This document discusses a study on the use of radiant floor heating systems for broiler production in Portugal. Key findings include: 1) Radiant floor heating provided more uniform temperatures compared to conventional air heating systems, leading to drier litter and improved bird health/performance. 2) Energy use was reduced by 40-50% with radiant floor heating, costing an estimated 0.01-0.03 Euros per broiler compared to 0.05-0.10 Euros for air heating systems. 3) On-farm trials found reductions in specific energy use of 11-13% with radiant heating. Feed conversion rates and mortality rates also improved compared to flocks raised with air

1. Radiant floor heating system for broilers
in Portugal
Fátima Baptista*, Vasco Fitas da Cruz*, Dina Murcho* &
Asdrubal Neves+
*Universidade de Évora and ICAAM, Portugal
+Equiporave Ibérica

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Contents
1. General considerations
2. Energy consumption
3. Radiant floor heating system
4. Some results
5. Final considerations

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General considerations
• Poultry production in Portugal
– 6,7% of national agriculture product;
– 20.254.000 broilers (60% of total poultry);
– Portugal is self sufficient in poultry meat.

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General considerations
• For meat production energy is consumed for:
– Feed production and processing
– feeding
– ventilation
– heating
– illumination
– manure removal
– animal healthcare,
– ...

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Energy Consumption
Final energy consumption (FEC) and FEC of agriculture (including forestry) for the years
1998 and 2008 according to the Eurostat data (Gołaszewski et al., 2012).
Country
Total FEC
in PJ
FEC of agriculture*
in PJ
FEC of agriculture*
in % of total FEC
1998 2008 1998 2008 1998 2008
EU-27 46 658 49 205 1 257 1 071 2.7 2.2
Denmark 630 649 31 29 5.0 4.5
Finland 1 005 1 083 30 35 3.0 3.2
Germany 9 428 9 386 114 42 1.2 0.4
Greece 761 890 45 46 6.0 5.1
Netherlands 2 082 2 139 157 132 7.5 6.2
Poland 2 526 2 606 198 152 7.8 5.8
Portugal 2 526 2 606 25 15 1.0 0.6

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Energy Consumption
Eurostat data presented is not sufficient to describe the
energy consumption of the European agriculture for
various reasons:
– Not all the energy required for the production of
agricultural products is allocated to the sector
"agriculture/forestry" in the Eurostat statistics (p.e. FEC of
fertilizer production is allocated to the sector "industry“);
– The production of agricultural products requires a variety of
forms of energy such as heat, electrical energy, besides
the fuel for combustion engines.

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Energy Consumption
www.dgeg.pt

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Energy Consumption
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Company costs Energy
Consumption
CO2eq
Other
Diesel and electricity
Feeding
Broilers
Relative contribution of different inputs to economics, energy use and greenhouse gas emissions
(GHG). Broiler farm with air heaters. Other include bedding straw, veterinary and water. (Meyer-
Aurich et al, 2012)
0,06 € per broiler

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Radiant floor heating system
Hot water distributionDifferent
types of
Boilers:
biomass,
gas, diesel

10. Expectable advantages
Temperature uniformity
Homogeneous distribution of birds
Adequate temperature at animal
level since the beginning
Dryer bed materials

11. Saving of 40-50% bed materials
Lower bacteria population
Lower NH3 concentration (air quality)
Expectable advantages

12. Reduction of pododermatitis
Reduction of bounce rate at slaughterhouse
Birds uniformity
Better industrial yield
Expectable advantages

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• The aviary is located in the Ribatejo & Oeste region with a production
of 38 000 broilers per flock, 5.5 flocks per year;
• The production cycle lasts between 31 and 36 days;
• The poultry house area is 1920 m2, with 20 broilers per m2. The walls
and roof are insulated (thermal resistance 2 m2K/W) and the floor is
littered with rice husk;
• Environmental control is achieved with mechanical ventilation, pad-and-
fan cooling system and radiant floor;
• After each cycle, manure is removed and cleaning and disinfection are
performed.
Some results

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0%
66%
1%
0%
10%
1%
1%
21%
0%
Energy input distribution
Poultry
industrial feed
bedding straw
water use
buildings - electricity - ventilation
buildings - electricity - ilumination
buildings - electricity - heating
Biomass heating
manure
Some results
0,03 € per broiler

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Some results
0,0
2,0
4,0
6,0
8,0
10,0
12,0
14,0
Flock1 Flock2 Flock3 Flock4 Flock5
Specific energy (GJ/t)
11,4 GJ/t floor heating
13 GJ/t air heaters

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Some results
0,0
0,5
1,0
1,5
2,0
flock1 flock2 flock3 flock4 flock5
Feed Conversion (kg/kg)

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Some results
0,0%
1,0%
2,0%
3,0%
4,0%
5,0%
6,0%
flock1 flock2 flock3 flock4 flock5
Mortality Rate

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Some results
0,0
0,5
1,0
1,5
2,0
2,5
flock1 flock2 flock3 flock4 flock5
Average slaughter weight (kg)

19. Building with 120 m × 16 m
Custos Normais de Aquecimento (RAVICONFORT)
0,023 €
Data Entrada Frangos Pellets Kg
Custo
Kg
Euro/Aqueciment
o por Bando
Media €
Bando
04‐04‐2013 40000 Bando 1 4750 0,15 712,50 € 0,018
31‐05‐2013 40000 Bando 2 6320 0,15 948,00 € 0,024
19‐07‐2013 38000 Bando 3 5060 0,14 708,40 € 0,019
20‐09‐2013 37500 Bando 4 6490 0,14 908,60 € 0,024
28‐11‐2013 38500 Bando 5 7800 0,15 1.170,00 € 0,030
Integrado: Gil Ribeiro ; Amélia Moreira
Some results

20. PISO RADIANTE
COMPARAÇÃO DE CUSTOS
HEATING SYSTEM INVESTMENT (€) COST €/broiler year
Hot air 11 500 0.05 - 0.10
heat generator + heat
exchanger
25 500 0.025 – 0.05
Radiant floor + gas
boiller
44 800 0.01 – 0.03
Some results

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Some results
Diogo Coelho, 2017

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Some results

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Final considerations
• Radiant floor heating systems seems to be a
promising technology
• Systematic scientific studies should be carried out to
have experimental validation on:
– The influence of the heating system on the broilers
performance and meat quality
– The energy consumption and costs
– GEE emissions
– …

24. Questions?
Fátima Baptista
fb@uevora.pt