# What does replacing an old SCR induction furnace save in kWh per tonne?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/induction-furnace-replacement-842-to-792-kwh

In a Raipur steel unit TERI reported in June 2026, a 12 t furnace measured at 842 kWh per tonne of liquid metal was replaced by a new one measuring 792. That 50 kWh a tonne came to about 14.4 lakh kWh and Rs 86 lakh a year, for Rs 180 lakh: a 2.1 year payback.

## The case in numbers

- Two SCR controlled induction furnaces of 12 t a heat; one audited at 842 kWh per tonne of liquid metal.
- TERI's recommended level for that furnace: 750 kWh per tonne.
- New furnace of the same rating, still SCR type: 792 kWh per tonne after installation.
- Saving: about 14.4 lakh kWh a year, Rs 86 lakh; cost Rs 180 lakh. The second furnace is being replaced too.

## What the numbers imply

14.4 lakh kWh over a 50 kWh per tonne gain means the furnace melts about 28,800 t a year. Power cost about Rs 6 a kWh. And the new furnace is still 42 kWh above the 750 benchmark, so charge practice, superheat and lid use are worth checking next. A new furnace sets a better ceiling; operating discipline decides where you land under it.

## Your own before and after

1. Fit or read a dedicated kWh meter on the furnace panel, not just the main bill.
2. For a month, record kWh and tonnes tapped for every heat, with charge mix (scrap or sponge iron).
3. Repeat after commissioning at a similar charge mix.
4. Compare kWh per tonne of liquid metal, which is the figure a lender or energy auditor will ask for.

## CBAM and your footprint

For iron and steel goods, CBAM leaves electricity out of the embedded emissions, so this saving does not lower a billet's CBAM figure. It does lower your Scope 2 and the footprint buyers in India and abroad ask for, and it is the kind of measured efficiency gain lenders look at for energy efficiency loans.

## The Raipur furnace, CO2 a year (estimate)

- Saving: 14.4 lakh kWh x 0.675 kg = 972 t CO2 a year
- TERI reported 1,138 t at an older grid factor
- Per tonne of liquid metal: 50 kWh x 0.675 = 33.8 kg CO2 less

Case data from the SAMEEEKSHA newsletter, June 2026 (TERI). The unit is not named in the source. Annual tonnage is derived from the reported saving. CEA FY 2025-26 grid factor.

## What Senseible does here

Senseible reads your monthly electricity bills into CO2 per tonne melted, so the before and after for a loan or a buyer is traced to each bill.

- [Check green loan readiness](https://senseible.earth/green-loan-check)
- [Induction furnace kWh benchmark](https://senseible.earth/answers/induction-furnace-kwh-per-tonne-benchmark)
- [Green loan for a furnace upgrade](https://senseible.earth/answers/green-loan-induction-furnace-upgrade-readiness)
- [Scrap shearing and furnace power](https://senseible.earth/answers/scrap-shearing-induction-furnace-saving)

Sources: [SAMEEEKSHA newsletter, June 2026: secondary steel case studies (TERI)](https://sameeeksha.org/newsletter/SAMEEEKSH_June_Issue_2026%20(1).pdf), [Regulation (EU) 2023/956 establishing CBAM, consolidated](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/956/2025-10-20), [CEA, CO2 Baseline Database for the Indian Power Sector, version 22.0](https://cea.nic.in/cdm-co2-baseline-view?mappingId=234&lang=en)

Last reviewed 2026-11-01.