Abstract
The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of a low-cost solar collector to pre-heat ventilation air in commercial broiler buildings on supplemental heating demand and air quality during the cold season. Six black fabric-based solar collectors of 36 m2 each were installed on the south-facing rooftop of a broiler house. The solar collectors provided fresh warm air into the house during the ON cycle of minimum ventilation and during the OFF cycle of minimum ventilation when the temperature under the collectors met certain criteria. The daily cumulative duration of solar collectors in operation averaged 125 and 133 min during the first two or four weeks of brooding in the fall and winter flocks, respectively. When in operation, the solar collectors were able to raise up to 20 K above the ambient temperature, reducing fuel usage by 7% in the fall and winter flocks. The greatest challenge of solar collector utilization was the collectors providing less than half of ventilation air during daytime due to not enclosing the fresh air inlets. The limited airflow capacity and limited activation of the solar collectors due to the existing minimum ventilation scheme is another reason for low heating fuel savings.
Highlights
Energy is one of the critical inputs to modern poultry farming, and its overall use in poultry production and processing is constantly growing [1]
The solar collectors operated a cumulative duration between 60 min and 260 min each day during thewfhiresrCte p18= dSpaeycsifiocfhtehaet offaalilrf(lJo/ckkg,Kfo);llowed by periods when heating was not needed due to warmma=mMbaiessnatitreflmowpreartaettuhrroeuagnhdthheesaoltapr crooldleuctcoerd(kbgy/moilnd)e; r chickens (Figure 3a)
Low-cost solar collectors mounted on the roof of a broiler house were evaluated for their performance to pre-heat ventilation air during brooding in the fall and winter seasons
Summary
Energy is one of the critical inputs to modern poultry farming, and its overall use in poultry production and processing is constantly growing [1]. Transpired solar collector (TSC) is a solar thermal technology that uses solar radiation to pre-heat ventilation air for buildings [3,4]. The conventional transpired solar collectors were constructed by fixing a solar-absorbing, perforated metallic sheet to the envelope of a building to create an air plenum. Cordeau and Barrington [5,6] tested the performance of a conventional transpired solar wall (TSW) installed on the walls of broiler barns. Based on these studies [6,7], it was concluded that transpired solar collectors are technically feasible but not economically feasible options to provide supplementary heat to livestock houses, because of the long payback period
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