Cold Weather Ventilation-Key

management points to consider

Matthew Wilson
Broiler & Ventilation Specialist
World Technical Support Team
Cobb-Vantress

Copyright Cobb-Vantress, Inc.

 Outline of Presentation
Air quality
Minimum ventilation
Inlets
Fans and controllers

Copyright Cobb-Vantress, Inc.

 Outline of Presentation
Air quality

Copyright Cobb-Vantress, Inc.

 First getting it wrong!
Dawkins reported that environment control was most important for good
broiler welfare

Most important investment in our chicken houses is the ventilation control

Copyright Cobb-Vantress, Inc.
 What is the air quality requirement?

 Oxygen content of house air > 19.6%

 Carbon dioxide content of house air < 0.3% (= 3000
ppm)
 Carbon monoxide content of house air < 10 ppm
 Ammonia content of house air < 10 ppm
 Dust content in house air that can be breathed in < 3.4
mg/m³
Copyright Cobb-Vantress, Inc.
 Waste Products our ventilation
system needs to manage
1) Moisture;
100g chick at 30c produces 1.3g of water/bird/hour
2kg bird at 18c produces 8.5g of water/bird/hour
So a house of 40,000 birds at 2kg live weight produces 8,000
litres of water/day

2) Carbon Dioxide;
100g chick produces 0.5g of Carbon Dioxide /bird/hour
2kg bird produces 5.4g of Carbon Dioxide/bird/hour
So a house of 40,000 birds at 100g live weight produces 480kg of
Carbon dioxide/day (not including possible production of CO2
from heating system)

Copyright Cobb-Vantress,
C o p y Inc. r i g h t C o b b - V a n t r e s s , I n c . 6
 Controlling Moisture
 The only way to reduce humidity is to heat the air (approx
every 1c increase in temperature, %RH is reduced by
5%)
 As air heats it expands and its ability to hold moisture
increases
 Hot air rises- the hottest air in the house is at the top
near the ceiling
 Air should enter the house and mix with the hot air in the
top of the house
 Operate the house at the correct pressure to achieve this
aim

Copyright Cobb-Vantress, Inc.

 The Science behind the theory!

Copyright Cobb-Vantress, Inc.

 Levels of CO2
The level of Carbon dioxide in your atmosphere is +/-
400 ppm.
Under good temperature control but with insufficient
ventilation, carbon dioxide levels can exceed 10,000
ppm!
You should never sacrifice temperature for
ventilation.
You should never sacrifice ventilation for
temperature.
Maximum Carbon dioxide levels at any time in the
chicken house should not exceed 3,000 ppm.
Copyright Cobb-Vantress, Inc.
 Effects of High CO2 Level
Will reduce activity
Reduced feed/water consumption
Increased incidence of dehydration
Lower weight gain
Increased incidence of right ventricle failure-later
in life (Ascites)

10,000

Copyright Cobb-Vantress, Inc.

 Carbon Dioxide-Effects

Copyright Cobb-Vantress, Inc.

 Outline of Presentation
Minimum ventilation

Copyright Cobb-Vantress, Inc.

 Chick Activity

Copyright Cobb-Vantress, Inc.

 Minimum ventilation
All houses, all flocks and all parts of the
world need minimum ventilation
Minimum ventilation must provide required
oxygen with low or no air movement
across chicks (maximum 0.3m/second for
the first fourteen days of life)

Copyright Cobb-Vantress, Inc.

 Minimum Ventilation
Operates any time house temperature is at or
below set point temperature
Responsible for AIR QUALITY in the house
And to provide the required oxygen for the birds
Fans run on cycle timer (5 minute cycle)
Minimum run time 60 seconds for air and heat
distribution
Calculate the volume of the house-width x length
x average height

Copyright Cobb-Vantress, Inc.

 What is air exchange?
Air exchange is the ability of the ventilation system
to remove all the air from the house

Minimum ventilation should have the fan capacity

that is able to remove all the air in the house in eight
minutes

Copyright Cobb-Vantress, Inc.

 Minimum Ventilation System
Example; house 120 m long and 15 m wide with
an average height of 2.5 m
Fan capacity is 1200 mm fans at 600 m3/min
House capacity = 120 x 15 x 2.5 = 4,500 m3
Required fan capacity = 4,500m3/8 min = 562.5
m3/min
Required number of fans is 562.5/600 = 1.6 fans
or one fan

Copyright Cobb-Vantress, Inc.

