Winter Ventilation

Hosam Amro
Senior Manager Technical Services
Cobb Europe LTD
10/14/2020
Copyright Cobb-Vantress, Inc.
Why do we Ventilate?
• So that the litter does not get wet.
• So that we do not use a lot of gas to heat up the house.
• So that we can reuse part of the heat in the house.
• So that we have a uniform quality air flow in the house.
• So that we have sufficient oxygen levels.
• So that the birds are comfortable and show uniform
distribution in the house.
What is the air quality requirement?

• Oxygen content of house air > 19.6%

• Carbon dioxide content of house air < 0.3% (= 3000 ppm)
• Carbon monoxide content of house air < 10 ppm
• Ammonia content of house air < 10 ppm
• Dust content in house air that can be breathed in < 3.4 mg/m³
The Science behind the theory!
Oxygen and Carbon dioxide
 Air Quality
Ammonia
10 ppm Poultry limit without health problems
7 ppm Maximum for Human Health

Carbon monoxide
10 ppm Poultry limit without health problems
50 ppm Maximum for Human Health
 Air Quality (cont)
Carbon Dioxide
3000 ppm Poultry limit without health problems
1500 ppm Maximum for Human Health

Inspirable Dust
3.4 mg/m³ Poultry limit without health problems
2.4 mg/m³ Maximum for Human Health
Minimum ventilation
All houses, all flocks and all parts of the world
need minimum ventilation
Minimum ventilation must provide required
oxygen with low or no air movement across
chicks (maximum 0.3m/second for the first
fourteen days of life)
Minimum Ventilation
• Operates any time house temperature is at or below
set point temperature
• Responsible for AIR QUALITY in the house
• And to provide the required oxygen for the birds
• Fans run on cycle timer (5 minute cycle)
• Minimum run time 60 seconds for air and heat
distribution
What is air exchange?
• Air exchange is the ability of the ventilation system to
remove all the air from the house
• Minimum ventilation should have the fan capacity
that is able to remove all the air in the house in eight
minutes or less
Minimum Ventilation Calculation
• Example; house 120 m long and 15 m wide with an
average height of 2.5 m
• Fan capacity is 900 mm fans at 345 m3/min
(20,700m3/hour)
• House capacity = 120 x 15 x 2.5 = 4,500 m3
• Required fan capacity = 4,500m3/8 min = 562.5m3/min
• Required number of fans is 562.5/345 = 1.6 fans or Two
fans
Adjusting Minimum Ventilation
If unsatisfactory, only 1 way to correct:
❖ Increase air volume (reduce off time by the same amount
that the on time is increased-total cycle stays the same)
❖ Increase cycle timer and/or add fan to timer
❖ Make small adjustments (10-30 sec / 5 min)
❖ Timer should be increased according to air quality (CO2
levels)
❖ Or timer on time can be increased by 0.5 minute per
week and off time decreased by 0.5 minute/week
 Cross-flow Ventilation for All Climates
Example 14 m wide house

Air cannons
Side wall fan
5.0 m/s

Minimum ventilation for chicks.

0208 Greece
Outline of Presentation
➢Inlets-what should they do?
Negative Pressure Scale
House width-m Pascal's Air speed Distance travel
m/seconds before air
drops-m
10 8 3.50 5.00
12 10 4.00 6.00
15 17 5.00 7.50
18 26 6.35 9.00
21 37 7.50 10.5
24 42 8.00 12.0
Calculations done at 1.2 kg per cubic meter of air density
Inlets opening Calculation
• Example; house 120 m long and 15 m wide with an
average height of 2.5 m
• Fan capacity is 900 mm fans at 345 m3/min
(20,700m3/hour)
• House capacity = 120 x 15 x 2.5 = 4,500 m3
• Required fan capacity = 4,500m3/8 min = 562.5m3/min
• Required number of fans is 562.5/345 = 1.6 fans or Two
fans
Wind proofing

Low pressure
High pressure

Positive pressure inside the house

The effect of a wind

Very high heating cost when there is a strong wind outside
Wind proofing for side wall inlets
• Wind proofing protects the air inlet from outside wind
interference
• Must be installed for all inlets-especially if pressure controlled
• Should not restrict air flow
• Not intended to reduce light leakage
• 30% bigger than inlet area
Transitional ventilation
• Often ignored in importance
• This system is the main temperature control for the birds
until 25 days of age AND until the outside temperature
exceeds 25c
• Objective-high air exchange but with minimum air
movement at bird level (while feathering still developing)
• These fans should have a capacity to be able to create a
house air exchange every two minutes
• These fans should use side wall inlets evenly distributed
on each side wall the full length of the house and work
on pressure
Transition Ventilation For A Better Air Exchange
Without High Air Velocity

