Alabama Cooperative Poultry Ventilation Pointers

Extension System
➤
Auburn University Need for Insulation in Warm-
Climate Poultry Housing
By Jim Donald, Extension Agricultural Engineer and Professor
Agricultural Engineering Department, Auburn University
The value of insulation is generally recognized in temperate and cold climates,
where its function is often thought of as primarily to help keep birds warm in cold
weather, with minimal fuel use. However, insulation has a valuable although dif-
ferent function in summer also: protecting birds from heat stress caused by solar
heat gain through the roof. This protection is needed in moderate to cool climate
areas, and even more in warm to hot areas. It is extremely important for produc-
ers and industry personnel in warmer climates to realize that under-roof insula-
tion is essential in both open-sided and fan-ventilated poultry houses. If birds are
kept in uninsulated houses in hot weather, even with the best ventilation system,
bird performance is likely to be very poor and mortality rates of 10% to 15% or
even higher should be expected.
Research in the Southeast U.S. in conventionally built fan-ventilated poultry
Lack of roof insulation
houses, identical except for having or not having insulation in the roofs, has shown
leads to poor perfor-
the following mortality rates for market-size broilers when outside average maxi-
mance, high mortalities
➤ mum temperature was only 91°F (32.8°C):
inside mortality
max. temp. rate
House with insulated roof 92°F/33.3°C 0.5%
House with no roof insulation 99°F/37.2°C 14.3%
Losses are likely to be even higher in lower-latitude conditions, where the sun will be
more directly overhead and air temperatures higher. Here’s what you need to know
to make the best decisions on warm-climate poultry house insulation –
Effects of Heat and Cold on Birds
The normal deep body temperature of chickens is over 106°F (41°C). Birds use
energy from feed to maintain this internal temperature and operate their internal
organs and muscles. Feed energy above that needed for these “maintenance” func-
Birds need the right tions is used for growth and reproductive functions. The temperature of the birds’
temperature range surroundings needed for best performance depends on growth stage and func-
➤ tion. For broilers and pullets, the optimum temperature ranges from about 92°F
(33°C) at birth to about 73°F (23°C) at four weeks, then leveling off. Laying hens
perform best in the temperature range from 78°F to 82°F (26°- 28°C).
Under normal conditions, fully-feathered birds actually produce excess heat ,
which their bodies must shed, and which results in warming their surroundings.
For this reason, little supplementary heat is usually needed in poultry houses even
in cold climates, except in the early brooding period. The birds heat the house.
This means that in most cases and most of the time, and even more so in warm to
hot climates, the problem is keeping birds from over-heating, not in seeing that
they do not get too cold.
Heat stress lowers
If for any reason birds gain heat at an excessive rate or cannot get rid of their
performance, and
excess body heat, they will reduce their feed intake to lower their heat production,
eventually kills birds
➤ and will change both their internal metabolism and their behavior to promote faster
heat loss. Birds shed excess heat by respiration (breathing), getting the cooling
effect of moisture evaporating from the surfaces of their airways and lungs, and
by transferring it to the air circulating over their bodies. Birds feeling too hot, for
example, will pant, drawing more air inside their bodies to absorb heat. They will also
 lift their wings to expose more body surface area to the air, and will alter their blood
circulation to pump more blood to surface air-cooling areas such as the wattles and
feet.
All of these responses of course lower the feed efficiency and performance of both
broilers and laying hens. If the birds are unable to get rid of the excess heat, eventu-
ally they will die.
What Insulation Does
Insulation is any material that resists or slows down the rate of heat transfer from one
place to another. The function of insulation under cold-weather conditions is to re-
In cold weather, insula-
duce heat loss from the house, whether the heat is produced by the birds or by supple-
tion reduces heat loss
mental heaters. This reduces the amount of supplemental heating fuel that must be
through roof and walls
➤ burned, and allows the birds to make most efficient use of their feed intake.
In cold weather, heat is lost by conduction through both the roof and walls. For ex-
ample, assuming that the walls are made up of typical uninsulated building materials,
if the outside temperature is 40 degrees F (22 degrees C) colder than the desired in-
house temperature, an uninsulated house will lose about 27 Btu’s of heat per hour
per square foot of surface area (307 kJ/hr/m2). Adding moderate insulation in both
roof and walls, for example 2 inches (5 cm) of polyurethane foam, cuts this heat loss
In hot weather, insulation to about 3.3 Btu’s/hr/sq ft (37.5 kJ/hr/m2).
is needed to reduce The function of insulation in hot weather is to lower the rate of heat gain from the
heat gain through the roof outside into the house and into the birds. Typically, all hot-weather heat gain is through
➤ the roof, and the mode is primarily by radiant heat transfer rather than by conduction.
Radiant heat is a form of electromagnetic radiation in which heat moves from a warm
object to a cooler one through the air but without warming the air. The sun, fires, and
heaters with glowing elements (such as brooders) are all radiant heaters. The source
of radiant heat does not, however, have to blaze or even glow. Any object warmer
than another one in sight will radiate heat to the other one, either by visible or infrared
Radiant brooders keep rays. Radiant heat may be beneficial, as with chicks kept warm by radiant brooders,
chicks warm, but solar or it may be disastrous – typically for larger birds receiving radiant heat from an
radiant heat hurts birds uninsulated or poorly insulated roof.
➤
Sheet metal roofs on houses may easily be heated to 150°F (66°C) or higher in
summertime, even at fairly high latitudes. Research in the Southeast U.S. has shown
that a sun-heated and uninsulated weathered galvanized roof will radiate heat into a
poultry house at from 30 to 35 Btu’s per hour per square foot (340 to 398 kJ/hr/
m2)during the hot part of the day, with the maximum usually occurring in the early
afternoon. In latitudes closer to the equator, the rate of solar heat gain will be even
higher. This is why under-roof insulation is needed.

