Heating and cooling loads of a poultry shed in Central Coast, NSW, Australia

Space heating and cooling comprises 40% of the global final energy use. With more energy efficient technologies in heating and cooling, up to 10% of global energy consumption could be saved. In agriculture, poultry sheds are used to shelter poultry (broilers and layers) for the production of meat and eggs, sources of animal protein for most people. The range of acceptable indoor air temperature for poultry sheds is 15°C to 25°C for mature birds, and higher temperatures are required for young birds depending on the stage of growth. It is recognised that the costs of heating, cooling and ventilating poultry sheds constitutes a significant portion of the chicken farm operating costs. Various aspects can be considered to reduce these costs considerably. The potential improvements include better thermal performance of building envelopes, energy efficiency of HVAC systems and operational schedules or timing of the production cycle. This paper aims to reduce the cooling and heating energy consumption by identifying the most suitable operational plan. The heating and cooling demand cycles of a poultry shed in the Central Coast region has been investigated in detail by using building energy simulation software tools. This paper reveals that the operational schedule (i.e. begin dates of the cycles of production) has profound influence on energy consumption. The optimised operational schedule can save an average of 12% of overall energy expenditure and 20% on heating