Harveylives
03-15-2004, 02:31 PM
Scheme turns cows' milk into heating source
By Michael Drake
mdrake@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
11 March 2004
NORTHERN Ireland farmers could benefit from a unique geothermal system which turns cows' milk into heating.
The system allows farmers to turn the energy stored in their cows' milk into a usable heat source.
The innovative geothermal system has just been launched by Lanarkshire-based GeoThermal Limited after successful trials at the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) in Dumfries.
The first application of the ground-breaking system is already being installed at a new-build dairy unit near Brechin, Angus, which will milk around 250 cows.
Energy from the milk will be used to heat the milking parlour and dairy office, as well as providing hot water for tank and pipe cleaning and hot water wash-down.
The geothermal solution, which significantly reduces heating and hot water costs, chills the milk at the point of milking but utilises the milk's heat for associated uses such as space heating or milk shed cleaning.
Instead of dumping the milk's heat, a geothermal heat pump turns this low-grade energy into a smaller amount of high- grade heat and hot water.
Tests at the SAC confirm a geothermal system can typically reduce energy costs by some £2,500 per year.
The SAC test found that, for every 1000 litres of milk collected, 33kWh of heat is recovered during each milking cycle - providing the same amount of hot water at 46C.
By Michael Drake
mdrake@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
11 March 2004
NORTHERN Ireland farmers could benefit from a unique geothermal system which turns cows' milk into heating.
The system allows farmers to turn the energy stored in their cows' milk into a usable heat source.
The innovative geothermal system has just been launched by Lanarkshire-based GeoThermal Limited after successful trials at the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) in Dumfries.
The first application of the ground-breaking system is already being installed at a new-build dairy unit near Brechin, Angus, which will milk around 250 cows.
Energy from the milk will be used to heat the milking parlour and dairy office, as well as providing hot water for tank and pipe cleaning and hot water wash-down.
The geothermal solution, which significantly reduces heating and hot water costs, chills the milk at the point of milking but utilises the milk's heat for associated uses such as space heating or milk shed cleaning.
Instead of dumping the milk's heat, a geothermal heat pump turns this low-grade energy into a smaller amount of high- grade heat and hot water.
Tests at the SAC confirm a geothermal system can typically reduce energy costs by some £2,500 per year.
The SAC test found that, for every 1000 litres of milk collected, 33kWh of heat is recovered during each milking cycle - providing the same amount of hot water at 46C.