# What does a new paddy separator save a Ganjam rice mill, by size?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/ganjam-paddy-separator-three-sizes

In Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) reports for Ganjam, a new compartment paddy separator saves 4,819 kilowatt hours a year at 1 tonne an hour, 4,673 at 1.5 and 6,129 at 2, paying back in about 3 years on Rs 0.60 to 0.80 lakh. At 1.5 tonnes an hour the draw falls from 2.2 to 1.49 kilowatts.

## What the separator does

After the huller, the separator splits unshelled paddy (normally under 10% of the flow) from brown rice using differences in weight, buoyancy and size. A compartment separator for a 1.5 tonne an hour mill has 45 compartments, 15 on each of three decks. The report says cluster separators draw about 50% more power than new ones.

## The three sizes

- 1 tonne an hour: old 3.5 kilowatts (kW), new 1.49. Saving 2.01 kW over 12 hours for 200 days: 4,819 kilowatt hours (kWh). Rs 0.20 lakh a year on Rs 0.60 lakh, payback 3.00 years.
- 1.5 tonnes an hour: old 2.2 kW, new 1.49. Saving 0.71 kW over 22 hours for 300 days: 4,673 kWh. Rs 0.20 lakh on Rs 0.60 lakh, 3 years.
- 2 tonnes an hour: old 3.6 kW, new 2.2. Saving 1.4 kW over 15 hours for 300 days: 1.4 x 15 x 300 = 6,300 kWh, against the report's 6,129. Rs 0.26 lakh on Rs 0.80 lakh, 3.08 years.
- The three sizes are not like for like: the old draw is 3.5 kW at 1 tonne an hour but 2.2 kW at 1.5 tonnes an hour, so the savings do not scale with capacity.

## Cost and what to check

All three use Rs 4.20 a kWh. The report assumes the old separator resells for Rs 0.35 lakh and takes a Rs 0.10 lakh discount on the new one. The hours differ a lot, 12 to 22 a day, so use your own running hours: the saving is the kW difference times those hours.

## 1.5 tonnes an hour, in kilowatt hours and carbon dioxide (estimate)

- 0.71 kW x 22 hours x 300 days = 4,686 kWh (the report states 4,673)
- 4,673 x Rs 4.20 = Rs 19,627, the report's Rs 0.20 lakh
- Cost over saving: 0.60 / 0.20 = 3 years
- Carbon dioxide: 4,673 x 0.675 = 3.2 tonnes a year; the report says 4 tonnes

Report figures from the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) Ganjam rice mill project reports. carbon dioxide (CO2) uses the Central Electricity Authority financial year 2025-26 grid factor, an estimate.

## What Senseible does here

Senseible reads electricity bills into monthly kilowatt hours (kWh) and carbon dioxide emissions, so a new separator shows as a drop against the same months before it. A single machine 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)
- [Ganjam rice mills: electricity saving](https://senseible.earth/answers/ganjam-rice-mills-electricity-saving)
- [Improved paddy cleaner in a rice mill](https://senseible.earth/answers/rice-mill-improved-paddy-cleaner-saving)
- [Voltage stabiliser in a rice mill](https://senseible.earth/answers/rice-mill-voltage-stabiliser-kwh-saving)

Sources: [BEE, Detailed project report: paddy separator 1 TPH, Ganjam rice mill cluster (SAMEEEKSHA)](https://sameeeksha.org/pdf/dpr/Ganjam_rice_mill_cluster/11_Paddy_separator_10_ton_Ganjam_Rice_mill.pdf), [BEE, Detailed project report: paddy separator 1.5 TPH, Ganjam rice mill cluster (SAMEEEKSHA)](https://sameeeksha.org/pdf/dpr/Ganjam_rice_mill_cluster/12_Paddy_Separator_15_ton_Ganjam_Rice_mill.pdf), [BEE, Detailed project report: paddy separator 2 TPH, Ganjam rice mill cluster (SAMEEEKSHA)](https://sameeeksha.org/pdf/dpr/Ganjam_rice_mill_cluster/13_Paddy_separator20ton_Ganjam_Rice_mill.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.