Design of Artificial Lighting in Broiler Housing

The work aim is to propose lighting system designs that would satisfy the broiler welfare in terms of intensity; wavelength; switching interval; and energy savings, and would help farmers to reduce the unit costs. BuildingDesign software with Wils 7.0.342 module was used to design suitable lighting, calculate and visualize it. By optimizing the required parameters and energy performance of system, four final designs were prepared with the appropriate evaluation with respect to the acquisition price and return on investment. The original lighting system included a combination of 68 pcs. of tungsten and fluorescent lamps with consumption of 2.17 kWh and a minimum illumination intensity of 7.02 lx. Measurements were conducted at 212 points of the control grid. Artificial lighting is the only light source in an environment of eco-friendly controlled farm. Based on the research analyses, there were proposed four lighting system alternatives with various light intensity; wavelength; switch-on interval; and energy savings. In terms of light intensity, all four designs meet the animal welfare requirements. The most advantageous alternative in the long term is design no. 4 with consumption of 0.734 kWh per one cycle (with energy savings of 66.17% in contrast to the original lighting), in which the intermittent switching mode showed a power savings of 56% and lighting intensity regulation of 40% while maintaining a minimum lighting intensity of 20 lx (total savings for switching and regulation reached up to 73.7%). By utilizing modern approaches, appropriate light colour and lighting quality suitable for broiler breeding were achieved

Rationalization of Electricity Consumption in Househ Olds

With rationalization of electricity consumption, it is possible to obtain savings of electric energy in households, as well as financing and capital input for the electricity production. Rational use of appliances in the best operating modes can reduce the final consumption of electricity, representing a positive impact on improving the environment quality. The main objective of this paper was to measure the electricity consumption of appliances in various operating modes. The measured values from two energy suppliers were recorded and processed in tables and figures, from which we created a table of the financial costs necessary for operation of appliances in different modes. For the calculation of annual electricity consumption and electricity prices, an application allowing selection of individual products from suppliers with current electricity prices was designed. According to the tables of electricity prices, various modes of appliance operation allow the selection of the most preferred mode for appliance operation based on the lowest price, rational consumption and energy costs. The aim of the paper is to demonstrate the consumption and costs of operating appliances in certain operating modes, standby modes and their efficient use or functionally similar appliances for reduction of electricity consumption in households

Risk Assessment Using Expanded Point Method in Civil Engineering

Nowadays, there are increasing discussions concerning an extensive area of occupational safety and health, whether is it within the territory of the Slovak Republic or in other Member States of the European Union. Every organization prepares independently its own policy of occupational safety and health using applicable legislation. The objective of this work was to minimize the errors resulting not only from the human factor but also from incorrect working procedures, from failing to observe legal requirements, and from an incorrect use of personal protective equipment. After evaluating the risk level in working activities of employees on site, we have proposed measures to reduce the risk by means of defining correct working procedures and using personal protective equipment. That enables reducing occupational injuries, which will directly improve the overall level of occupational safety and health on a selected site

Risk Assessment Using Expanded Point Method in Civil Engineering

Nowadays, there are increasing discussions concerning an extensive area of occupational safety and health, whether is it within the territory of the Slovak Republic or in other Member States of the European Union. Every organization prepares independently its own policy of occupational safety and health using applicable legislation. The objective of this work was to minimize the errors resulting not only from the human factor but also from incorrect working procedures, from failing to observe legal requirements, and from an incorrect use of personal protective equipment. After evaluating the risk level in working activities of employees on site, we have proposed measures to reduce the risk by means of defining correct working procedures and using personal protective equipment. That enables reducing occupational injuries, which will directly improve the overall level of occupational safety and health on a selected site

Mortality of Broiler Chickens During Summer Fattening Periods Affected by Microclimatic Conditions

