# How much electricity and CO2 does pumping groundwater from a borewell take per kilolitre?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/borewell-pumping-energy-per-kl

kWh per kL = 9.81 x total head in metres / (3,600 x pump and motor efficiency). Lifting water 50 m at 40 percent efficiency takes about 0.34 kWh per kL, or about 0.24 kg CO2 per kL at India's grid factor of 0.710. Deeper water and worn pumps raise it.

## Where the formula comes from

Lifting 1 kL (1,000 kg) of water by 1 m takes 1,000 x 9.81 = 9,810 joules, or 0.002725 kWh. Multiply by the total head and divide by the wire-to-water efficiency of the pump and motor together.

## Total head is more than the borewell depth

- Pumping water level: the level while the pump runs, below the resting level because of drawdown.
- Delivery height: from ground up to the overhead tank inlet.
- Friction in the rising main and pipes, often a few metres; more in long or narrow pipes.

## Efficiency of the pump set

Submersible pump sets lose energy in the motor, the pump and the cable. A worn or oversized set can fall below 40 percent wire-to-water. Measure it from input kW against flow and head, or ask an energy auditor. A correctly sized, efficient set can reach well above that, which cuts kWh per kL in proportion.

## Measure it on site

1. Fit a flow meter on the borewell outlet if there is none.
2. Read the pump's energy sub-meter and the flow meter at the start and end of a week.
3. kWh per kL = kWh used / kL pumped; multiply by 0.710 for kg CO2 per kL.
4. Repeat in summer, when the water table drops and head rises.

## Worked example: a campus pumping 100 kL a day

- Total head: 60 m pumping level + 15 m to the tank + 5 m friction = 80 m; pump set efficiency 40 percent
- kWh per kL: 0.002725 x 80 / 0.40 = 0.545 kWh
- Per day: 100 x 0.545 = 54.5 kWh, so 54.5 x 0.710 = 38.7 kg CO2
- Per year: 54.5 x 365 = 19,893 kWh and 14,124 kg CO2, about 14.1 t
- A new set at 55 percent: 0.002725 x 80 / 0.55 = 0.396 kWh per kL, 27 percent less

Head and efficiency are assumptions; use your own levels and measured efficiency.

## What Senseible does here

Senseible reads your electricity bills, and two readings of a pump sub-meter in a photo give the units as their difference, with the CEA factor of 0.710 kg CO2 per kWh applied. Water volumes come from your own flow meter.

- [ZLD plant energy and carbon per kL](https://senseible.earth/answers/zld-plant-energy-and-carbon-per-kl)
- [Water intensity for BRSR](https://senseible.earth/answers/water-intensity-calculation-for-brsr)
- [Grid electricity factor for India](https://senseible.earth/emission-factors/grid-electricity)

Sources: [BEE Guide Book 3, Energy Efficiency in Electrical Utilities (pumps and pumping systems)](https://beeindia.gov.in), [CEA CO2 Baseline Database for the Indian Power Sector, version 21.0](https://cea.nic.in/cdm-co2-baseline-database/?lang=en)

Last reviewed 2026-10-18.