Greenfield Poultry

"Forty kilometres north-west of Melbourne, Greenfield Poultry has embraced the latest in fan technology to ensure its birds are kept in the best conditions while growing.

In 2014, owner Bobby Stankovic approached leading fan manufacturer ebm-papst to develop a cooling system for eight new broiler sheds being built on the farm.

These massive sheds – measuring 17.8m wide and 160m long – can house up to 50,000 broiler chickens. They feature the highest level of redundancy to ensure the health and safety of the birds at all times.

The environmental conditions of Greenfield Poultry's broiler sheds need to be able to change as chickens are grown from day-old pullets (chicks) to 55-day-old, 4kg birds ready for harvest.

Beginning at 32°C and 80 per cent humidity, the temperature may need to fall to as low as 20°C and less than 50 per cent humidity depending on the growth phase and season. Minimum air speeds of 3m/s are typical.

To achieve these conditions as well as provide appropriate redundancy, a ventilation system was developed to meet the needs of the poultry farm and the wider Australian poultry market.

Known as AgriCool, the system features a bank of tunnel fans installed on each shed to achieve specific conditions.

At Greenfield Poultry, each shed features 14 1250mm EC direct-drive tunnel fans. The fan system is controlled by a purpose-built, touch-screen interface that operates in parallel with the main shed controller.

The sheds feature sensors that monitor the internal environment, with the system programmed to adjust the rate of ventilation accordingly, to optimise the climate conditions.

Each tunnel fan has been installed with a shutter system, controlled by a 24V DC actuator. An uninterrupted power supply back-up system provides a high level of system redundancy and reliability.

Should a fan failure occur, the other fans will automatically increase in speed to achieve the required shed conditions.

According to ebm-papst’s Alexandra Gray, each fan can be monitored and accessed from the shed’s control room, as well as remotely via an internet connection to provide the farmer both onsite and offsite control.

Every broiler shed also features a dozen 200mm EC destratification fans to make the brooding phase – the period during which young chicks are kept warm as they grow rapidly – easier, simpler and cheaper.

These destratification fans reduce the temperature differential between the shed’s ceiling and floor without affecting bird comfort. By moving warm air from the ceiling down to litter level, the litter temperature is increased to promote even bird spread, and thereby improved bird comfort.

'This means that each shed’s temperature distribution is only 0.2–0.3°C across the length of the shed,' says Stankovic, 'providing uniform growing conditions.'

Completed in early 2015, the tunnel fan technology used on the broiler sheds at Greenfield Poultry has delivered optimal growing conditions for the farm’s chickens to help meet local demand."

Source: "Cool Chicks" article in attached "HVAC&R Nation" magazine.