The purpose of this white paper is to provide a thorough understanding of dairy operations, especially overall electricity consumption by the dairy farm. Some of the applications that use electricity on a dairy farm include lighting, electric water heating, ventilation, milk cooling and milk harvesting. Through literature surveys and information gathered from other public sources, this paper details the share of electricity used by each of the categories. It also identifies ways to improve the efficiency of operations using energy efficiency technologies, and reviews water usage on dairy farms.
Another area for new learning comes from the evaluation of alternative cow cooling methods such as ground source heat pumps (GSHP). The white paper includes descriptions of current cooling methods employed on dairy farms, as well as some emerging cooling methods.
Apart from cooling, there are other electrotechnologies, such as solar water heaters, scroll compressors, LED lighting, etc. that can help in the efficient operation of dairy farms. They are also listed and described in detail in this white paper.