The cost per hour to run a mine ventilation fan in the UK varies from site to site, because it depends on the fan’s power, how hard it is working and the electricity tariff negotiated with the energy supplier. Rather than one universal figure, you can calculate the hourly cost using a simple method: energy used in kilowatt-hours (kWh) multiplied by the price of electricity per kWh in your UK contract.
The first step is to determine the fan’s actual power consumption. A mine ventilation fan has a motor with a nameplate rating (for example, 250 kW, 500 kW or more), but the real power draw may be lower or higher depending on airflow, pressure and efficiency. If you have a power meter on the fan, you can read the average kW directly. If not, you can estimate power from the fan selection data and operating point. For a rough budget, many engineers assume the fan runs close to its rated power when operating at its design duty.
Once you know the approximate kW, you calculate the energy used per hour. For example, if a main fan draws 400 kW at its normal duty, it uses 400 kWh of energy in one hour. If your UK industrial electricity tariff is, for example, 0.15 GBP per kWh, the estimated hourly cost is 400 × 0.15 = 60 GBP per hour. If the fan runs continuously, that corresponds to about 1,440 GBP per day and over half a million GBP per year, illustrating why ventilation energy is such an important budget item.
Actual tariffs in the UK can include time-of-use pricing, demand charges and other fees. Power used during peak periods may cost more per kWh than off-peak usage, and maximum demand (highest kW drawn in a billing period) can trigger additional charges. Mines often work with energy managers or consultants to understand their full tariff structure and to schedule major loads like ventilation fans in ways that minimise peak demand without compromising safety.
To refine your hourly cost estimate, you should also consider how the fan is controlled. Variable speed drives and ventilation-on-demand systems can reduce average power by lowering fan speed when less airflow is needed, for example when certain districts are idle. In such cases, the fan may draw significantly less than its rated power for parts of the day, lowering the average hourly cost compared with simple fixed-speed operation.
When budgeting, it is useful to calculate both typical and worst-case hourly costs—one based on expected average power and another based on full-load, peak tariff conditions. This helps decision-makers understand the financial impact of fan upgrades, duty changes and energy management strategies. It also highlights the value of selecting high-efficiency fans and optimising ventilation networks to reduce unnecessary pressure losses.
In summary, the cost per hour to run a mine ventilation fan in the UK is found by multiplying the fan’s actual kWh consumption per hour by the site-specific electricity price per kWh, including any UK demand or peak-use charges. Because energy costs form a large part of a mine’s ventilation budget, careful calculation and optimisation can deliver substantial savings while maintaining safe airflow.
