Enhancing Poultry Farming Efficiency: The Role of Solar Energy in Modern Chicken Coops
Solar power is slowly becoming a popular energy source for American farmers. The 2022 US Census of Agriculture revealed 116,758 farms using solar, compared to 90,142 in 2017.
With 2023 seeing over $ 174.9 billion worth of agricultural products exported from the United States, it makes sense for farmers to consider the potential of renewable energy for their farms.
The growing popularity of solar power is highly attributed to its cost-saving benefits, with a study from Michigan State University revealing savings of as much as $1,880 annually for average farms and almost $4,000 for dairy farms.
Considering how the United States is also the world’s largest broiler producer and the world’s second-largest egg producer, poultry farms can likely optimize their production process should they manage to capitalize on the benefits of solar energy.
In this article, we’ll explore the potential of solar power in poultry production. Aside from the benefits solar-powered systems provide poultry farms, we’ll take a look at available poultry equipment that can use solar energy.
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Benefits of Solar Energy in Poultry Farms
Before deep-diving into solar energy implementation in poultry production, it may help to consider what switching to solar offers poultry farms. Thanks to solar, poultry farms can achieve the following benefits:
Energy Savings
Switching to solar energy can significantly reduce energy consumption in farms, potentially achieving up to 85% energy savings. An owner of a six-broiler farm in Cleveland County expects to save as much as $25,000 annually after installing 460 solar panels on less than an acre of land.
Reduced CO2 Emissions
Agriculture currently accounts for 11% of carbon dioxide emissions in the United States. Switching to solar can lessen one’s carbon footprint and their poultry production a more sustainable process.
Durable And Cost-Efficient
The growing popularity of solar power paved the way for more affordable installation options. Farmers no longer have to avail their solar energy systems in one go, as suppliers often have arrangements for monthly payments.
Solar panels are made of durable materials built to last, which can help avoid expensive maintenance.
Increased Productivity
Since solar energy systems are equipped to store power from sunlight during the day and use it at night, solar power can maintain your electric equipment with little to no interruptions. Whether it’s snowing or your farm is off-grid, solar power ensures your production stays consistent and up to schedule.
Increased Marketability
Today’s global push towards sustainable business practices can extend to your poultry production. Switching to solar power can make your poultry farm more attractive to potential investors and buyers due to its sustainability and lower operational costs.
Incentives
The push to go solar can be more attractive to poultry farm owners as these initiatives can be qualified for various government incentives. Depending on the type of solar project and the farm’s location, farmers can avail of special incentives to help pay the solar conversion costs.
These incentives can act as swift returns of investment, as the money saved in the process can be put towards improving more parts of the poultry farm.
Solar Power Equipment for Poultry Farms
Once poultry farms start implementing solar power through their solar panel systems, they can take their production to the next level by using solar-powered variants of common poultry farm tools. Among popular considerations include the following tools from a provider like Stromberg’s Chickens
Lighting
Like people, birds also become healthier by following a proper day-and-night cycle. Proper lighting helps birds become more active, develop a stronger immune system, maintain a consistent diet, as well as facilitate healthier and regular reproduction.
Solar-powered lighting ensures birds get the right lighting they need regardless of weather conditions, with snow and rain ensuring that chicken coops remain properly lit according to schedule.
Ventilation
Poultry houses need the right ventilation to maintain air quality and proper air circulation. This is crucial for birds, as they release heat through their metabolic processes while their respiration and bodily waste accumulate moisture.
Proper ventilation regulates temperatures, moisture, and humidity to manageable levels.
Feeders
Automatic feeders ensure your birds are well-fed with their required nutrients at the right intervals. Aside from reducing manpower costs, automatic feeders keep away pests and reduce overall waste.
Solar-powered feeders ensure chickens are still fed properly even without conventional power sources.
Waterers
While gravity-based waterers exist, automatic waterers can become a worthwhile investment to ensure birds have adequate water supply. With solar-powered waterers, chicken coops can get constant water flow without fear of shortage should power run out.
Not only that, but included features such as heaters make it easier to feed birds in the winter without worrying about additional power costs.
Incubators
Incubators are an essential component of the poultry farming process, designed to provide the proper temperatures and humidity levels for eggs. Thanks to solar-powered incubators, poultry farmers can increase their hatching efficiency with these tools that cost less power to use and can function even in the worst of outages.
Feather Pluckers
Feather pluckers remove feathers from birds after slaughter, preparing them for the last processing stages. Compared to doing it by hand, using a feather plucker machine speeds up this process.
Additionally, using solar-powered pluckers can save electricity while still maintaining plucking efficiency.
Freezers
Poultry freezers help farmers store recently-processed birds so they can be prepared for packaging after a certain period. A constant power supply for food storage freezers means product quality won’t be compromised.
Others purchase separate freezers to store dead birds and separate them from other birds before disposal, protecting live birds from contamination. Regardless of the purpose, solar-powered freezers can ensure that they stay functional even without traditional power sources.
Enjoy Incentives When You Go Solar
Pursuing solar power for your poultry farm can qualify your project for various incentives. Depending on your location and the scope of your solar poultry farm, you should consider the following:
Rural Energy for America (REAP) Grant
Among available incentives for sustainable farms, the US Department of Agriculture’s Rural Energy for America program is likely the most helpful. Should you manage to secure a grant, the program can pay up to 50% of the installation cost of your solar project.
Federal Income Tax Credit
Consider checking if your solar project is qualified for the Federal Income Tax Credit. As of this writing, the tax credit can pay off 30% of your project’s installation cost, which is taken from owed taxes.
This liability can be taken forward 22 years and looked back to three years. Moreover, using US-based materials in your solar project or doing this in a low-income area may add 10% more tax credit to each.
Utility Company Benefits
Depending on the scale of your solar project, you should also consider talking to your Utility Company regarding potential benefits. If your solar project can produce significantly more power than you have to consume, there are options to earn money by providing your excess power to the Utility Company.
| Expert Tip: Most programs that can grant incentives to your project have different requirements. Consult grant and energy experts to identify which incentive programs work best for your poultry farm. |
Go Solar for Sustainable, Cost-Effective Poultry Production
As solar energy becomes more prevalent in modern-day farming, poultry farmers should consider using this renewable energy source to optimize their production process.
Solar-powered tools such as incubators and hatchers, ventilation and heating systems, and lighting and protective fences can give birds a more comfortable time in their coops–optimizing the production process while ensuring farmers enjoy energy savings they can use to invest in their farms.