HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1986-03-12, Page 15THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12, 1986. PAGE 15.
Improving efficiency of barn ventilation can save
How much does it cost to heat
your livestock barn?
Most barns housing calves,
pigs, broiler hens and a few other
types of livestock need supplemen
tal heat through at least part of the
winter. Why? The animals give off
moisture as they breathe. The
moisture has to be removed by
ventilation. But, the ventilation
removes heat as well as moisture.
Animals produce some heat, but
they sometimes can’t produce
enough to make up what is
removed by ventilation. This is
especially true of small animals. In
a well-insulated building ventilat
ed at “correct” rates, about 3/4 of
the heat loss is through the fans
and only ‘A is through the walls,
ceiling, etc.
“Theproblem we often see in
ourfarmvisits” says Ron Fleming,
Agricultural Engineer with the
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture
and Food at Clinton, ‘‘is that the
buildings are often ventilated at
rates greater than necessary.
When this happens, a surprising
amount of heat is lost. It has to be
made up somehow in order to
maintain a certain room tempera
ture. This leads to high heating
costs. The trick is getting the fans
sest up to exhaust the ‘correct’
rate.”
In winter, the main function of
the fans is to reduce moisture. The
relative humidity should be in the
range 60 to 75 per cent. This can be
measured fairly accurately and
cheaply with a household hygro
meter or with a more sophisticated
sling psychrometer (some versions
cost $30 or less).
“I’ve been in barns where the
RH was less than 50%. The farmer
was spending 2 or 3 times what he
needed to on supplemental heat,
Mr. Fleming says.
Usually one or more of four
solutions will reduce heating costs
without adversely affecting the
animals:
1. Improve the air circulation.
Sometimes unsaturated air is
exhausted while there may be
some very humid, dead air pockets
in the room.
2. Size the fans correctly. This
usually ties in with step 3.
3. Improvethecontrolson the
heating-ventilation system.
The thermostats built into the
4800-watt electric heaters aren’t
very accurate. “We often see a
vicious cycle - the heater tries to
heat the air and as the air warms
up, more exhaust fans come on,”
Mr. Fleming says. This lowers the
temperature, making the heater
work more. There is a fine line
when it comes to setting this to
work efficiently using thermostats.
It ’ s worth it to spend $50 on a better
thermostat for the heater, or to
spend a bit more for a heating
interlocking relay.
4. Insulate the building or check
theconditionofexisting insula-
tion. Even ensuring that the ceiling
in a two-storey barn is covered with
two feet of straw will help
considerably.
These are some of the obvious
measures. Sometimes more subtle
changes are needed. Heat isn’t
cheap and the payback period on
some of these measures can make
them very attractive.
Former Ethel area
man dies in Toronto
Melvin William Rock, 42, of
Calgary, Alta, died in Toronto on
Feb. 20.
Mr. Rock was formerly of the
Ethel area and attended Ethel
Public School, Listowel District
Secondary School and Norwell
District Secondary School.
Mr. Rock is the son of the late
Arthur C. Rock and Mae (Carno-
chan) Rock of Seaforth.
He is survived by five brothers,
Earl of Walton, John of London,
Lloyd of Kitchener, Donald of
Kincardine and Oraen of P.ipley;
one sister, Jean Keller of God
erich; one uncle, William Rock of
Stratford; six aunts and several
nieces and nephews.
Cermation took place in Toronto
followed by a memorial service in
Calgary on Feb. 26. Interment is to
be in Hawaii.
As expressions of sympathy,
donations may be made to the
Canadian Cancer Society, The
Gideon Bible Society or the
Salvation Army through the Ribey
Whitney Funeral Home, 87 God
erich St., Seaforth.
ETI
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291-3040
348-8412
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Plumbing
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887-6846
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887-6583
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Radford
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Blyth,
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87 MAIN ST. S., SEAFORTH
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