Here are 10 easy ways to make your farm more energy efficient, without spending a lot of time or money.
- Replace your incandescent bulbs with LED bulbs or an appropriate linear fluorescent lamp. Mercury vapor lamps can be replaced with high pressure sodium lamps.
- If you need more light, consider pulse-start metal halide lamps or linear fluorescent lamps.
- Insulate your barn or machine shed with an R-30 to R-40 value in the ceiling and R-18 value in the sidewalls. Doors should have an R-value of 10 to 12, or 2 inches of foam insulation.
- Even doing simple things like minimizing drafts by aligning doors and windows pays off.
- Running hot water in your livestock buildings? Save as much as 50 percent on water heating costs by using a heat recovery system.
- Your grain drying system may be using the most energy on your farm. Consider replacing your current high-temperature cross-flow dryer with a continuous-flow in-bin dryer and mixed flow dryer. It could be up to 20 percent more efficient.
- Install zone climate control for your machine shed or outbuildings. The savings come from heating or ventilating only rooms or areas of buildings that are used or need more climate control.
- Do fans in your buildings have diffuser or discharge cones? They are about 26 percent more efficient than fans without them.
- Clean your fan blades regularly. Dirt, chaff and animal hair can significantly reduce air flow. Make sure you dust off all the fan components, too. It will help the motors operate cooler and prolong their life.
- While you’re at it, you should clean those dirty louvers and shutters that don’t open fully. That could be reducing air flow by 40 percent.