How much does a VFD on a tile hydraulic press save?

A floor tile press with a 90 kW main motor used 270,158 kWh a year in BEE's Morbi report; a drive takes 15% off, 40,524 kWh. That is about 27 t CO2 on today's grid. Cost Rs 3.64 lakh, saving Rs 1.56 lakh a year, payback 2.33 years at 2010 prices.

Where a press wastes power

A tile press forms spray dried powder into biscuit tiles with a hydraulic cylinder, 8 to 10 strokes a minute. The pump motor runs at full speed through the whole cycle, including the moments between strokes when little pressure is needed. The report calls the press the most fluctuating load in the plant. A VFD matches motor speed to the pressure demand and cuts the idle running.

The plant in the report

• Floor tiles, about 5,112 m2 a day, one press with a 90 kW main motor.
• Press power: 270,158 kWh a year over 330 days at 24 hours, an average draw of about 34 kW.
• Saving: 15% = 40,524 kWh a year, worth Rs 1.56 lakh at Rs 3.85 a kWh.
• Cost: drive Rs 2.85 lakh, erection Rs 0.29 lakh, tax, interest and other costs about Rs 0.50 lakh, Rs 3.64 lakh in total.
• One day of downtime to fit.

Compare your press per square metre

• BEE's audits found press power of 0.18 to 0.53 kWh per m2 on wall tiles, 0.21 to 0.41 on floor tiles and 0.44 to 0.58 on vitrified tiles.
• Divide a month of press kWh by the m2 pressed. A press at the top of its range has the most to gain.
• The 15% is a rule of thumb for the cluster. Ask the press maker whether a drive suits your hydraulic circuit, and log kWh per m2 for a month before and after.

One press, one year (estimate)

• Press power: 270,158 kWh x 15% = 40,524 kWh saved
• CO2: 40,524 x 0.675 = 27.4 t
• The report's 32 t uses an older grid factor of about 0.79
• Payback: 3.64 / 1.56 = 2.33 years

CO2 at CEA's FY 2025-26 grid factor of 0.675 kg per kWh.

What Senseible does here

Senseible reads monthly electricity bills into kWh and CO2 records tied to each bill. With the m2 pressed each month alongside, the press's kWh per m2 before and after the drive is on record.

• Green loan readiness check
• VFD on a ceramic ball mill or blunger
• Tile plant slip agitators: power saved

Sources: BEE, Detailed project report: variable frequency drives on hydraulic press, Morbi ceramic cluster (SAMEEEKSHA), CEA CO2 Baseline Database, version 22.0

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 tariff and a current drive quote.