 Adjusting Minimum Ventilation
If unsatisfactory, only 1 way to correct:
Increase air volume (reduce off time by the
same amount that the on time is increased-total
cycle stays the same)
Increase cycle timer and/or add fan to timer
Make small adjustments (10-30 sec / 5 min)
Timer should be increased according to air
quality (CO2 levels)
Or timer on time can be increased by 0.5 minute
per week and off time decreased by 0.5
minute/week

Copyright Cobb-Vantress, Inc.

 Minimum ventilation
Why calculate on air volume and not body weight
Take one house 20,000 birds
House size-67m long, 15m wide and average
height 2.75m
Fan size 900mm, capacity-20,700 m3/hr x 10
fans
Minimum ventilation rate-1m3/kg live-other
One fan on timer, fixed volume-Cobb
Minimum run time-one minute-Cobb
Capacity of fans one air exchange in eight
minutes-Cobb
Copyright Cobb-Vantress, Inc.
 Comparing minimum ventilation
calculations
Age-days M3/hour of Cobb-timer- M3/hour of
air-other min air-Cobb

0 820 1:4 4,140

7 3,280 1.5:3.5 6,210
14 8,600 2:3 8,280
21 16,860 2.5:2.5 10,350
28 27,940 3:2 12,420
35 40,340 3.5:1.5 14,490
42
Copyright Cobb-Vantress, Inc.
52,520 4:1 16,560
 Minimum ventilation
Cobb ventilation more in the first week, when
heart muscle and appetite is being developed
(500% more!)
At seven days Cobb ventilation is 100% more
than body weight calculation!
Cobb ventilation is less after second week
Temperature control is often sacrificed in cold
weather for air quality only
Minimum ventilation should only be adjusted
according to air quality, not age or weight

Copyright Cobb-Vantress, Inc.

 Results from a customer which changed
their minimum ventilation program
1.670 FCR 340.00 PEF
336.87
1.660 335.00
1.650 330.00
1.637
1.640 325.00
1.630 320.00
1.620 315.00
1.610 1.619 310.00
1.600 305.00
308.03
1.590 300.00
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE - JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE -
CURRENT CURRENT

Mort 58.00
ADG
6.50 57.01
5.62 57.00
6.00

5.50 56.00

5.00 55.00
4.31
4.50 54.00
53.41
4.00 53.00
3.50
52.00
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE -
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE -
CURRENT
CURRENT

Copyright Cobb-Vantress, Inc. 22

 Outline of Presentation
Inlets

Copyright Cobb-Vantress, Inc.

 Side wall Inlets
Often ignored in importance
Air/heat distribution-even and without drafts
Oxygen supply
Good inlets are a vital part of good ventilation
Many types of inlets
Many inlet controls

Copyright Cobb-Vantress, Inc.

 Pressure Scale

House Negative Air speed Distance

width- pressure- across inlets- travel before
meters Pascal’s m/second drop-meters
10 10 4.00 5.00
12 15 5.00 6.00
15 20 6.35 7.50
18 25 7.50 9.00
21 37 7.75 10.5
24 42 8.00 12.0
Calculations done at 1.2 kg per cubic meter of air density:

Copyright Cobb-Vantress, Inc.

 Good Air Flow

Copyright Cobb-Vantress,
C o p y Inc. r i g h t C o b b - V a n t r e s s , I n c . 26
 Inlet Open Too Little

Copyright Cobb-Vantress,
C o p y Inc. r i g h t C o b b - V a n t r e s s , I n c . 27
 Air Falling

Copyright Cobb-Vantress,
C o p y Inc. r i g h t C o b b - V a n t r e s s , I n c . 28
 Inlet Pressure sensor
The most successful way to control side wall
inlets
 The inlet is controlled by pressure sensor that
reads inside and outside pressure
 Outside sensor must be wind proofed to prevent
inlets opening when fans are off
 House should be as air tight as possible

Inside pressure sensor

Copyright Cobb-Vantress, Inc.

 Inlet Pressure sensor
Always protect pressure sensor from wind

Copyright Cobb-Vantress, Inc.

 Wind proofing

Low pressure

High pressure

Positive pressure inside the house

The effect of a wind

Very high heating cost when there is a strong wind outside

Copyright Cobb-Vantress, Inc.
 Wind proofing for side wall inlets
Wind proofing protects the air inlet from outside
wind interference
Must be installed for all inlets-especially if pressure
controlled
Should not restrict air flow
Not intended to reduce light leakage
30% bigger than inlet area

Copyright Cobb-Vantress, Inc.

