Innovations for Hot and Cold Swine Nurseries and Naturally Ventilated Gestation-Breeding Barns

Posted in: Energy by admin on January 1, 1994 | No Comments

Ventilation System Choice and Economics

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Excessive ventilation in winter expels heat and increases heating costs. This can occur due to oversized fans and/or poor controllers. Energy to operate air inlets and exhaust fans varies significantly. Self adjusting air inlet baffles require no energy at all to operate. Every exhaust fan consumes between 1000 and 10000kWh of electricity per year based on continuous operation. Energy efficiency in terms of ventilation equipment is very important. Producers can determined the electrical energy demand of a fan by the following equation:
reference kWh x hr/day fan is running x #days/yr fan is used x current energy cost $/kWh

Keep Track of the Winds of Change

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The ventilation system in a barn has three functions and must be designed properly. Do not rely on machines and instruments to determined a barn environment, look at your pigs. Pigs which are cold tend to lie in piles in a warm and draught free area. Pigs which are hot attempt to lie separated from each other with maximum body surface in contact with the floor. The LCT and UCT define the pig’s thermoneutral zone where no energy is wasted to cool or heat the pig. Watch for signs of ill health in your pigs such as sneezing, coughing and increased depth of breathing. Monitor temperature in the barn. Dirty sensors/control systems cannot maintain room conditions within the necessary parameters. Ideally for the average finishing room of 12 pens, there should be three maximum and minimum thermometers fixed in the air-stream above the stock – typically, mid-pen, 3m from the wall and 1.2m above the floor. Very little electrical energy is required to monitor barn conditions.

Maximizing Energy Use Efficiency in Swine Production

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Alternative Low Energy Pig Housing

Posted in: Energy by admin on January 1, 1993 | No Comments

Rationalizing Barn Environment Control and Energy Management

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Water Consumption and Wastage

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This short article looks at ways to minimize water watage. The authors state that sluury can include 25-30% cleaning water, drinking water wastage and precipitation in porker and sow pens. Water consumption, slurry/liquid manure production and handling costs are considered.

Performances of Earth Tube Heat Exchangers to Ventilate a Growing-Finishing Swine Building

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Solar Energy

Posted in: Energy by admin on January 1, 1992 | No Comments

Energy conservation is a reason to consider solar heat for swine buildings. Money must be spent to insulate a building before solar heating can be effective. Also, check the winter ventilation rate to prevent overventilation, wasting much valuable heat. Before purchasing a solar energy system know the economics associated with this type of system. Two types of systems are used to collect solar energy for swine buildings – passive and active. Solar planning in terms of building design, collector placement, air leaks/insulation and ventilation are all outlined by the author.

On-Farm Energy Workshop

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This article considers four aspects of swine housing: insulation, ventilation, heat recovery and lighting. Increasing the insulation levels from poor to adequate will reduce fuel requirements in heated buildings. Loosefill, batts and rigid are the three commonly used types of insulation available. Ventilation or the bringing in of fresh air into the building in the right amounts and velocity and distributing it properly so that it blends and mixes thoroughly with the warm inside air is essential. Ventilation air-to-air heat exchangers are used in swine housing facilities to reduce supplemental heating cost and to preheat incoming fresh air. Factors such as: airflow rate, efficiency and initial cost of heat exchanger, plus fuel costs, size and number of pigs, and climate all influence the decision to use a heat exchanger in a swine housing facility. A switch from incandescent bulbs to replacement fluorescent U-tube units can reduce energy needed for lighting by 75%.