Growing Forward energy programs showcase promising new options
Technology trials under the Growing Forward suite of Energy Management programs have provided Alberta farmers have some new information to consider that can cut farm and farmstead energy operating costs.
That information comes from Alberta producers who apply for assistance. That collective on-farm experience provides important feedback for Growing Forward management on which technologies are most promising, and rank highest for support under future programming.
Jason Price, project manager and energy specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, has been involved with all aspects of the Growing Forward Energy Management program. He identifies three of the most promising options for producers today.
Lighting is a big deal in poultry operations because lighting levels must be easy to control to manage bird productivity. For many years, barns have used incandescent lighting. These conventional lights provide very good control options because they work well with dimmers, but they are not the most energy efficient option. On top of that, changing light bulbs is a time consuming and costly process.
"We knew that fluorescents are more cost effective than incandescents but they do not work well with dimmers. So we tested light emitting diode (LED) lights and the results have been exceptional," says Price.
LED lights fit into the same sockets as incandescents so no structural changes are required. LED lights are only eight watts compared to 60 watts for the incandescent most often used. As a result, LEDs provide 80 percent energy savings over incandescent.
While LEDs are more expensive, they last 20 times longer, so there are substantial savings in labor costs for the tedious job of changing lights bulbs, says Price. Some companies are now making LEDs specific to poultry use. And there are signs of new fluorescents on the horizon that may work better with dimmers.
There has been a huge uptake of new options for natural ventilation in livestock operations, says Price. Most are dairy barns but some hog finishing barns are also using these new options.
These barns use movable panels instead of ventilation fans. The walls or curtains are opened or closed by a small, one-twentieth of a horsepower actuator that controls up and down movements of panels or curtains. They open for more air movement and cooling, and close up if they don't need as much air movement.
"There are substantial savings," says Price. "On a typical dairy farm of 150 cows or so, we've seen electricity usage drop by 25 percent because fewer fans are used. With natural ventilation, even including the use of some chimney fans and mixing fans, savings could be in the range of $5,500 per year. There are good savings in hog finishing barns as well."
As with any construction, these ventilation options are easiest if built into new structures, says Price, but there are options to retrofit them to older barns.
One caveat is that these barn systems need to be tested through the most severe winter months, but so far producers say the barn environment is great.
The whole goal of the energy management programs is to get producers to develop a plan to tackle energy savings, says Price. One of the problems with large farms, and operations such as Hutterite colonies, is that they often use only one meter.
"You can't manage what you can't measure," easy Price, "so we have encouraged them to install sub-meters so that they can identify the usage in various enterprises and facilities.
The goal is to be able to determine the cost of production per egg or liter of milk, and these sub-meters have allowed them to do that.
New options in renewable energy are being studied as part of the Energy Management suite of programs, says Price. "For example, we are looking into a photovoltaic program that would allow producers to tie into the grid. We are also looking at wind power. There are regulation and management issues related to those, but the potential is there."
The Environmental Farm Plan (EFP) is one way to start the process of getting a farm energy plan, says Price. Producers who have completed an EFP should consider updating it, and those who have not completed one will find it of value in starting the energy management process.
More information on EFPs in Alberta is available at www.albertaefp.com.
More information on Growing Forward and the Energy Management suite of programs can be found at www.GrowingForward.Alberta.ca.
Growing Forward is a federal-provincial-territorial initiative.