Preliminary data on the performance of a tobacco barn, which has an electrical flue that consists of a steam source and an electrostatic ventilator, are presented. The energy-conversion efficiency of a barn fitted with such a flue is of the order of 39%. An electrostatic ventilator would only cause a marginal improvement in efficiency to about 36%. The electrostatic ventilator reduces the heating-up and cooling-down times of the barn by up to 37.5 and 88%, respectively.