Farm Size & Energy Conservation

• Presented by Nicole Zaidel and Fred Daniels

Energy Efficiency Measures and Herd Size

Presentation given at Midwest Rural Energy Council’s

Annual Rural Energy Conference March 2-4, 2016, La Crosse WI.

Fred Daniels, Franklin Energy Services and

Nicole Zaidel, Focus on Energy

Energy Conservation vs Energy Efficiency

• Conservation is behavior.

– Examples:

• Turning off lights when facility is not use.

• Shutting off car while waiting to pick up a friend.

• Energy efficiency is technology.

– Examples:

• Using a LED lamp vs an incandescent lamp.

• Driving a car that gets 30 MPG vs a car that gets 15 MPG

Renewable Energy

• Renewable Energy is creating energy from a source that is not depleted when used.

– Examples:

• Solar

• Wind

• Biomass

• Whereas, energy efficiency and conservation is how we use the energy that we already have.

Looking for Energy Efficient Opportunities

Opportunities for On-Site Dairy Farm Audits

• Farms with: – Vacuum pumps running ≥ 7 hours a day – No refrigeration heat recovery – 60+ cow farms that have electric water heat – 6,000+ lbs. of milk/day with no plate cooler – 8,000+ lbs. of milk/day with no VSD on the receiver jar

• Farms that are rebuilding or building new. • Farms that are using long day lighting with HID

fixtures.

On-Site Data Collection

• Meet producer on site

• Gather information in a timely manner – Information includes:

• Lbs of milk produced daily

• Time it takes to milk

• Gallons of water used to wash equipment

• Type of water heating equipment

• HP of Compressors

• HP of Vacuum pump

Providing Audit Results

• Dairy Auditing Tool provided by Scott Sanford from UW-Madison

• Important: Share results the same day AND on-site.

– Allows for question and answer

– Interactive reports

– Offers comparisons

Energy Savings & Payback

• Key Factors Include:

– Equipment Runtime

– Load on Equipment

– Equipment/Project Cost

– Cost of Electricity

Audits should factor in ALL of these variables!

Dairy Farm Electrical Use

Projects Based on Herd Size

• Smaller herd sizes have limited number of cost effective solutions.

• Larger herd sizes will more opportunities for savings.

• Opportunities that are good on small farms will also work on larger farms, but not vise versa.

General Livestock Farms

Low-Energy Livestock Waterers

Dairy Farms

Farm Size: less than 60 cow dairy

Lighting Stanchion/Tie-Stall Barns and Milk Houses

•Light Emitting Diode (LED) technology in sealed and gasketed fixtures.

– Longer bulb life than florescent – Instant on in cold temperatures – Average life of 50,000 to 100,000 hours – Approx. 30% less energy than T8’s

• 75% energy savings vs incandescent

• Last 100 times longer

• Now available in 5000K

• Example: A $13 bulb will save $13 per year

– 4hr run time

– $.135 kWh

LED Screw-In Lamps

Refrigeration Heat Recovery (w/Electric WH) 60 Cow Farm Example

• Electric cost savings: $1,050

• Project cost: $2,800

• Payback: 2.1 years

• Additional Benefits: – Compressors run more

efficiently

– Additional hot water storage

Commercial Grade Water Heater

• ENERGY STAR rated

• Use a water heater with less than 1% standby loss

• Commercial grade will allow water heating to 180 Degrees

• Wash water must return to wash sink at 120 degrees F. Adjust temp down to save energy when possible

Scroll Compressors

• Replace compressors on failure to scroll refrigeration compressors.

• Average savings of 15% to 30% by switching from reciprocating to scroll type compressor.

Refrigeration Compressor Maintenance

• Clean cooling fins every 3 months

• Schedule annual tune-up

• Keep compressor area clean of “clutter”

Farm Size: 60 to 120 cow dairy

Plate Cooler 80 Cow Farm

• Example: – Electric Savings: $1,700

– Project Cost: $3,300

– Payback: 1.9 years

• Additional Benefits: – Faster cooling – Saves compressor life – Warm discharge water for

cows to drink

Farm Size: 120 to 200 cow dairy

Heat Recovery AND Dual Pass Plate Cooler

• Larger farms can benefit from having both a plate cooler and heat recovery unit installed.

