Farm News
Solar still represents significant savings
» THE PRESENT GOVERNMENT CUTS IN feed in Tariffs for Solar mean Farmers are looking to other areas to help manage their return on investment as well as their Carbon foot print . High energy users are also looking to claim relief on the Climate Change Levy which has been in force since 2000 .
‘ The modern Farmer really needs to consider installing a Solar system as part of the Farm ’ s future proofing strategy ’
Despite the reduction in feed in tariffs Solar Power is still a big cost saver , just a slightly longer return on investment . The Pig and Poultry sector benefiting the most . Installations between 10KW and 50Kw represent the most attractive cost savings . The modern Farmer really needs to consider installing a Solar system as part of the Farm ’ s future proofing strategy .
With Dresser Solar ’ s years of experience they are able to advise all sectors of the Farming community with many working examples of their previous installations to base real return figures on .
“ LED Lighting - significant cost savings and reduced carbon footprint ”
» SINCE THE REDUCTION IN FEED IN TARIFFS Steven Dresser have been involved in more and more LED lighting installations in order to reduce energy costs . Many Farmers are still unaware of the significant cost savings in replacing existing lights with LED fittings .
Studies have shown that in the dairy sector LED replacement lighting replicating daylight can maximise comfort of livestock and can result in an increase in milk yield of up to 7-10 %. Quality light is an essential factor when considering both the welfare and profitability of your herd .
Switching to LED lighting is the most efficient way to achieve energy savings of between 50 % and 80 % and additional savings can be achieved by installing lighting controls e . g . setting your lights to be at 200lux for 16 hours per day and 20lux for 8 hours per day . The cost of installing LED lighting can be neutral over a short term and makes a huge amount of financial sense .
To show the possible savings , analysis has been taken from a 120m x 22m cattle shed using 24 x 440w traditional lighting fittings , with operating hours assumed at
24 hours per day 7 days per week . Annual electricity costs with traditional lighting totalled £ 13,876 and with the same quantity of LED lights the annual costs were just £ 4,730 . Therefore , savings totalled £ 9,146 and with LED lights having a lifetime of more than 10 years and requiring no maintenance , the payback time for this building was only 1.1 years , after which the energy saving is seen as profit for the business .
Another benefit of LED lighting is the ability to dim the lights , providing dawn and dusk periods , reducing the competition for food when lights are switched on in the morning and reducing potentially startling effects when lights are switched on or off . Pigs need the right light levels so that they can identify each other , communicate and see pen features such as feeders .
There is good evidence that pigs ’ eyes are not adapted for extremely bright light and that they may be better suited to dim levels of natural light . LED lighting provides not only the opportunity for significant cost saving but also to be able to control the pig ’ s environment and ease of wellbeing which all leads to healthier less stressed pigs .
Speak to Steven Dresser today to discuss your immediate energy savings and he will be happy to meet up with you and discuss your requirements .
www . farmers-mart . co . uk Aug / Sep 2016 21