15AGRITECHCAT3 WelChic - Welfare Enhanced Living Conditions for healthier Chickens

The overall aim of the project is to develop and test an efficient and environmentally-friendly, precision engineering solution for cooling/heating to improve indoor air quality and thermal comfort to promote better animal welfare and productivity in poultry houses. The system will use a novel membrane -based dew point evaporative technology using water and air as the working fluids to provide thermal regulation and improved air quality in the summer period. In addition, a low-cost poly heat exchanger ready loop integrated solar roof collector will be used to harness solar energy to heat working fluid to drive a heat pump. This is an efficient method for providing heating requirements in poultry houses. The solar collector has a simple design with direct integration in the poultry house roof. The project will involve the design, construction and testing of a prototype cooling/heating system. The new system will provide an environmentally friendly and economic solution to compete with traditional HVAC systems. The support from the Innovate UK grant will ensure this technology is developed in the UK creating over 20 UK jobs and tax revenue giving a 20 to 30 times return on the Innovate UK investment, over the 2-5 years after the project completes.

The proposed system is based on the integration of a new type of solar absorber, a Poly Heat Exchanger Ready Loop Module (PHERLM) installed between roof tiles and roof trusses. The new solar collector aims to overcome the drawbacks of conventional solar vacuum tubes and other solar water heaters. It is simple, inexpensive and easy to make. The collector is made of roof tiles (e.g. slate, steel tiles, clay or concrete) aluminium spreader sheets and a unique polyethylene heat ex-changer ready loop. Slates/clay or concrete/steel/alumiium roof tiles could be used to maximize the solar energy absorption. As slates/tiles have large thermal mass, they act a medium for solar energy storage, which is particular useful when solar radiation is low or intermittent, which is particularly useful when solar radiation is low or intermittent, typical of British weather. The circulating glycol from the solar collector is passed through the hot water cylinder to storage to be used as Domestic Hot Water (DHW) or heat power for the heat pump's evaporator. In winter, since the outside temperature would be low, and the PHERLM installed between roof tiles and roof trusses, the water temperature could be away from direct snow, therefore, the solar collector could act as a heat source for the heat pump and could enhance its performance significantly, because the temperature lift would be reduced. The initial computer modelling of the PHEM combined with the heat pump using novel refrigerant R1234yf /R1223zd as a function of the condenser (60 degree C) and evaporator temperatures (-5C - 15C). The Coefficient of Performance (COP) of the novel heat pump system varies from 4.21 to 5.7 even at lower outside temperatures, the refrigerant R1234yf reveals better coefficient of performance compare to a conventional heat pump system in the similar conditions.

The project is timely as the proposed research will investigate an innovative solution to the present high fossil fuel consumption and related high carbon emissions of the UK and global livestock sector thus reducing energy consumption also increasing the productivity. The proposed project aims to design, develop and test an innovative system [Poly Heat Exchanger (PHE)/Heat pump (HP)/Psychometric Energy Core (PEC) system] for efficient and cost-effective environmental (cooling, heating, air flow and humidity) control to improve poultry house air quality (that includes reducing harmful ammonia gas). The significant market potential of the proposed system will provide the UK with economic benefits due to product sales and employment opportunities. The project will benefit the UK in terms of advancing technology, economic opportunities and positive environmental impact, adding value by providing a platform for collaboration between academic and industrial parties and allowing the UK companies to compete with overseas companies in the field of livestock better thermal control and air quality systems.

Exploitation of the proposed technology will create the new market for the project industrial partners and relevant manufacture and supply chain. Along with export of this technology, this will contribute to the UK economy recovery and growth. In general, the research will benefit to industries, nation, people, resource and environment, researchers, and their institutions.