# What does an energy-efficient 3 HP condenser water pump save in an ice plant?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/ice-plant-condenser-water-pump-3hp-kwh-saving

In the BEE and SAMEEEKSHA report for the Bhimavaram ice-making cluster, an efficient 3 HP condenser water pump saves 11,170 kWh a year, shown as 9 tonnes CO2. Installation needs 2 days of downtime. The old pump ran at 37% system efficiency, the new one at 60%.

## The numbers behind the saving

- Old pump: measured 3.50 kW, 24 hours a day, 350 days a year.
- New pump: measured 2.17 kW, same flow of 7 litres a second and 19 metres head.
- Saving: 1.33 kW x 24 x 350 = 11,172 kWh, rounded to 11,170.
- Water power needed is the same, 1.30 kW. Efficiency rises from about 37% to 60%.

## Which plants

The report sizes a 3 HP pump for plants making about 12 tonnes of ice a day. Larger plants need 5 HP. The cluster has about 80 ice units, and most condenser water pumps were old with re-wound motors.

## Why the pump matters

The condenser pump runs without a break to cool the ammonia in the condenser. Energy is 48 to 54% of the cost of ice in the cluster, so a pump that runs 8,400 hours a year adds up.

## Worked CO2 from the report's numbers

- Saving: 11,170 kWh a year.
- The report shows 9 t CO2, about 0.81 t per MWh.
- At the FY 2025-26 grid factor of 0.675 kg per kWh: 11,170 x 0.675 = 7,540 kg, or 7.5 t.

The report dates from 2010.

## What Senseible does here

Senseible reads electricity bills for ice plants into a monthly kWh record, so the effect of a pump or compressor change shows in the same bills.

- [Ice plant electricity per tonne in Bhimavaram](https://senseible.earth/answers/bhimavaram-ice-plants-electricity-per-tonne)
- [New compressor saving](https://senseible.earth/answers/ice-plant-new-refrigeration-compressor-kwh-saving)
- [Carbon calculators](https://senseible.earth/calculators)

Sources: [SAMEEEKSHA and BEE, DPR: energy efficient pump for condenser water, 3 HP, Bhimavaram ice making cluster](https://sameeeksha.org/pdf/dpr/Bhimavaram_ice_making_cluster/Energy_efficient_pump_for_condenser_water_3_hp_Bhimavrm_IMC.pdf)

Last reviewed 2026-11-03.