Mortality of chickens during two summer fattening periods L1 and L2 in commonly used halls for chicken fattening in Slovakia have been evaluated in this paper. Effect of microclimatic conditions in housing area on recorded mortality has been analysed. Mortality was assessed in six halls, microclimate parameters and surface temperatures were continually measured only in one of the middle halls. It was documented that high mortality occurred during summer in the last phase (P3) of fattening period due to sudden hot weather waves. Daily mortality rate varied up to 447 birds in evaluated hall 3. During the last third of both fattening periods, it was significantly higher than during the first two phases (PL1 = 0.0036; PL2 = 1.4·10−6). Differences among halls were insignificant (PL1 = 0.614; PL2 = 0.413). In L1, average daily temperatures went beyond the recommended temperatures from 21st to 31st day. During L2, it was from 29th to 31st day and from 36th to 38th. The extra high mortality occurred in L1 on 31st day (447 birds) and during L2 on 36th day (88 birds), 37th day (96 birds) and 38th day (155 birds). High differential temperatures have been recorded and uninterrupted time periods (6 hours or more) with temperature higher than 30 °C and/or the relative humidity (RH) exceeding 70% were occurred during these days. In order to eliminate effect of sudden hot weather waves, modern digitally controlled microclimate regulation technologies (heat pumps, floor cooling, etc.) can be used, supported by data obtained from detailed microclimate analysis documented in this paper

Crop Residues Distribution After Tillage Operations Under Controlled And Random Traffic Technology

Controlled traffic farming is a technology used to avoid soil compaction introduced by field machinery load and traffic. The benefits in improved soil conditions and yield increase were shown in Australia, the US and some parts of Europe. The use of permanent tramlines for every field operation was considered as a barrier to implementation in some parts of Europe. This was mainly due to fear from tillage quality in terms of crop residues distribution. The paper reports the results of the two-year assessment of the technology compared to traditional random traffic treatments in field scale experiments. The spring barley and oilseed rape crops were grown. Measurements were taken after the stubble breaking tillage operation with the Lemken disc harrows. Image analysis was used to calculate the distribution of crop residues. Results showed that the use of permanent tramlines has no negative influence on crop residues distribution

Verification of Thermo-Technical Characteristics of Selected Floor Constructions for Dairy Cows (Pilot Study)

The purpose of this study was to theoretically and practically investigate the thermo-technical properties of two bedding surface materials under real farm conditions during the hot summer period. The study was focused on the research of cubicles with water mattresses and straw bedding for dairy cows. The results of thermal-technical calculations showed that straw belongs to the category of warm floors, the thermal effusivity value of cubicle with straw is b = 173.55 W·s1/2·m−2·K−1; the heat transfer coefficient is U = 0.36 W·m−2·K−1. Water mattress belongs to the category of cold floors with the thermal effusivity value b = 572.46 W·s1/2·m−2·K−1 and the heat transfer coefficient U = 4.504 W·m−2·K−1. On the basis of calculations, the results showed that U was 12.5 higher for water mattresses than for straw, and b was 3.3 times higher for water mattresses than for straw. Based on thermographic measurements under field conditions of dairy farm, it was observed that the surface temperature of the water mattresses after one hour of lying was lower by 4.95 ±1.88 °C in comparison to chopped straw. In practice, suitability of the material structure of water mattresses was verified on the basis of physical properties for summer period

Effect of Climatic Conditions on Differences in Thermo-Technical Properties of Organic Bedding in Laboratory Testing

The aim of this experiment was to analyse the influence of climatic factors on the thermal performance of separated liquid manure. The samples of organic bedding were collected from the lying area of dairy housing and preparatory store. The measurement of properties of recycled manure solids (RMS) was carried out in laboratory conditions. Samples were examined with determining the temperature effect on the thermal conductivity λ of ’dry‘ separated liquid manure (with a dry matter content of 60%) and ’wet‘ liquid manure (with a dry matter content of 26%), in air temperatures ranging from 0 °C to 40 °C. Subsequently, the thermal resistance of three selected types of cows lying structures was calculated for winter and summer boundary values. Based on the results of thermal conductivity and thermal resistance, it was observed that dry separated liquid manure as an alternative bedding has, in low temperature (up to 5 °C), the most suitable thermal performance if it is maintained in a dry condition (with a dry matter content of 60%). With increasing temperature (above 20 °C) and increasing humidity of bedding (below 26%), thermo-technical properties get worse; however, when comparing the thermal resistance of the cow bed structure with sandwich mattresses with a 50 mm layer of organic bedding and the deep cubicle filled with 200 mm of organic bedding, the thermal resistance of floor structure decreases by 7.6% or 18.4%, respectively. With a proper handling of the recycled organic bedding, it is possible to use its economic advantages