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Pig Journal Volume: 62
Publication date: June 2009

General Section

ENERGY USE AND WASTE IN UK PIG PRODUCTION
N. BIRD and H.G. CRABTREE

Abstract
This paper reports the outcome of work undertaken over a period of almost two years monitoring electricity use on commercial pig units in the UK. The work was jointly funded by the British Pig Executive (BPEX), Farmex Ltd. and the pig producers involved. Readings from a total of 84 meters were recorded every 15 minutes on 11 different farms. The circuits being measured covered a range of uses from power used by Automatically Controlled Natural Ventilation (ACNV) systems through to total use of electric energy in farrowing rooms. The measurements cover a spectrum of farms, a range of uses and varying styles of production. Since the total number of meters is relatively small and the range of results between them so great, the records should only be considered to be indicative of commercial practice and not necessarily typical or representative of the industry as a whole. In order to be able to express energy use on a ‘per pig produced’ basis, data was divided into notional production stages of ‘farrowing’, ‘nursery’ and ‘grower’. The main conclusion is that operator understanding and use of equipment are by far the most influential factors determining energy use and waste on UK pig units.

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