Dairy Farm Energy Use

Dairy Farm Energy Use

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SOURCE: Questline
 

What are the biggest energy users on dairy farms?
 

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The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) performed a series of energy audits of dairy operations. According to those results, electrical energy use for a dairy farm breaks down as like this:

  1. Milk cooling - 25%
     
  2. Lighting - 24%
     
  3. Ventilation - 22%
     
  4. Vacuum pumps - 17%
     
  5. Miscellaneous equipment (feeding, manure handling and so on) - 8%
     
  6. Water heating - 4%

The most frequently recommended energy conservation measures resulting from the audits included:

  1. Use variable frequency drives on vacuum pumps. They save energy by matching pump motor speed to vacuum needs.
     
  2. Install inline plate cooler to pre-cool the milk before it enters the bulk tank. This can reduce electric costs for cooling by up to 50%.
     
  3. Replace existing fluorescent and high-intensity discharge (HID) lighting with higher efficiency LEDs.
     
  4. Install a refrigeration heat recovery system to reduce water heating costs.

For more information, see Top Energy Savers: What Consumers Can Learn from Dairy Producers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.