12 °C heat reduction with cooling during heatwave in Slovakia

The test results for the new SKOV DA 150B-S pad cooling system in front of wall inlets show a significant increase in cooling on a pig farm with farrowing sows in Slovakia during a heat wave. The results indicate that pad cooling could be the most effective solution in areas where heat waves are common.

Due to ongoing climate change, we expect more frequent and severe heat waves. To maintain productivity and animal welfare, it is essential to ensure that the climate system in livestock houses can withstand such extreme weather.

Cooling principles

Traditionally, cooling has been achieved through high-pressure cooling or pad cooling to ensure that animal welfare and productivity remain high during warm periods, especially heat waves.

High-pressure cooling, typically used with wall or ceiling inlets, adds water particles to the air in the livestock house. The water particles evaporate in the heated housing air and thus cool the air.

Pad cooling is a well-known method for Tunnel ventilation. It involves circulating fresh air through moist cooling pads that are wetted by recirculating water.

The pad cooling principle can also be applied to air intake through wall inlets, and SKOV has introduced a DA 150B-S pad cooling system with standardized components for this purpose.

Results during a heat wave in Slovakia

The DA 150B-S pad cooling has been installed on a pig farm owned by Dan-Slovakia in Slovakia and has shown very promising results during a heat wave in 2024.
From July 12 to 20, Slovakia experienced a heat wave. On July 15, 2024, the weather was warm and dry, offering great potential for cooling.

In principle, pad cooling offers the advantage of unlimited cooling capacity, determined only by the cooling potential - the difference between dry and wet bulb temperatures. This difference is typically quite high during heat waves.

The maximum cooling capacity is fixed in an high-pressure cooling system. In our Slovakian test farm, it is set at 7.5°C. This effectively reduces the ambient temperature by approximately 6°C due to the heat produced by the farrowing sows.

In the section with DA 150B-S pad cooling, the temperature dropped by 12°C from 38 to 26°C. In Section 5C, where the high-pressure cooling system was still in use, the temperature reduction remained at 6°C.

These results demonstrate the excellent cooling potential of pad cooling under the right climatic conditions.