• Smaller farms do not have enough milk to

support both heat recovery and plate cooler. WHY?

Lighting Free Stall Barns

• LED High Bay

• Replaces 400W HID fixtures

• Uses significantly less wattage

• Provides equivalent light levels as 400W HID

• Can save $220 per/year

– 18hrs per day

– $.135 Kwh

Variable Frequency Drive on Vacuum Pump

• Example: – Electrical Savings: $3,500

– Project Cost: $6,800

– Payback: 1.9 years

• Additional benefits: – Better vacuum regulation – Quiet operation – Longer Life of Pump

• Recommended install on

Blower/Lobe type

Commercial Grade Water Heater

Variable Speed Drive on Receiver Pump

• Removes additional 10 to 15 degrees from milk

• Milk is pumped slower through plate cooler than traditional single speed transfer pumps

• Example:

– Electrical Savings:$1,350

– Project Cost: $3,500

– Payback: 2.6 years

Box Fan Systems

• All fans are not created equal

• Fan efficiencies are base on cfm/watt

• 21 cfm/watt is the standard @ 0.1 static pressure

• Higher the number the more efficient

• Replace on failure

• Long paybacks when looking at replacements

Fan Maintenance

Fan Maintenance • Tighten belts quarterly

– 30% loss

• Clean thermostats of dust and debris

• Clean blades quarterly

• Clean debris out of shutters and exhaust louvers.

– Decrease airflow by 40%

• Ensure mounting brackets are secure

• Retrofit with self tightening belt drives

• Replace motors with totally enclosed motors

High Velocity Low Speed Ventilation (HVLS)

• Moves an estimated 200,000 cfm

• Estimated 100 cfm/watt

• Used in winter to keep fresh air in the barn

• Helps keep birds out of the barn

• Creates a 3mph breeze throughout the barn

• Trade name: Big Ass Fans

Potato and Vegetable

Irrigation

• Customer can save 25 to 40% by reducing pressure on center pivot systems.

• Example:

– 50 HP high pressure to 30HP low pressure

• Electrical Cost Savings: $1,400

• Electrical Energy Savings: 15.7 kW and 11,000 kWh

• Project Cost: $4,500

• Payback: 3.2 years

• Better uniformity, Less evaporation

Variable Speed Drive’s: Irrigation

• Works great when:

– One well provides to multiple systems

– System has corner arm

– There are significant changes in elevation

• Adjusts the flow to the correct pressure for each system

Vegetable Storage

• Install VSD’s on ventilation fans

• Example:

– Electric cost savings: $2,658

– Electrical Energy Savings:7.5 kW and 36,000 kWh

– Less shrinkage of product in storage= more CWT sales.

Hog Facilities

Hog Facilities

• ECM motors on pit fans

• LED replacements

• Low wattage farrowing lights

• Farrowing mats when applicable

• Fan maintenance

• Control strategies (Farm Hand) are working properly

Insulation and Air Sealing

Most heat loss is a result of either improper insulation levels, or too “leaky” of a building shell.

Air Sealing

• Caulk around windows, doors, dryer vents, and outside faucets

• Use expanding spray foam around holes in the attic.

– Such as: chimneys, soil stacks, exhaust fans, etc.

• Older windows tend to be more leaky

– 3M plastic will reduce infiltration in the winter

Insulation • R-value is used to determine

the ‘effectiveness’ of the insulation

• Higher the R-value the better

• Recommendations:

– Attics: R38 or better

– Side Walls: R11 or better

• Typical R-Values:

– Fiberglass Batting: 3.1 per inch

– Cellulose: 3.4 per inch

Heating Equipment

• Upgrade upon failure for units that do not run all winter long or maintain 60 degrees F

• Upgrade atmospheric heaters to sealed combustion heating equipment for units that are operating all winter and maintaining a temperature of at least 60 degrees F

Questions

Fred Daniels Franklin Energy 414-750-4092 cell fdaniels@franklinenergy.com

Nicole Zaidel CESA 10 715-720-2142 nzaidel@cesa10.k12.wi.us

Contact Information