How to calculate inlet area (m2)

 Fan volume in cubic metres per second

 Desired air speed through the inlet in m/second
 Divide fan volume by desired air speed gives inlet area in square
metres
 Example- fan volume 36,000 m3/hour-house width 12 metres
 Fan volume in m3/sec = 36,000 m3/hr divided by 3,600 (seconds in
1 hour) = 10m3 per second
 Desired air speed for a 12m wide house = 5 metres/second
 Required inlet area = fan volume in m3/sec (10 m3/sec) divided by
desired air speed (5 m/s) through the inlet = 2m2 of inlet area
 Minimum inlet opening 5cm-if pressure still too low-close some inlets

Copyright Cobb-Vantress, Inc.

 Inlet rating from manufacturer

Copyright Cobb-Vantress, Inc.

 Outline of Presentation
Fans and Controllers

Copyright Cobb-Vantress, Inc.

 Controller operation
Many types of controllers but some points that
should be followed;
Never set a maximum ventilation
This can lead to flock mortality if there is an issue with
alarms
Heating should be set -0.5c-1c below set point
temperature
Watch your heating and ensure heaters switch off before
set point is reached
Use fan stage differentials
At placement-6c between minimum and maximum
ventilation
Reduce by 0.5c/week
By six weeks reach a fan stage differential of 3c
Copyright Cobb-Vantress, Inc.
 Fans
 Fan placement is of some importance, BUT:
 Inlet design/placement is far more important to maintain a
good environment
 80% of ventilation design is inlet design & placement
 20% is exhaust fan selection & placement!
Fixed volume and never variable
Fans for tunnel ventilation should be 1.2 metre fans and
have a capacity of at least 36,000 m3/hour at 25
Pascal's minimum
Shutters are best on the inside of fans to prevent head
pressure on the fan
Place fans in cones
Increases fan volume by 10-20%
Copyright Cobb-Vantress, Inc.
 Sealing
Sealing is very important-without adequate house sealing
air movement control is very difficult
To test how well your house is sealed;
Close all the inlets
Run enough fan capacity
 18m3/hour/sq metre of floor area
Measure pressure through a crack in the a door/inlet
 Access to outside
A house must have a pressure greater than 37.5
Pascal's
Less than 25 Pascal's and the house is leaking too
much
Seal the house from the outside in a negative pressure
ventilated house 38
Copyright Cobb-Vantress, Inc.
 Effect of pressure on fan
performance

Reduction 0 6 12 16 20 30
%

Operate your chicken house on as low a pressure as

possible

Copyright Cobb-Vantress, Inc.

 Fan Pressure
But to move air where you want it to go you must
create pressure-what pressure is acceptable?
Tunnel ventilation-20 Pascal's
Tunnel ventilation with cooling pads (15cm)-30
Pascal's
Tunnel ventilation with cooling pads and nest boxes-
40 Pascal's
Tunnel ventilation with cooling pads, nest boxes and
good light traps-50-60 Pascal's

Copyright Cobb-Vantress, Inc.

 How to estimate the fan
volume at working pressure
Measure cross sectional area in m2 (3m x 15m =45m2)
Measure air speed in centre of house and at side walls
(1.6-1.8m/sec)
Take average of air speed (m/sec) (1.7m/sec)
Multiply cross sectional area (m2) by average air speed
(m/sec) to give total fan capacity in m3/sec (45m2 x
1.7m/sec = 76.5m3/sec)
Take total number of fan (10 x 1.2m fans)
Divide total fan capacity m3/sec by number of fans to give
fan volume per fan in m3/sec (76.5m3/sec/10 =
7.65m3/sec)
Multiply fan volume in m3/sec by 3,600 to give fan volume
in m3/hour (7.65m3/sec x 3,600 minutes = 27,540m3/hour)
Copyright Cobb-Vantress, Inc.
 Light Traps

High performance tunnel fans don’t work well

with light traps.
A 150cm × 150cm or 2.25m² light trap placed
directly over tunnel fan is likely to raise static
pressure too high.

Honeycomb Inlet Trap

Copyright Cobb-Vantress, Inc.

 Light Traps
A false wall incorporates the light
trap area needed - placed1.5m
from the tunnel fan end.
This allows all light traps to be
utilized when less than all tunnel
fans are being operated - by far
the most effective way to
ventilate.
Know your light trap requirement?
Example: “Dandy Max Flow” light
trap area requirement = total fan
capacity installed ÷ 21.2m³/min
Light trap area at tunnel inlet =
Total fan capacity ÷ 15.7m³/min
Copyright Cobb-Vantress, Inc.
Copyright Cobb-Vantress, Inc.
 Thank You

Copyright Cobb-Vantress, Inc.