The effect of evaporative cooling on climatic parameters in a stable for sows

Abstract

The aim of this study was to find out the effect of indirect evaporative cooling on microclimatic parameters in a stable for sows. A high-pressure system was used for cooling, the nozzles sprayed water into the outside air before its entering into the building. Temperature-humidity index during cooling was higher by 0.9 than in the section without cooling (P < 0.001). Due to low indoor air flow velocity (below 0.18 m/s), a change in apparent temperature by the Comprehensive Climate Index (CCI) was only 1.94°C. It would be possible to provide markedly better cooling effectiveness by increasing the air velocity up to 2 m/s, which may improve the CCI by 19.8% and thus to achieve better environmental conditions for housed sows. The efficiency of evaluated evaporative cooling system was moderate because the nozzles were placed outdoors and only part of humidified and cooled air was drawn into the building through inlet openings, and also because the indoor air-flow velocity was low.