What does the 1.75 times output assumption do to a CNC machine's saving and payback in a BEE report?
Both the payback and the kilowatt hour (kWh) saving in the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) Bangalore reports rest on output rising 1.75 times. Without it, five-axis payback goes from 3.01 to 5.26 years. With it, the bending machine's yearly use rises from 127,238 to 151,488 kWh even as use per tonne falls.
What the reports assume
Each report works out its saving per tonne, then multiplies by an output that is 1.75 times what the old machine made: bending from 130.5 to 228.375 tonnes a year, five-axis from 96 to 168 tonnes. The saving at today's output is smaller, and the reports tabulate it too.
Payback at today's output
- Five-axis computer numerical control (CNC) machine: Rs 192.40 lakh. Saving Rs 63.99 lakh a year at 168 tonnes, payback 3.01 years. At today's 96 tonnes the table gives Rs 36.56 lakh, payback 5.26 years.
- CNC laser cutter: Rs 52.76 lakh. Rs 41.79 lakh a year at 95.725 tonnes, payback 1.26 years. At today's 54.7 tonnes, Rs 23.88 lakh, payback 2.21 years.
- CNC bending machine: Rs 36.35 lakh. Rs 26.07 lakh at 228.375 tonnes, payback 1.39 years. At today's 130.5 tonnes, Rs 14.90 lakh, payback 2.44 years.
Use per tonne falls, total use can rise
- Bending: 975 kilowatt hours (kWh) a tonne falls to 663.33, but yearly use goes from 127,238 kWh to 151,488, which is 24,250 kWh more.
- The old machine making the larger output would need 975 x 228.375 = 222,666 kWh. The 71,178 kWh difference is the saving implied by the report's carbon dioxide (CO2) figure of 58.51 tonnes. Its summary lists 312, the per tonne figure.
- Five-axis: 1,533 kWh a tonne falls to 1,207, but yearly use goes from 147,168 to 202,776 kWh. Its reported 54,768 kWh saving is 1,533 x 168 = 257,544 less 202,776.
- Bending CO2 at the financial year (FY) 2025-26 grid factor of 0.675: 85.9 tonnes before, 102.3 after, 16.4 more. Per tonne of product it falls from 658 kg to 448 kg.
What a loan officer will ask
Whether you have the orders to sell 1.75 times as much, and whether the scrap and labour savings show in your accounts. A buyer who asks for emissions per part sees the fall; a target on total emissions sees the rise. Bring the flat output case as well as the report's, and say which output you assumed.
Five-axis machine, two outputs
- Saving a tonne Rs 38,087.50 x 168 tonnes = Rs 63,98,700; cost Rs 192.40 lakh / 63.99 = 3.01 years
- Saving a tonne Rs 38,087.50 x 96 tonnes = Rs 36,56,400; 192.40 / 36.56 = 5.26 years
- The report's debt service coverage ratio is 1.52 and internal rate of return 19.99% on the higher output
Figures from the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) reports for the Bangalore machine tool cluster, at about 2010 prices. The flat output paybacks are the cost divided by the saving at today's output, which the reports tabulate. The 0.675 factor is from the Central Electricity Authority, an estimate.
What Senseible does here
Senseible reads electricity bills into monthly kilowatt hours (kWh). A bill shows the site's electricity, not one machine's, so a new machine appears as a change in the site total, not on its own line. Output and scrap figures come from your accounts. The green loan check shows what a lender asks for.
- Green loan readiness check
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Sources: BEE, Detailed project report: installation of a 5-axis CNC machine, Bangalore machine tool cluster (SAMEEEKSHA), BEE, Detailed project report: CNC laser cutting machine, Bangalore machine tool cluster (SAMEEEKSHA), BEE, Detailed project report: CNC bending machine, Bangalore machine tool cluster (SAMEEEKSHA), CEA, CO2 Baseline Database for the Indian Power Sector
Last reviewed 2026-11-04. Report figures are from a Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) programme project report; costs and paybacks are at the report year's prices. Check today's prices and a current quote before you rely on the payback.