Setting
Ron is the Farm Manager of Lyndale Poultry Farm, a layer farm located near Morwell in Victoria. Aware that there were better ways to manage his farm while improving the quality of climate control, especially in the birds’ fragile early days, Ron looked at converting the farm’s old layer sheds into new tunnel ventilated sheds for rearing. Steven Davies from Agricultural Automation proposed a range of solutions for the new tunnel shed design, with focus on high quality and high performance climate control. The AgriCool shed ventilation system from ebm-papst was chosen for its proven ability to reduce energy consumption, maintenance free design and improved fan reliability.
Retrofit
|
The renovated shed contains six EC direct drive 50 inch EC tunnel fans. The fans were installed with shutter and light traps to improve the quality and control of the climate inside the shed throughout the rearing process. 10 destratification fans were installed in the shed. Destratification fans move warm air from the top of the shed gently downwards, promoting an even temperature distribution throughout the shed while reducing gas consumption and the length of the pre-heating period required.
Results
|
Figure 1: Visual representation of the effect that destratification fans have on the internal temperature distribution of a shed.
|
A few months after the fans were installed and operational, ebm-papst staff, Christopher Hauck and Caroline Bommes, along with Steven from Agricultural Automation visited the Lilydale farm to inspect the fans and speak with Ron about their performance and operation.
In terms of operation the AgriCool system was a no-brainer for Ron. The quieter fans made for more peaceful birds and the infinite speed control allowed for accurate, efficient air flow throughout the shed: “On and off with the other ones they’re noisy and frighten the birds. With these ones you don’t even know they’re coming on. They ramp up quietly and don’t frighten the birds”.
The ventilation strength of these fans is demonstrated across the rearing process. During minimum ventilation only a single tunnel fan moves air at a slow speed, with the destratification fans running to assist in evenly distributing the sheds temperature and increasing the litter temperature. This improvement in air flow and temperature distribution allows Ron to use the whole shed space to rear the birds, making the process easier.
In terms of operation the AgriCool system was a no-brainer for Ron. The quieter fans made for more peaceful birds and the infinite speed control allowed for accurate, efficient air flow throughout the shed: “On and off with the other ones they’re noisy and frighten the birds. With these ones you don’t even know they’re coming on. They ramp up quietly and don’t frighten the birds”.
The ventilation strength of these fans is demonstrated across the rearing process. During minimum ventilation only a single tunnel fan moves air at a slow speed, with the destratification fans running to assist in evenly distributing the sheds temperature and increasing the litter temperature. This improvement in air flow and temperature distribution allows Ron to use the whole shed space to rear the birds, making the process easier.
|
“The heat’s up there is one fan going slow and the heat is nice and even right through. In the old shed you tried to keep the heat down on one end, in these the heat is even… First time we reared one side of the shed, this time were reared across the shed”
|
Ron was very happy with the fans and AgriCool shed ventilation system as a whole. The ability to check through the records of shed ventilation, including past temperature and airflow speeds was a huge benefit to Ron.
|
“You’ve gotta have back up on everything. You’ve gotta be able to check back to see what the problem is. At least with this system we can. With all the old stuff, well, it’s all guessing”.
|
|
In addition to being able to check the history of the shed’s climate, Ron is grateful for the alarm system as he can now focus on other aspects of the farm, knowing that if there is any change with the ventilation system he will be alerted on his phone. The back-up/fail safe system automatically starts up the moment the alarm system is triggered; ensuring adequate ventilation is always provided to his livestock, even if a fan or the control system stops working. To compliment these features, an under ventilation alarm system is a part of the AgriCool system. Constant monitoring of the actual and required airflow in the shed occurs, so if the actual airflow drops below the required airflow for the shed, Ron is alerted to the problem. The knowledge that he is always aware of how the shed is operating provides Ron with peace of mind.
Utilising ebm-papst AgriCool fans has equipped Ron with a more reliable shed ventilation system. The AgriCool system works effectively and efficiently, solving major problems by reducing maintenance on the shed, improving bird spread, and reducing temperature difference within the shed. A fail safe and back-up system provides Ron with peace of mind. To those concerned about price Ron says “[You’re] better off looking at the long term… If you don’t have a reliable system you end up losing birds. You can’t lose birds”.
|
Figure 2: Steven Davies from Agricultural Automation and Ron Harrison from Lyndale Poultry Farm inspecting the ventilation of the new grower shed
|
The Details
The AgriCool Climate Control System
Material:
Tunnel Fans
Number of fans: 6
Fan type: 50 inch (1250mm) high-efficiency, direct-drive, three-phase EC fan motors with in-built speed control
Shutter system: Supplied by Agricultural Automation
De-stratification Fans
Number of fans: 10
Fan type: 200mm high-efficiency, direct-drive EC fan motors with in-built speed control
Material:
- Blades are of strong die-cast aluminum coated in highly anti-corrosive black paint
- Stainless steel shaft, nuts and bolts, bearings sealed for life
- Galvanised rotor plus additional coating against corrosion
Tunnel Fans
Number of fans: 6
Fan type: 50 inch (1250mm) high-efficiency, direct-drive, three-phase EC fan motors with in-built speed control
Shutter system: Supplied by Agricultural Automation
De-stratification Fans
Number of fans: 10
Fan type: 200mm high-efficiency, direct-drive EC fan motors with in-built speed control