Swine

Performance of Evaporative Cooling Pads on a Swine Farm in Central Iowa

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Abstract

Heat stress can lead to significant production losses for livestock. Production losses can take the form of slower rate of gain or poor reproductive performance in livestock systems. While modern ventilation systems utilize elevated air velocity to cool the animals, conditioning the air via evaporative cooling is a viable option for heat stress relief. While it is commonly thought that humid summer weather conditions in the upper Midwest are not suitable for use of evaporative cooling, this study found that evaporative cooling pads on a commercial breeding/gestation/farrowing facility showed good performance. Temperature drops of 10-20° F were measured across the cooling pads. Proper maintenance of the pads to ensure adequate water dispersion and even airflow was critical to maximizing the pad cooling effectiveness.

Keywords: Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering

How to Cite:

Stinn, J. P. & Xin, H., (2014) “Performance of Evaporative Cooling Pads on a Swine Farm in Central Iowa”, Iowa State University Animal Industry Report 11(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/ans_air-180814-1214