This wind curtain is also a good insulation

Stable with ventilators

Problems and solutions

Problems:

Finland

The problems that we invest have a lot of agreements with Holland like the amount of fresh air in the stable, but in Finland the problems are more difficult because of the very cold winter and temperature different between winter and summer.
Main problem: very cold winters
consequence: minimum ventilation>less fresh air in stable >long problems by cows and farmers! and more and other sickness pressure for the cows.

We visit farms (in the time it was outside 0-10 degrees) and when we walk in the stable there was still a bad climate inside, because there was not enough ventilation for the cows. So we think that the Finnish farmers want to have it to warm in the stable, but you can make it colder in the stable without the cows have it to cold, (we visit a farm where in the winter the cows can walk outside for 1 hour and all the cows walk outside because they like it and they are never sick). But watch out its wrong when there is windy in the stable because the cows getting sick and the cow will give less milk.

The Netherlands

The most old farms we visited were the problems not enough ventilation and not enough volume, so your air quality is bad and you have more moisture, in the summer there is no air movement. The productive warmth and bad air can’t not fast easy out the stable so the cows geting realy hot and the production is going down.

A difficult thing with ventilation is the stables with calves en heifers in the same stable as the milking cows, the problem is that the calves can not have wind in the stable there fore must ventilate carefully al so you get breathing problems. So it is better to keep the calves in a special stable for less problems.

Solutions:

Solution old stable:

In the most stables mostly old stable there are not enough air and is the ventilation badly because the stable is too low to dense and the openings in the stables too small so it’s getting to hot in the summer mostly in this kind of stable are the cow going out site in the summer

So it is only a problem in the winter en some sunny en wind less wetter.   

 The most easy and the cheaper solution that we saw was breaking the wall down till 1 meter and place there a wind curtain for breaking the wind.

And breaking the cam of the roof or making hols in the old cam so the bad air can go fast out.

mostly when you bring more air in the stable you bring automatic more light in the stable what mostly all so a problem is in the old stables that is advantage for the cow and the farmer you will have then a better fertility of the cows.

Solutions for the air in way:

A cheep solution is to braking the wall down 1 meter from the ground so you have more fresh air in the stable en properly all so more light and it is much more pleasant to work in the stable for the framer en the cow, but break not the wall too low to on the ground differently the manure on roosters and the water supply go freezes by very colds winters.

Sometimes there are problems with high wind speeds. The solution is then to place windbreak curtains for the open walls.

Solution for the air out way:

 The are all so farmers the have a cupola in the stable and the want have a faster air movement we found a cheap and easy way when you drill some hols in the cupola then you have a faster air movement.

Or you want spent more many on it you can buy a bigger open new roof top or no top a hole whit a table on it for cheap the rain out the stable.

Solution new build stable

Solution for the air in way:

Mostly the new builders have more than 100 cows and the cow going not out to the fields any more so the cows are the hole year inside the stable so the most be a good ventilation system.

So the farmers had solute this problem by build the new stable with more volume and more air movement the build it like 12 meters high ,a big open walls and a open cam so the air can easy go out and the cow can product better. All so the isolated the stable because when the have the cows inside the stable, the isolated material cheeps the warm out site the stable so the cow don’t get it so warm in site, the isolated material is expensive but the construction ware you build on is not so heavy so that is cheaper, and you lose not milk production. 

Lumitherm is a ventilation system combining light, air and insulation. It is made up from inflatable flexible trunks that are interconnected. The system is inflated by a fan and is controlled by a automatic control system. When closed Lumitherm allows in a maximum amount of light while providing excellent insulation. Lumitherm is an especially wind-resistant system. As it keeps itself fixed in place it does not flap.

All so method for a good way in is the principle of the wind break curtains. This is curtains with very small openings breaks the wind speed and evenly the stable to lead.

Often is this system curtain. closing and opening with the hand so it is a cheap system.

Also stables that in the summer in use is this certain can go be possible entirely down.

A another system of the way in for the air that in stables much is used is space-boarding. The system relies on the use of wood small planks which are foreseen for the opening between wall and roof. The small planks must be each 10 cm broad and 2 cm thick. They must stand break on 2 cm of each other, wind enough as a result of beautiful right blows the air strait in the stable.

solution for air volume in the stable

We also saw that a lot of farmers build the roof (very) low and the farmers said that they did it for more warmth in the winter. But we visit farms with a high roof and they said the get no problems with a high roof and the cold winter and we think also when you build a higher roof you get more air volume in the stable for a more ventilation and fresh air in the stable and that’s is much better for the health.

Solution Bad air in stable during the winter

In the winter when you ventilate minimum it's possible you can smell the ammoniac in the stable and that's bad for the health ness of the cows and the farmer. There is already a good system working for many years. With the system there hanging (large) PVC pipes with hols in the pit and at the end of the pipe there is a big ventilator that sucking the ammoniac air from the cow walking place into the pit and than its goes outside.

solution for to high stable temperature in summer

We also ask the farmers if the had any other problems with ventilation and a lot of farmers said that it in the summer to hot is in the stable for the cows, and when the cows get to warm they will give less milk, and that cost money. The farmers open the doors for more fresh air, but it not always enough. So that’s why you need a big over capacity of the ventilators for more air movement in the summer.   

What we think the best system:
So you all ready know that the stables in Finland are very low so we think that the new stables must build higher for more volume so the bad air is not laying between the cow but high in the stable and can than find a way out. The best way we think for the way in is a lot of fresh air and not by ventilators but by other system like the Lumitherm II because in the summer you can al lot of fresh air in the stable and it can com every where. Also the balance systems work also good but, you have still small problems with fresh air and the warm summers.

Moisture

In winter times when it’s freezing and the air is coming in, there is going to be moisture in it. Moisture makes walls, pipes and windows wet, and it’s never good for the structure and animals. The solution for this problem is that you have to put “crying plates” in front of the air-conditioner. Metal plates have to be in the angle of 30 – 45 degree. When the air hits the plate, the moisture stays in the plate and concentrates to water and floats to the drain. It’s also preventing the cold air coming true the cows and farmers, and it's stabilising the differences between incoming air and the air witch is already in the stable.

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Page updated 21.11.2005