Abstract:
Automatic control systems have been widely used for the fan-pad cooling of livestock houses in summer. However, current regulation can be confined to the single-parameter temperature. In high-humidity and high-temperature regions, the premature or delayed activation and deactivation of water pumps can increase the indoor humidity levels on the heat stress of animals. In low-humidity and high-temperature areas, the activating water pumps can cause significant fluctuations in indoor temperature, thus resulting in thermal discomfort for the animals. In this study, a multi-parameter control strategy was designed to tailor for the different climatic conditions. A dual-parameter control strategy was also developed for the high temperature and high humidity climates. The water pump was regulated using two parameters, including the indoor temperature and outdoor humidity. Fan operation was then controlled for the optimal indoor temperature. The multi-parameter control strategy was implemented in the low-humidity and high-temperature climates. The water pump was then regulated using three parameters, including the indoor temperature, outdoor temperature, and outdoor humidity. While the variable frequency of fans was regulated using indoor temperature. Additionally, a “prevent sudden drop measure” was introduced to reduce the fan speed during the initial startup of water pumps. The “temperature fluctuation mitigation measure” was applied to adjust the water circulation time. These strategies were validated in the rabbit farms in Qingdao City, Shandong Province, and Qingyang City, Gansu Province, China. In Qingdao, the meat rabbit house was equipped with a controller to monitor the environmental regulations under different weather conditions. The results showed that the proportion of time experiencing heat stress (temperature-humidity index, THI > 27.8) was reduced to 2.2% during daytime and 0 at night. On high humidity cloudy days with the insufficient cooling potential of the cooling pad, the dual-parameter control strategy effectively cooled the indoor environment, where the water pump was closed to increase ventilation. On sunny days, the cooling pad achieved a theoretical cooling value of (3.3 ± 1.0) °C and an actual cooling value of (0.8 ± 0.5) °C. Importantly, no rise of indoor temperature was observed, when the water pump was deactivated, indicating the effective pump operation and control. In Qingyang, another rabbit farm was used to further validate the control strategies. An automatic controller was installed in a treatment house. While another meat rabbit house with a manually controlled cooling pad and fan operations served as the control house. Environmental parameters, rabbit body temperature, and production performance indicators were collected to compare the performance between them. The findings revealed that the indoor temperature near the cooling pad area decreased by 6.6 °C within 7 min after the initial activation of the water pump. The “prevent sudden drop measure” was then implemented to extend the time. A similar cooling effect was then achieved in 23 min. The “temperature fluctuation mitigation measure” effectively reduced the fluctuations of indoor temperature from 3 °C to within 1 °C, indicating a stable thermal environment. Compared with the control, the treatment house reduced the fluctuations of diurnal temperature, the daily average temperature of the rabbit body (
P < 0.05), a 4.1% decrease in the cumulative mortality rate, and a 4.3% increase in the total sales revenue. These results demonstrate the effectiveness and versatility of the multi-parameter control strategy to enhance the cooling performance of fan-pad cooling systems under varying weather conditions in both high-temperature-humidity and high-temperature-low humidity regions. Stable indoor environments were maintained to reduce the rabbit's body temperature for economic returns. This strategy can provide a sound reference to precisely control the environmental temperature in livestock houses in summer.