Improved Energy Management in an Intermittently Heated Building Using a Large Broiler House in Central Europe as an Example

This paper deals with the problem of rational energy management in an intermittently heated broiler house. The aim was to evaluate the energy amount necessary to heat up the building floor for the production cycle, preceded by a technological interruption of varying length. The scope of studies included the indoor and outdoor air temperature measurements and the soil temperature measurements under the building floor. The results of field tests allowed computer simulations to be carried out in the WUFIplussoftware (Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics, Holzkirchen Branch, Germany). The variant analysis was preceded by the validation of the calculation model whose results showed a strong correlation of theoretical data with actual results. The winter breeding cycle was analyzed in detail. The detailed soil and air temperature curves are presented graphically. The results allow a conclusion that the length of the technological interruption has a significant impact on the amount of energy in the first days of the broiler breeding. The extension of the technological interruption by seven days increases the amount of heating energy in the first day of the cycle by 24%. The extension of the technological interruption causes also the need for a longer floor heating in the first day of the cycle.