Enter the total force applied to pulley (N) and the weight lifted by pulley (N) into the calculator to determine the Pulley Efficiency. 

Pulley Efficiency Formula

The following formula is used to calculate the Pulley Efficiency. 

Epull = WL / AF * 100
  • Where Epull is the Pulley Efficiency (%)
  • AF is the total force applied to pulley (N) 
  • WL is the weight lifted by pulley (N) 

To calculate the efficiency of a pulley, divide the weight lifted by the force applied, then multiply by 100.

How to Calculate Pulley Efficiency?

The following two example problems outline how to calculate the Pulley Efficiency.

Example Problem #1:

  1. First, determine the total force applied to pulley (N). In this example, the total force applied to pulley (N) is given as 20.
  2. Next, determine the weight lifted by pulley (N). For this problem, the weight lifted by pulley (N) is given as 30.
  3. Finally, calculate the Pulley Efficiency using the equation above: 

Epull = WL / AF * 100

Inserting the values from above and solving the equation: 

Epull = 30 / 20 * 100 = 150 (%)

Example Problem #2: 

Using the same process as above, first define the variables required by the formula. In this case, these values are:

total force applied to pulley (N) = 50

weight lifted by pulley (N) = 100

Entering these values yields:

Epull = 100 / 50 * 100 = 200 (%)