# What does a new 11 kW seed cracker motor save over a rewound one in a mustard oil mill?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/alwar-seed-cracker-motor-11-kw-rewound

In a Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) report for Alwar, an 11 kilowatt (kW) mustard seed cracker motor at 80% efficiency is replaced by one at about 92%: 1.4 kilowatts less, about 7,140 kilowatt hours (kWh) a year, Rs 0.35 lakh, for Rs 0.55 lakh. Payback is 1.6 years.

## What the seed cracker does

Mustard seed goes through the cracker first, where it is broken into fine pieces, before the kolhu and the expeller. The report says the cracker usually runs on standard, old or rewound motors, which is where the saving sits.

## The sum

- Rated 11 kilowatts (kW); old efficiency 0.80, new about 0.92. Power saving: 11 x 0.12 / 0.92 = 1.43, which the report rounds to 1.4 kW.
- 17 hours a day for 300 days: 1.4 x 17 x 300 = 7,140 kilowatt hours (kWh). The report uses 24 kWh a day, 7,200 kWh, and Rs 4.80 a kWh for Rs 0.35 lakh.
- Cost Rs 0.55 lakh; payback 0.55 / 0.35 = 1.6 years; internal rate of return 34%; debt service coverage ratio 1.46. Downtime 2 to 3 hours.

## Read the carbon dioxide line with care

The report's carbon dioxide (CO2) saving is 6.48 tonnes, which is 0.90 kg a kWh. At the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) factor for financial year (FY) 2025-26, 0.675, the same 7,140 kWh is 4.8 tonnes.

## Motor saving, step by step (estimate)

- The report's method treats 11 kW as the old draw: new draw = 11 x 0.80 / 0.92 = 9.57 kW, a saving of 1.43 kW
- If 11 kW is the shaft load instead: 13.75 kW drawn at 80% against 11.96 kW at 92%, a difference of 1.79 kW
- 7,140 kWh x 0.675 = 4.8 tonnes CO2 a year

Report figures from the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) Alwar oil mill project report. The summary prints 0.92.2, the text says 92.2%, and its 1.4 kW matches 0.92.

## What Senseible does here

Senseible reads electricity bills into monthly kilowatt hours (kWh), so a new motor shows up as a drop against the same months a year earlier. A single motor is not metered on its own bill. The green loan check shows what a lender asks for.

- [Green loan readiness check](https://senseible.earth/green-loan-check)
- [Screw compressor for an Alwar oil mill](https://senseible.earth/answers/alwar-screw-compressor-for-four-reciprocating)
- [Efficient expeller in an oil mill](https://senseible.earth/answers/oil-mill-efficient-expeller-kwh-saving)
- [Alwar mustard oil mills: electricity per quintal](https://senseible.earth/answers/alwar-mustard-oil-mills-electricity-per-quintal)

Sources: [BEE, Detailed project report: energy efficient seed cracker motor, Alwar oil mill cluster (SAMEEEKSHA)](https://sameeeksha.org/pdf/dpr/Alwar_oil_mills_cluster/Energy_cost_reduction_with_e_e_seed_cracker_motor_HP_Alwar_OM_cluster.pdf), [CEA, CO2 Baseline Database for the Indian Power Sector](https://cea.nic.in/cdm-co2-baseline-view?mappingId=234&lang=en)

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.