Determining the ideal ventilation system in swine production - A case study

Swine production declines during the hot climate conditions that occurs mai nly during the Summer months in tropical countries. The use of properly des igned and constructed housing can reduce these losses. Ventilation rate is an important factor to reduce the thermal load within swine housing and it can be provided by either natural or mechanical means, or the association o f both ways. The air movement has been show to influence swine performance and that proper environmental control is important to reach animal comfort zone and minimize sanitary problems. The objective of this research was to verify the changes in the sow heat production as well as the total heat bal ance within the farrowing house by simulating the use of fans and the evapo rative cooling system using a software package. Outside and inside environm ental data were collected hourly in a farrowing house during the Summer mon ths: January and February of 97, from 9.00 AM to 6.00 PM. The building had 144 sows divided in 9 rooms. The real and simulated heat production were co mpared and the benefit of using cooling systems was showed by the results i n the decrease in the heat load.