A collaborative heat recovery ventilation study aims to provide broiler farmers with a more energy-efficient way to heat their broiler houses in the winter months.
The study focuses on heat loss through broiler house fan ventilation systems and the potential ways of recovering that heat and using it to complement the existing systems. It is spearheaded by the Crowder College Missouri Alternative and Renewable Energy Technology Center and was taken on as a result of rising fuel costs and farmers' desires to find an alternative heating fuel to propane. As an added benefit, a successful solution would reduce broiler farms' carbon footprints, according to those involved in the study.
The project began in October 2010, and the first trial ran from January through March 2011. The second trial began in March and is expected to end in May.
Evaluation of the data and findings will be submitted for publication after the completion of the second trial.
