Taking the heat out of farm energy costs

Wednesday 17 March 2010

INSTALLING a heat recovery unit (HRU) can help dairy farmers reduce water heating costs by up to 50 per cent by maximising the energy efficiency of milk cooling and water heating.

An HRU is connected into the refrigeration system of the bulk tank, it takes the waste heat and uses it to pre-heat water before it enters the water heater.

An HRU can cost from £1,500 to £3,000, but with the financial savings to be made there will be a return on investment.

This is the kind of equipment that a North West Livestock Programme Resource Audit form Promar could reccommend for a Performance Grant as part of an assessment where improvements can be made on your farm. Click Here for further information >>

Work by the NFU and The Carbon Trust also means that a new interest-free loan has recently become available from The Carbon Trust to help farmers who want to invest in energy efficient equipment. To find out more about Carbon Trust loans, call 01865 885846 or visit www.carbontrust.co.uk/loans.

To calculate your water heating and milk cooling costs use the DairyCo energy calculators, available online at www.dairyco.org.uk, or to find out about more ways of energy saving order the DairyCo booklet, Energy efficiency on farm, by calling 02476 478695.