Improving energy efficiency on dairy farms

Energy cost and efficiency while continuing to to deliver quality products with lower carbon footprints are one of the many challenges facing the dairy industry.

As part of our GrowSave scheme, we have collaborated with NFU Energy to help agricultural businesses access the latest thinking and established techniques about efficiency, with a focus on energy.

The use, and therefore cost, of electricity dominates fixed equipment energy consumption on the dairy farm. Learn the key factors that influence the cost of the electricity, how to monitor and measure its use, and ensure you are getting the best out of your contract and tariff. 

Some renewable energy technologies are well established, others are less well-known. Find out the current state of play in renewable energy generation and which technologies hold the biggest energy efficiency opportunities for dairy farming.

Over 80% of total energy use on a dairy farm is accounted for by milk cooling, water heating and vacuum pumping. Learn how to keep your energy intensive equipment running in the most energy efficient way for milk cooling, water heating and vacuum pumping.

Electricity for milk cooling is typically the largest single usage on a dairy farm, accounting alone for over one third of consumption. Discover the key aspects of configuring and running an energy efficient milk cooling process and refrigeration system, from pre-cooling to heat recovery and simple maintenance. 

Learn about the core components of mechanical milk cooling and how the different options compare in terms of energy efficiency and running costs.

After milk cooling, water heating is usually the second largest consumer of electricity for a dairy farm - accounting for 25% to 35% of the total bill. Find out what options are available for keeping down the cost of water heating including insulation, using night rate electricity tariffs, heat recovery and the use of solar panels.