Article from Questline

Swine facilities use a lot of energy, especially for motors and ventilation systems. By taking steps to improve energy efficiency, you can significantly reduce costs and improve the productivity of your operations.

Motors

Livestock operations make wide use of electric motors. With simple, regular maintenance, you can save significant amounts of energy and money.

Often, if a motor is working, it gets very little thought or attention from the farmer. Just because it's working, however, doesn't mean that it's working as efficiently as possible. Certain trouble spots often cause a motor to waste energy, including rusty or corroded moving parts on motor-driven equipment, dry or worn bearings or belt drives that are too loose, too tight or not aligned.

Consider replacing aging motors with high-efficiency units, which can reduce energy consumption by up to 8%. Because of their high cost, high-efficiency motors might only make sense for high-horsepower motors operating at least 2,500 hours a year.

Ventilation systems

The swine industry relies heavily on fans and ventilation systems to remove gases from tightly built production buildings, and to maintain proper temperatures for livestock.

Tunnel ventilation, where large banks of fans at one end of the house draw large amounts of air at relatively high speed, can help mitigate energy use. This air provides air conditioning by a "wind-chill" effect and is usually coupled with an evaporative cooling system to further reduce temperatures.

Check pulleys and belts regularly and replace if worn. Even if a fan belt is tight, it may still need replacing. The belt or the pulley itself might be worn, reducing the speed and efficiency of the fan. A worn belt can reduce output by 20% or more.

Dirty fans and shutters can reduce the airflow capacity of the fan by more than 30%, reducing the cooling effect and using more energy. Regular cleaning will help maintain fan efficiency.