For most poultry farms across the globe, energy is the second biggest expense.
Behind only the mortgage on the property, of course…
So, if you’re serious about maximizing profits then you’ll have to look at where your costs are hitting your business the hardest. This means looking at your energy usage and what you can do to reduce it.
In this article we’ll cover where energy consumption is draining your profits, some short-term fixes, and the best way to optimize your energy.
Poultry Farming and Energy
For the most part, poultry house energy gets used for housing and feed. This can again be broken down into five main categories.
- Lighting: At various stages of flock growth, lighting may be kept on for 24 hours straight.
- Ventilation: To prevent disease from spreading, air circulation is critical.
- Winter Heating: Cold chickens conserve energy and don’t grow as much, warming them is thus crucial.
- Summer Cooling: Chickens will die if they get too hot and use more energy to breath.
- Feed Lines: Although most of these are automated, they still use a ton of energy.
Although not all of this energy has to be provided by electricity, the majority of it is. Many farms will still use propane heating systems – but this is not optimal. It’s not possible to run a successful poultry business without optimized temperature and air quality for growth, plus light cycles play a pivotal role too.
This is where almost all of your energy will end up, in these five locations. This list is still a little too broad to be of any major use just yet – so keep reading to find out how you can use this to your advantage.
How Much Money is Lost to Energy Waste?
A recent comparison in the state of Arkansas between poultry farms revealed some surprising trends, which are applicable on this side of the pond too.
Poultry farms ranged all the way from 20 to 83 kWh/1000lb of chicken. Even on first reading this is an incredible range, as almost four times as much energy is needed by the most inefficient farms to generate the same amount of live weight as the most efficient. A similar trend was found in farms that are still propane based, with a difference of more than five times between the low and high farms.
So, next time you look over your energy bill – it may be worth thinking about where your farm is situated on this scale.
A Key Expense – Lighting
Another key area where energy can be wasted is in lighting for poultry houses. Although you have already likely considered upgrading to fluorescent, compact fluorescent, or even LED bulbs – it can be tricky to decide which is worth it.
It is estimated that incandescent bulbs use about 6kWh per 100 birds per month, while fluorescent bulbs use about 2kWh per 100 birds per month. This small difference could really begin to add up when it comes to monthly bills…
Some Quick Tips to Save on Bills
Ventilation
- Match duct and fan sizes to the ventilation system you have.
- Regularly clean and maintain fans, ducts, and louvres to improve airflow where possible.
- Replace old fans with energy-efficient models – a fan consumes its own value in energy in about 18 months. Belt-driven fans use less energy than direct-drive units.
- Use recirculation fans to improve heat distribution (especially for direct acting heating systems). Link to first-stage fans to maintain normal airflow.
- Seal gaps around doors, walls, windows, and ventilation louvres to reduce air leakage. This increases static pressure and improves ventilation efficiency and natural air mixing.
- Fit proprietary “bell-mouths” to fans or “cones” to outlet fans to increase aerodynamic efficiency.
Heating
- Position thermostats carefully to avoid overheating buildings by avoiding draughts and doors.
- Insulate roofs, floors, and walls.
- Link heating and ventilation systems.
- Use heat recovery to pre-heat incoming air with warm extract air.
- Service boilers regularly.
- Replace ageing boilers with energy-efficient models or renewable energy systems.
- Consider radiant heaters to directly heat floor area and minimise general air temperature rise.
- Restrict chicks to smaller areas with zonal control/brooding curtains and ensure a tight seal.
Lighting
- Reduce lighting where possible within regulations.
- Replace old incandescent and tungsten halogen lights with energy-efficient fluorescent systems inside and high-pressure sodium or metal halide lamps outside.
- Implement LEDs. Modern LEDs are dimmable and fit existing sockets. Cost is higher than standard bulbs, but lifespan is longer and use less energy to produce twice as much light.
- Use photoelectric sensors to control lighting in buildings with windows.
Other
- Use multiple electronic sensors at bird height to improve ventilation and heating accuracy. Also consider systems that record temperature/ventilation data to aid management.
- Inverters to speed up or slow down fans as required (rather than just on or off).
- Commission an energy audit.
The ready-made solution for Poultry Farmers
Flexible contracts are a relatively new contract type that helps to pass on the benefits of the wholesale energy market to consumers. The price that consumers will pay for their energy is strongly dependent on the movements in wholesale market, meaning that there are opportunities presented during periods of volatility.
As you can imagine, flexible energy contracts are exactly that – flexible.
The predictable portion of customer energy use can be thought of as the bulk of their demand, with most businesses able to provide very accurate estimations of this through smart meters, sub-meters, and even energy audits. The peak is essentially the spike in demand outside of this predictable consumption – this then forms the tradeable volume that can be traded within flexible contracts.
You purchase too much energy, and your baseload and peak volumes exceed your profile? Well, just sell the excess back to the supplier.
You don’t purchase enough energy to cover baseload and peak volumes? Well, just top up with a little extra.
For those farmers that need that additional flexibility, it’s a game changer.
The long-term solution – Why Poultry Farming and Energy Brokerage go Hand-in-Hand
One thing that is universal with all sectors of farming is the long hours and physically demanding nature of the job.
After a long shift the last thing you want to do is to return home and think about energy. Dealing with suppliers, complex calculations, paperwork, long phone calls, complex jargon, and even more paperwork…
We don’t blame you.
Wouldn’t it be nice to have someone on your side to alleviate the load when it comes to energy?
That’s when partnering with an energy procurement specialist comes in handy. Acting as a knowledgeable consultant for everything energy, they’ll keep you on the best possible energy contract available to you. Saving you money and time to spend on whatever else you’d rather be doing.
Energy Solutions by Us, for You
At a time of great uncertainty in global energy markets, it is easy to feel lost in it all.
Keeping up to date with developing situations and the associated ramifications is a tricky and time-consuming job. It is also one that is not likely a priority for you and your business.
So, what do you do?
You partner with energy procurement experts to take the load off your desk.
Energy Solutions have been trusted brokers for countless businesses for over twenty years, which means we know how to navigate the energy markets during a time of uncertainty.
Contact us today to find out how we can help you and your business
Website: https://www.energybrokers.co.uk/
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