Conserve Income with Energy-Efficient Changes to Dairy Equipment

On-farm energy audits led to significant savings for 3 dairies of different sizes

Tremendous opportunities exist within a dairy operation to save energy and money by upgrading or adding energy efficient equipment. According to EnSave, the United States' leading designer and implementer of agricultural energy efficiency programs, a thorough farm energy audit collects energy usage data across the dairy operation, and then recommends changes that could bring the best energy savings and efficiencies to the dairy producer. Typically, efficiencies can be found in these prime areas:

Heating/cooling	Pumping	Motors
Water heating	Variable speed drives	Ventilation
Lighting	Compressors	Heat exchange

✓ Case Study 1: 150 Cow Dairy (page 2)
✓ Case Study 2: 500 Cow Dairy (page 3)
✓ Case Study 3: 1,000 Cow Dairy (page 4)

CASE STUDY 1: 150 Cow Dairy Energy Efficient Equipment Evaluation

Summary of Recommendations
Site 1 operates a 150-cow dairy farm that produces approximately 4,380,000 pounds (lbs.) of milk per year. This report presents cost effective recommendations for Site 1 to upgrade to more efficient milk cooling, lighting, and ventilation.

During a recent twelve-month period, Site 1 used 85,120 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity with a total cost of $7,094, for an average cost of $0.083 per kWh. The dairy operation also used approximately 3,000 gallons of fuel with a total cost of $8,250, for an average cost per gallon of $2.75. A residence was included on the utility bills and was factored into EnSave’s calculations accordingly. These average costs are used here and throughout this report.

Tables 1 and 2 summarize the benefits of the recommended energy saving equipment. Energy saving equipment lowers usage costs by performing the same or greater work with lower energy inputs. More detailed explanations of energy efficiency equipment are provided later in this report.

Table 1. Benefits of Recommended Energy Saving Equipment

Equipment	Estimated Annual Electricity Savings (kWh)	Estimated Annual Energy Cost Savings	Estimated Cost to the Farm	Estimated Payback in Years
Lighting	5,904	$490	$2,019	4.1
Milk Cooling	10,943	$908	$6,300	6.9
Ventilation	1,060	$88	$750	8.5
Totals	17,907	$1,486	$9,069	6.1

Table 2. Energy Savings of Recommendations

Fuel	Current Usage	MBtu Usage	Savings	MBtu Savings	% Savings
Electricity (kWh)	85,120	291	17,907	61	21.0%
Fuel Oil	3,000	417	0	0	0.0%
Totals		708		61	8.6%

Low Cost Energy Saving Tips
Some energy savings potential involves primarily management and requires either no or minimal investment other than minor planning or labor. Examples include combining trips and eliminating unnecessary energy expenditure by turning off lights and shutting down engines during periods of inactivity. In another example although replacing older ventilation fans with those of higher efficiency can be cost effective, periodic cleaning of fan blades in dusty environments (e.g., every 3 to 4 weeks) and maintaining belt tension may increase existing fan efficiency by 10% or more before replacement.

CASE STUDY 2: 500 Cow Dairy Energy Efficient Equipment Evaluation

Summary of Recommendations
Site 2 operates a 500-cow dairy farm that produces approximately 16,425,000 pounds (lbs.) of milk per year. This report presents cost effective recommendations for Site 2 to upgrade to more efficient milk cooling, lighting, motors, and ventilation.

During a recent twelve-month period, Site 2 used 474,960 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity with a total cost of $75,649 for an average cost of $0.159 per kWh. This average cost is used here and throughout this report. The dairy operation also used fuel oil for water heating; however, the farmer could not obtain and provide information on the fuel oil usage. There are no energy efficiency opportunities in the technologies that use fuel oil on the farm (water heating and oil fired radiant heating), and this can be seen in more detail in the respective sections in the report. Therefore, the fuel oil usage has been omitted from the report.

Tables 1 and 2 summarize the benefits of the recommended energy saving equipment. Energy saving equipment lowers usage costs by performing the same or greater work with lower energy inputs. More detailed explanations of energy efficiency equipment are provided later in this report.

Table 1. Benefits of Recommended Energy Saving Equipment

Equipment	Estimated Annual Energy Cost Savings	Estimated Cost to the Farm
Lighting	$8,892	$13,980
Ventilation	$4,317	$10,900
Milk Cooling	$1,450	$4,280
Motors	$249	$1,200
Totals	$14,907	$30,360

Table 2. Energy Savings of Recommendations

Fuel	Current Usage	MBtu Usage	Savings	MBtu Savings	% Savings
Electricity (kWh)	474,960	1,621	93,756	320	19.7%

CASE STUDY 3: 1,000-Cow Dairy Energy Efficient Equipment Evaluation

Summary of Recommendations
Site 3 operates a 1,000-cow dairy farm that produces approximately 24,820,000 pounds (lbs.) of milk per year. This report presents cost effective recommendations for Site 3 to upgrade to more efficient ventilation, milk cooling, and lighting.

During a recent twelve-month period, Site 3 used 656,100 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity between the residence and dairy operation, with a total cost of $39,939, averaging $0.061 per kWh. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the average New York household uses about 6,972 kWh annually. Therefore, the farm alone used an estimated total of 649,128 kWh. The dairy farm also used a total of 4,680 gallons of fuel oil and paid approximately $10,764, for an average cost per gallon of $2.30. These average costs are used here and throughout this report.

Tables 1 and 2 summarize the benefits of the recommended energy saving equipment. Energy saving equipment lowers usage costs by performing the same or greater work with lower energy inputs. More detailed explanations of energy efficiency equipment are provided later in this report.

Table 1. Benefits of Recommended Energy Saving Equipment

Equipment	Estimated Annual Electricity Savings (kWh)	Estimated Annual Energy Cost Savings	Estimated Cost to the Farm	Estimated Payback in Years
Milk Cooling	13,781	$841	$4,280	5.1
Lighting	59,741	$3,695	$22,119	6.0
Ventilation	7,952	$485	$3,000	6.2
Totals	81,474	$5,021	$29,399	5.9

Table 2. Energy Savings of Recommendations

Fuel	Current Usage	MBtu Usage	Savings	MBtu Savings	%Savings
Electricity (kWh)	649,128	2,215	81,474	278	12.6%
Fuel Oil (gallons)	4,680	651	0	0	0.0%
Totals		2,866		278	9.7%