How much gas and money does improved kiln insulation save in a tile plant?

About 160 scm of natural gas a day, 5% of a 3,200 scm kiln, in BEE's Morbi report: 56,000 scm and about 115 t of CO2 a year. Cost Rs 15.58 lakh, saving Rs 8.4 lakh at Rs 15 a scm, payback about 1.85 years at 2010 prices. The repair lasts 4 to 5 years.

Where the kiln loses heat

• The audited kiln makes 5,032 m2 of tile a day, about 60,000 tiles or 56 t, at 37.89% efficiency.
• Kiln surfaces lose 5.71 million kcal a day, 20.44% of the gas heat.
• The 29.4 m firing zone runs at 89 to 96 C on the sides and 111 C on top: 64% of the surface loss.
• Preheating 64 to 78 C, rapid cooling 68 to 85 C, final cooling 45 to 58 C.
• Bigger still: hot air from final cooling (24.5%) and water driven off the tiles (23%).

What the money buys

• Rs 11.72 lakh of insulation with transport and tax, Rs 2.34 lakh labour, Rs 0.35 lakh interest during the work, Rs 1.17 lakh other: Rs 15.58 lakh.
• The summary table says Rs 15.345 lakh; the cost table adds to Rs 15.58 lakh, which gives the 1.85 years.
• One month of downtime, so do it in the annual shutdown.
• Life 4 to 5 years with spot repairs, about 2.5 times the payback.

Keep the saving

1. Keep an infrared gun and a thermocouple at the kiln and check casing temperatures on a fixed round.
2. Fix hot spots in the firing zone first; that is where most of the heat leaves.
3. Have a thermal image survey done at least once a year and again after each repair, as the report advises.

The cluster figure in the report

It multiplies 114 t by all 479 Morbi units and prints 55,564 t, though 479 x 114 is 54,606 t. It also says only about 60% of units have room to improve, which is about 287 kilns and roughly 33,000 t a year.

One kiln, one year

• Gas saved: 160 scm x 350 days = 56,000 scm
• CO2: 56,000 x 2.05 = 114.8 t
• Per m2 of tile: 160 / 5,032 = 0.032 scm, about 65 g CO2
• Kiln gas before: 0.64 scm per m2, about 1.30 kg CO2

Natural gas at 2.05 kg CO2 per scm. Multiply 56,000 by your current gas price for today's saving.

What Senseible does here

Senseible reads gas bills into monthly scm and CO2 at 2.05 kg per scm, each linked to its bill, so a 5% drop after the repair shows on your own records. If you need a loan for the repair, the green loan check lists what to bring.

• Green loan readiness check
• Morbi tile kiln: gas CO2 per m2
• Morbi ceramic cluster footprint
• Reheating furnace insulation savings
• Morbi tile exporter: EU buyer data

Sources: BEE, Detailed project report: kiln insulation improvement, Morbi ceramic cluster (2010, SAMEEEKSHA)

Last reviewed 2026-11-01. Report figures are from a BEE SME programme project report; costs and paybacks are at the report year's prices. Check today's fuel and power prices and a current quote before you rely on the payback.