I receive many phone calls regarding “How much will it cost to run my irrigation pump?”

In order to figure how much it’s going to cost, we must know a few facts first. What voltage are we using, what HP is the pump and lastly, how much is a Kilowatt. Obviously electricity prices vary from area to area, so we will use a nice round number of 10 cents a Kilowatt (adjust accordingly for your area).

Below is an example that we can work through together. Here is the scenario: We are using a 5hp pump @ 230 volts.

A 5 hp pump draws 28 amps at 230 volts. (See chart below for various HP’s)
Since our electric bills are based upon Kilowatts, we must now convert. This is the formula we would use:

Watts equals Volts times Amps.
Thus, 230 volts times 28 amps equals 6440 watts.
Thus, 6440 watts divided by 1000 equals 6.44 Kilowatts.
Thus, 6.44 Kilowatts times 10 cents an hour equals 64 cents an hour.
Thus, the pump will cost 64 cents an hour to run.

Hopefully, this answers the question, “How much will it cost to run my irrigation pump?”

Damian Zawacki
Technical Training Manager
John Deere Landscapes

All these amperages are estimates. The only way to get a true amperage draw is by reading the amps at the job site, while the pump is running.

1 Hp draws 8 amps @ 230 volts
1 ½ Hp draws 10 amps @ 230 volts
2 Hp draws 12 amps @ 230 volts
3 Hp draws 17 amps @ 230 volts
5 Hp draws 28 amps @ 230 volts