This 32 crate farrowing house was constructed in 2010. Designed for under floor fed heat pads, an air source heat pump was an ideal solution to minimise emissions and bills.
A single 9kW Eco air Boiler provides heat for the system. In 2012 the annual running costs estimate was £980. Based on a 6 week farrowing cycle, this amounts to just £4 a day and 3.7 tonnes of carbon emissions.
The farmer’s previous farrowing house had used heat lamps. The new building and new heating systems has seen yields improve and running costs drop from £40 a day to £4 a day.
Global Energy Systems now work with key building and heating suppliers for farrowing houses and weaning houses, using heat pumps to provide sustainable, affordable heat. Large scale installations with multiple heat pumps offer a simple to install, electrical based system that can be combined with solar PV installations for further savings.
The use of heat pumps for farrowing has now been extended into multiple shed, 100+ crate systems. Heat pump based weaner house systems have also been developed, offering significant savings.
One farmer in Ireland estimates that he is saving 2 Euros a pig through the installation of GES heat pumps on his farrowing sheds.