Electricity Pump Cost & Your Monthly Power Bill
Bills the motor
Enter motor power, running hours and your tariff to get the monthly pump bill, the units in kWh, the input power in kW and the annual cost.
Enter your pump
Next: cut the bill with an efficient/right-sized pump (BEE star), a capacitor for power factor, off-peak running, and reducing head (wider pipe).
Actual draw depends on real load and voltage; many farm connections are flat-rate or subsidised — use your actual tariff/slab.
Electricity pump cost — key facts
- Bill driver
- power × hours × tariff
- Input power
- HP × 0.746 ÷ eff. × load
- kWh/day
- input kW × hours
- Bill
- kWh/month × tariff
- Cut it
- efficient pump (BEE star)
- Power factor
- add a capacitor
- Lower head
- wider delivery pipe
- Privacy
- Runs in your browser; nothing uploaded
Know what the pump costs before the bill arrives
An irrigation pump is usually the biggest power load on a farm, and its monthly bill is no mystery: it's set by the motor's power, how many hours it runs, and your tariff. Convert horsepower to the input kilowatts the motor actually draws — accounting for efficiency and load — multiply by running hours to get units, and apply your rate. Once you can see that number, the levers that lower it become obvious rather than guesswork.
This tool gives the monthly bill, the units in kWh, the input power in kW, the cost per hour and the annual cost in 8 currencies. Use it to budget the season and to test savings: an efficient, right-sized pump with a good BEE star rating, a capacitor to fix the power factor, off-peak running, and a wider pipe to cut head all show up as fewer units or a lower rate. Pair it with the Pump Efficiency, Solar Pump ROI and Irrigation Cost tools.
No bill-shock
Know the monthly cost before the meter does.
Test efficiency gains
See what a BEE-star, right-sized pump saves.
Price each hour
Cost per hour to judge an extra irrigation.
Plan the year
Annual cost to weigh against a solar pump.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is the pump electricity bill calculated?+
The bill is driven by motor power, running hours and tariff. The tool finds the input power in kW, multiplies by hours to get units, and multiplies units by your tariff: bill = kWh per month × tariff. So a pump drawing 4 kW run 5 hours a day for 30 days uses 600 kWh — times your rate is the bill.
How do I get input power in kW from horsepower?+
Input power (kW) = HP × 0.746 ÷ motor efficiency × load factor. The 0.746 converts HP to kW at the shaft; dividing by efficiency (say 0.85) accounts for motor losses, and the load factor reflects that the pump rarely runs at full rated load. The tool applies all three.
What is the load factor?+
The load factor is the fraction of rated power the motor actually draws in normal running — often 0.7–0.9 for a well-matched pump. A pump throttled or running off its best point draws a different share. Setting a realistic load factor keeps the bill estimate honest rather than assuming full nameplate draw.
What is motor efficiency and why divide by it?+
Motor efficiency is the share of electrical input that becomes useful shaft power; the rest is lost as heat. Because you pay for the input, not the output, input kW = shaft kW ÷ efficiency. A more efficient motor draws fewer units for the same work, which is why a BEE-star motor lowers the bill.
How can I cut the pump bill?+
Use an efficient, right-sized pump (look for a BEE star rating), add a capacitor to fix the power factor, run during off-peak tariff hours, and reduce head — a wider delivery pipe cuts friction loss so the motor works less. Each lever lowers the units drawn or the rate paid.
Does pipe size really affect the bill?+
Yes. A narrow pipe creates friction head, so the pump fights extra resistance and draws more power for the same flow. Going one size up on the delivery pipe reduces friction loss, lowers the effective head, and trims the units — a cheap, one-time change that pays back over every running hour.
How do I find kWh per month?+
kWh per day = input kW × hours per day; kWh per month = kWh per day × days run. The tool computes both, then applies your tariff. Seeing the units separately is useful because it's the same figure your meter records, so you can reconcile against your actual bill.
Why show cost per hour and annual cost?+
Cost per hour tells you the marginal price of running the pump for one more hour — handy when deciding whether an extra irrigation is worth it. Annual cost scales the monthly figure across the year (or your running season) so you can compare against the price of a more efficient pump or a solar option.
Which currencies are supported?+
Eight: pick yours and the tariff and all costs display in it. The physics is universal — kW times hours times rate — so enter your local tariff and the tool works anywhere, whether you're billed per unit, per HP, or on a flat agricultural slab you convert to an effective rate.
Is this an exact bill?+
It's a close planning estimate. Real bills add fixed charges, slab tariffs, power-factor penalties or subsidies, and motor draw drifts with voltage and wear. Use the tool to size the running cost and to test savings from an efficient pump or off-peak running, then reconcile against your meter.