Is 15,000 kilocalories of heat a kilogram normal for a Pali polyester saree printing unit, and what is the best observed?
The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) Pali manual observed polyester saree units using 15,000 kilocalories (kcal) of heat and 1.2 kilowatt hours (kWh) of power a kilogram, against a best of 10,932 and 0.95. In kWh that is 17.4 and 12.7 of heat, near its 17.9 finishing benchmark, whose basis (heat, power or both) the manual does not state.
What the manual observed
- For units processing polyester and printing it to make sarees: average electricity 1.2 kWh a kilogram (kg), best observed 0.95.
- Average thermal energy 15,000 kcal a kilogram, best value 10,932.
- Its stage benchmark for finishing, quoted from the International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF) 2007, is 17.9 kWh a kilogram, and its total for polyester dyeing is 11 to 18.
In other units
15,000 kcal x 4.1868 = 62,802 kilojoules, 62.8 megajoules, 17.4 kWh a kilogram. The best value, 10,932 kcal, is 45,770 kilojoules, 12.7 kWh. Adding the 1.2 and 0.95 kWh of electricity gives 18.6 and 13.7 kWh a kilogram in all. The manual does not say that the two best values came from the same unit, so the 13.7 is a floor, not a real unit.
The 17.9 kWh a kilogram ITMF figure is 15,390 kcal a kilogram. So the Pali average heat sits close to that benchmark, and the best value is about 27% below the average, 1 minus 10,932/15,000.
A check against Pali's daily fuel
The manual says a power process unit burns 5 to 7 tonnes of residual pet coke a day, and makes 40,000 to 50,000 metres, of fabric mostly below 100 grams a metre. At 100 grams, 40,000 to 50,000 metres is 4,000 to 5,000 kilograms, so coke is 1.0 to 1.75 kilograms a kilogram of fabric. The manual's pet coke is 8,200 kcal a kilogram, so 15,000 kcal is 1.83 kilograms of coke if all the heat came from coke. That is just above the 1.0 to 1.75 range. Cloth lighter than 100 grams means fewer kilograms for the same metres, which moves the range up, so the two are consistent. This is our own check, with assumptions.
The carbon
At the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2006 default of 97,500 kilograms of carbon dioxide (CO2) a terajoule and 32.5 terajoules a gigagram, pet coke gives 3.17 kilograms of CO2 a kilogram. 1.83 kilograms of coke is about 5.8 kilograms of CO2 a kilogram of fabric, plus 1.2 x 0.675 = 0.81 for power at the financial year (FY) 2025-26 grid factor. The coke quantity uses the manual's gross 8,200 kcal a kilogram while the IPCC default is on a net basis; gross and net bases differ by about 5%. Use your own coke invoices and a lab calorific value in place of these.
Your unit against the manual
- Coke burnt in a month: 150 tonnes at 8,200 kcal = 1,230 million kcal; fabric 90,000 kg
- Per kg: 1,230,000,000 / 90,000 = 13,667 kcal a kg = 15.9 kWh a kg
- Against the manual: average 15,000 (17.4 kWh), best 10,932 (12.7 kWh)
- CO2: 150,000 kg x 3.17 = 475,500 kg; per kg of fabric 5.3 kg
The month is an example with assumed numbers. The coke calorific value is the manual's; the CO2 factor is the IPCC default.
What Senseible does here
Senseible reads fuel invoices and electricity bills into monthly records, so coke tonnes and kWh bought each month are on file to divide by the kilograms you processed. Heat inside the unit comes from your own meters or a test; Senseible keeps the bills.
- Pali hand and power process units: energy
- Cotton and polyester dyeing energy per kg
- Pali dyeing unit coal boiler CO2
- Free calculators
Sources: Bureau of Energy Efficiency and Petroleum Conservation Research Association, Cluster Manual, Pali Textile Cluster (via SAMEEEKSHA), IPCC 2006 Guidelines, Volume 2, Stationary Combustion, default factors, IPCC 2006 Guidelines, Volume 2, Introduction, default net calorific values (Table 1.2)
Last reviewed 2026-11-05. The observed values are from BEE's Pali manual (cluster data for 2007-08; unit observations undated), and the manual does not date its ITMF benchmark beyond 2007. Use your own fuel and power records.