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Prairie Swine Centre is an affiliate of the University of Saskatchewan
Prairie Swine Centre is grateful for the assistance of the George Morris Centre in developing the economics portion of Pork Insight.
Financial support for the Enterprise Model Project and Pork Insight has been provided by:
Geothermal Systems for Heating in Pork Production
Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Prairie Swine Centre, Production by student on June 19, 2018
Author: Bernardo Predicala, Ph.D.
Publication: Centred on Swine, Winter 2016 Volume 22 Number 2
Summary:
Previous studies have displayed the cost of energy to a swine operation to range from $7 to $12 of every pig sold. This value has been increasing over the years and now represents the third largest cost in producing pigs. Of that energy, a survey of 28 swine farms in Saskatchewan identified that 80% of it was utilized for heating and ventilation.
Conventional heating systems utilize gas, oil or electricity whereas a geothermal system provides energy by using ground heat.
An in barn evaluation of the geothermal system demonstrated approximately a 36% reduction in energy consumption for heating and ventilation in a room with a geothermal system installed during the heating system. This reduction was in comparison to a room that only had a conventional forced-convection heater
Geothermal Systems for Heating in Pork Production