# How much gas and money does improved kiln insulation save in a tile plant?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/ceramic-kiln-insulation-gas-saving-payback

About 160 scm of natural gas a day, 5% of a 3,200 scm kiln, in BEE's Morbi report: 56,000 scm and about 115 t of CO2 a year. Cost Rs 15.58 lakh, saving Rs 8.4 lakh at Rs 15 a scm, payback about 1.85 years at 2010 prices. The repair lasts 4 to 5 years.

## Where the kiln loses heat

- The audited kiln makes 5,032 m2 of tile a day, about 60,000 tiles or 56 t, at 37.89% efficiency.
- Kiln surfaces lose 5.71 million kcal a day, 20.44% of the gas heat.
- The 29.4 m firing zone runs at 89 to 96 C on the sides and 111 C on top: 64% of the surface loss.
- Preheating 64 to 78 C, rapid cooling 68 to 85 C, final cooling 45 to 58 C.
- Bigger still: hot air from final cooling (24.5%) and water driven off the tiles (23%).

## What the money buys

- Rs 11.72 lakh of insulation with transport and tax, Rs 2.34 lakh labour, Rs 0.35 lakh interest during the work, Rs 1.17 lakh other: Rs 15.58 lakh.
- The summary table says Rs 15.345 lakh; the cost table adds to Rs 15.58 lakh, which gives the 1.85 years.
- One month of downtime, so do it in the annual shutdown.
- Life 4 to 5 years with spot repairs, about 2.5 times the payback.

## Keep the saving

1. Keep an infrared gun and a thermocouple at the kiln and check casing temperatures on a fixed round.
2. Fix hot spots in the firing zone first; that is where most of the heat leaves.
3. Have a thermal image survey done at least once a year and again after each repair, as the report advises.

## The cluster figure in the report

It multiplies 114 t by all 479 Morbi units and prints 55,564 t, though 479 x 114 is 54,606 t. It also says only about 60% of units have room to improve, which is about 287 kilns and roughly 33,000 t a year.

## One kiln, one year

- Gas saved: 160 scm x 350 days = 56,000 scm
- CO2: 56,000 x 2.05 = 114.8 t
- Per m2 of tile: 160 / 5,032 = 0.032 scm, about 65 g CO2
- Kiln gas before: 0.64 scm per m2, about 1.30 kg CO2

Natural gas at 2.05 kg CO2 per scm. Multiply 56,000 by your current gas price for today's saving.

## What Senseible does here

Senseible reads gas bills into monthly scm and CO2 at 2.05 kg per scm, each linked to its bill, so a 5% drop after the repair shows on your own records. If you need a loan for the repair, the green loan check lists what to bring.

- [Green loan readiness check](https://senseible.earth/green-loan-check)
- [Morbi tile kiln: gas CO2 per m2](https://senseible.earth/answers/morbi-tile-kiln-gas-carbon-per-square-metre)
- [Morbi ceramic cluster footprint](https://senseible.earth/answers/morbi-ceramic-cluster-carbon-footprint)
- [Reheating furnace insulation savings](https://senseible.earth/answers/reheating-furnace-insulation-fuel-savings)
- [Morbi tile exporter: EU buyer data](https://senseible.earth/answers/morbi-tile-exporter-eu-buyer-carbon-data)

Sources: [BEE, Detailed project report: kiln insulation improvement, Morbi ceramic cluster (2010, SAMEEEKSHA)](https://sameeeksha.org/pdf/dpr/MRV_CRM14.pdf)

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 fuel and power prices and a current quote before you rely on the payback.