Troubleshooting Livestock and Poultry Ventilation Problems

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The troubleshooting tables in this leaflet describe some of the problems that occur in livestock and poultry buildings, list the possible causes and suggest remedies. Contained within the tables are issues such as ventilation, controllers, heating, drafts and insulation.

Estimating the Energy Saving Potential for Heat Exchangers in Swine Buildings

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For both design and evaluation purposes, it would be useful to have a method for estimating energy saving when a heat exchanger is installed in a specific building. This heat exchanger analysis is part of ongoing work in the development of an overall ventilation design, analysis, and management model. The BIN method is used to calculate seasonal energy usage with and without a heat exchanger in the building. A series of test analyses was conducted to compare predicted energy savings as functions of minimum ventilation rate, percent slatted floor, heat exchanger effectiveness, and number of animals in the building. Energy saved by a heat exchanger is dependent on the minimum ventilation rate. If it is desirable to increase minimum ventilation rate for air quality purposes, the addition of a heat exchanger could keep energy costs at or near their previous level. Heat exchangers will generate the largest annual savings in buildings that are large energy consumers. Seasonal heating costs may be reduced by one half as percent slotted floor increases from 50 to 100%. Effect of slotted floor in terms of energy savings is similar with or without a heat exchanger.

Simulating Ventilation Heat Recovery for Broiler and Swine Facilities

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Feeder Barn Design and Management

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This book is intended to help producers identify problems and understand some of the interactions between health, facilities, nutrition and management of the feeder pig. A modern grower-finishing barn is used as a template to discuss the issues. The five major sections in the book are: 1) design and operation, 2) ventilation, 3) feeding, 4) monitoring production and 5) health and pig care. A strong interaction between each of the five sections is evident. Producers should avoid putting too much emphasis on one of these areas to the neglect of the others. In regards to energy and energy efficiency, the chapters encompassing insulation, ventilation and feed should be of interest.

Good Energy Management in Farm Livestock Buildings

Posted in: Energy by admin on January 1, 1986 | No Comments

This publication is intended to point out inefficient energy uses and, it is hoped, to provide techniques or suggestions to reduce consumption by making more efficient use of conventional energy (electricity, oil, liquified petroleum gas (LPG), or natural gas). This could include improving system designs and/or management; changing systems; or reusing energy that has been dumped, a common practice when energy was inexpensive. This book also contains trouble-shooting tables that link all aspects of swine housing together in an easy to read format.
This publication is a comprehensive look at energy usage and efficiency on farms. Each section or chapter uses simple practical examples to drive the message home.

Improved Swine Barn Ventilation Systems

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This paper is based on a three year period of research. In year one, a computer-based data gathering system was installed in each of two 100-sow barns at the Prairie Swine Centre. The ventilation systems in the six rooms in each barn were nodified to enable a detailed study of air inlets, air distribution, heat exchangers, exhaust fans, and fan-heater controllers. In year two, major modifications were made to the continuous slot inlets in the farrowing and breeding/gestation barns. Year three of the project was intended as a clean-up year in which data analysis was to be completed.
What is minimum ventilation and what is the minimum ventilation rate for various swine barns? Tests with variable speed fans and fan controllers is included in this paper. Air inlets should be closed tight enough to maintain negative static pressure across the fan of 0.05 to 0.10 inches. Backdraft devices are needed on intermittenly operating fans to prevent the fan from acting as an air intake when the fan is not running. Energy efficiency is compromised when fans must overcome shutters that close by gravity. Dirty shutters or backdraft shutters will not affect the performance of fans operating at full speed.

Barn Ventilation Conversion

Posted in: Energy by admin on January 1, 1985 | No Comments

The article looks at a farmers decision to convert an existing barn to a more energy efficient naturally ventilated structure. The reasons for the conversion were high maintenance on the fan motors and equipment, worry free operation during hot weather-power failure conditions, and energy consumption of the 8 fan motors.

Hot Water Heating

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Hot water heating (hydronic heating) is a popular and effective method of heating agricultural buildings. There have been great technological advances in hydronic heating controls and products since this bulletin was first done in 1984. This leaflet gives design and installation guidelines for both floor and space heating systems.

Intensive Pig Production

Posted in: Energy by admin on January 1, 1984 | No Comments

Pig production is a highly competitive business which demands increasingly intensive methods and innovative thinking. Good environmental design and management is essential to combine profitability and high productivity with animal health and welfare. This is a textbook, reference book and handbook for students, pig farmers and farm building consultants which sets out the principles of environmental design and management for intensive pig production systems. The methods and data presented in the book will be applicable to pig production systems anywhere in the world.
The book explains the basic principles leading to the choice of housing and includes practical recommendations to show how future requirements should be planned. Of particu;lar interest in terms of energy efficiency is chapter 7, which deals with heating and ventilation.

Performance of a Solar Collector/Storage Wall for Preheating Ventilation Air in a Swine Barn

Posted in: Energy by admin on January 1, 1983 | No Comments