site

1. Fit a flow meter on the borewell outlet if there is none.
2. Read the pump's energy sub-meter and the flow meter at the start and end of a week.
3. kWh per kL = kWh used / kL pumped; multiply by 0.710 for kg CO2 per kL.
4. Repeat in summer, when the water table drops and head rises.

Worked example: a campus pumping 100 kL a day

• Total head: 60 m pumping level + 15 m to the tank + 5 m friction = 80 m; pump set efficiency 40 percent
• kWh per kL: 0.002725 x 80 / 0.40 = 0.545 kWh
• Per day: 100 x 0.545 = 54.5 kWh, so 54.5 x 0.710 = 38.7 kg CO2
• Per year: 54.5 x 365 = 19,893 kWh and 14,124 kg CO2, about 14.1 t
• A new set at 55 percent: 0.002725 x 80 / 0.55 = 0.396 kWh per kL, 27 percent less

Head and efficiency are assumptions; use your own levels and measured efficiency.

What Senseible does here

Senseible reads your electricity bills, and two readings of a pump sub-meter in a photo give the units as their difference, with the CEA factor of 0.710 kg CO2 per kWh applied. Water volumes come from your own flow meter.

• ZLD plant energy and carbon per kL
• Water intensity for BRSR
• Grid electricity factor for India

Sources: BEE Guide Book 3, Energy Efficiency in Electrical Utilities (pumps and pumping systems), CEA CO2 Baseline Database for the Indian Power Sector, version 21.0

Last reviewed 2026-10-18.