❖ EVEN AIR DISTRIBUTION

Ventilation (air speed/age)
Age-days Air speed m/second
0-14 Still air-maximum 0.30
m/second
15-21 0.50
22-25 1.00
25 plus 1.00 plus
Transitional Ventilation System
Calculation:
• Example; house 120 m long and 15 m wide with an
average height of 2.5 m
• Fan capacity is 1.2 m fans at 600 m3/min
(36,000m3/hour)
• House capacity = 120 x 15 x 2.5 = 4,500 m3
• Required fan capacity = 4,500m3/2 min = 2,250 m3/min
• Required number of fans is 2,250/600 = 3.75 fans or four
fans
Effective set points
• Over ventilation is a frequent problem seen in broilers and
breeders in production.
• Over ventilation will reduce feed intake and affect GPD, FCR
and production.
Change gradual to tunnel ventilation
• When going from transition to tunnel ventilation open both
first with an additional fan running and then with another fan
close the side inlets.
Example:
• 3 fans run on transition ventilation
• 4 fans run on partly tunnel and side inlets
• 5 fans run on 100% tunnel ventilation.
 ºC 50% 70% 0 0.25 0.50 0.76 1.00 1.27 1.52 1.78 2.03 2.28 2.54 2.79
35 * 35.0 34.2 32.2 29.4 26.7 25.6 24.4 23.9 23.3 22.8 22.2 21.7
35 * 38.3 36.9 35.6 33.1 30.6 29.7 28.9 27.5 26.1 25.3 24.4 23.5
33.6 * 33.6 32.5 30.8 28.5 26.1 25.1 24.2 23.6 23.1 22.4 21.7 21
33.6 * 36.9 35.6 34.2 31.9 29.7 28.9 28.1 26.9 25.8 24.9 23.9 22.9
32.2 * 32.2 30.8 29.4 27.5 25.6 24.7 23.9 23.3 22.8 21.9 21.1 20.3
32.2 * 35.6 34.2 32.8 30.8 28.9 28.1 27.2 26.4 25.6 24.4 23.3 22.5
30.8 * 30.8 29.4 28.1 26.5 25.0 24.2 23.3 22.6 21.9 21.3 20.6 20
30.8 * 33.6 32.5 31.4 29.7 28.1 27.2 26.4 25.7 25.0 24.2 23.3 22.4
29.4 * 29.4 28.1 26.7 25.6 24.4 23.6 22.8 21.9 21.1 20.6 20.0 19.5
29.4 * 31.7 30.8 30.0 28.6 27.2 26.4 25.6 25.0 24.4 23.9 23.3 22.7
28.1 * 28.1 26.8 25.6 24.4 23.3 22.6 21.9 21.0 20.0 19.6 19.2 18.8
28.1 * 30.0 29.0 28.1 26.9 25.8 25.1 24.4 23.5 22.5 21.9 21.4 20.9
26.6 * 26.7 25.6 24.4 23.3 22.2 21.7 21.1 20.0 18.9 18.6 18.3 18
26.6 * 28.3 27.2 26.1 25.3 24.4 23.9 23.3 21.9 20.6 20.0 19.4 18.8
25.3 * 25.3 24.4 23.6 22.6 21.7 21.1 20.6 19.4 18.3 17.9 17.5 17.1
25.3 * 26.9 26.1 25.3 24.6 23.9 23.3 22.8 21.5 20.3 19.7 19.2 18.7
23.9 * 23.9 23.3 22.8 21.9 21.1 20.6 20.0 18.9 17.8 17.2 16.7 16.2
23.9 * 25.6 25.0 24.4 23.9 23.3 22.8 22.2 21.1 20.0 19.4 18.9 18.4
22.5 * 22.5 21.7 20.8 20.3 19.7 19.3 18.9 18.1 17.2 16.8 16.4 16
22.5 * 24.4 23.5 22.5 21.9 21.4 21.0 20.6 19.9 19.2 18.6 18.1 17.6
21.1 * 21.1 20.0 18.9 18.6 18.3 18.1 17.8 17.2 16.7 16.4 16.1 15.8
21.1 * 23.3 21.9 20.6 20.0 19.4 19.2 18.9 18.6 18.3 17.8 17.2 16.6
Conclusions
• Look at the birds if they are comfortable.
• A lot of chicks noise means they are not happy.
• Use your nose and eyes to evaluate if the house air quality is
good during rearing and production.
• If there is a lot of dust, you need to take that dust out of the
house.
• Feeding in the dark helps to reduce dust formation.
Thank You