Metal roof heated by

sun to 150°F (66°C) or
more radiates large
amounts of heat
to birds below.
The higher the sun
angle, the more heat
delivered. Under-roof
insulation is needed to
block radiant heat
transfer to birds.
Effects of Uninsulated Roof Heat Gain on Birds and Ventilation
The magnitude of the problem of radiant heat gain is shown in the following example:
1. For a 40- by 500-foot house (12 X 152 m),a 35 Btu per hour per square foot
(398 kJ/hr/m2) rate of solar radiant heat gain will total at least 700,000 Btu’s per
hour (739,000 kJ/hr).
2. Based on the rule of thumb for mature birds of about 5 Btu’s per hour per pound
(11.6 kJ/hr/kg), this house with, for example, 25,000 five-pound (2.27 kg) broiler
birds would have heat gain from excess bird heat of about 625,000 Btu’s per hour
(660,000 kJ/hr).
3. Modern ventilation systems typically are designed to handle excess bird heat plus
a small amount of heat gain from a properly insulated roof or ceiling.
Ventilation system cannot
For this house, a typical installed system would have a fan capacity of about 200,000
handle large heat gain
cubic feet per minute (94.4 m3/s).
through an uninsulated roof
➤
4. Since the heat gain from the uninsulated roof is even larger than the excess bird
heat, a ventilation system designed and installed under the assumption that the roof
will be properly insulated would not be able to remove the total heat gain encoun-
tered of 700,000 + 625,000 = 1,325,000 Btu’s/hr (1,398,000 kJ/hr).
The Particular Danger of Radiant Heat to Birds
Radiant heat coming from an uninsulated roof is difficult to combat and is especially
dangerous for birds because it transfers heat not to the inside air but directly to the Danger: radiant heat
objects below the roof – the birds. The air temperature in such a house will rise by the affects birds before
air absorbing heat from the already radiantly heated birds. Ventilation removes heated ventilation comes into play
➤
air, and ventilating air moving over the birds certainly helps them get rid of heat. But in
the radiant heat gain situation the ventilation effects operate only after the birds have
already absorbed this heat. Further, poultry personnel who do not spend long periods
of time in the house and whose clothing (often white) shields them from feeling the
radiant heat, may become aware of the effects on the birds without realizing the source
of the problem, and blame the ventilation system instead of the true culprit, the
uninsulated roof.
The particular danger of radiant heat was shown in research conducted in the U.S.
mentioned above. In two environmentally controlled chambers with and without simu-
Effects of radiant heat are
lated roof radiation, with air temperature in both chambers controlled at 105°F (41°C)
twice as severe as same
and the same relative humidity, the bird death rate was 40% in the chamber with simu-
heat load with no radiation
lated roof radiation, almost twice the mortality rate (22%) in the chamber without radi- ➤
ant heat. This test indicates that the effects of direct radiant heat are much more se-
vere than the same heat load without radiation.
Advantages of Under-Roof Insulation
Placing insulation under the roof blocks the downward heat radiation and converts
the heat transfer mode from mostly radiation to mostly conduction (at a slow rate)
through the insulating material. Because of the heat transfer mode conversion, the
exact effects are difficult to calculate, although easily seen in field experience. Install-
ing 2 inches (5 cm) of extruded polystyrene insulation in the roof of the above example Under-roof insulation
house can be expected to cut the maximum rate of heat gain of 35 Btu’s per hour per blocks downward
square foot (397 kJ/hr/m2)to near 3.5 Btu’s per hour per square foot (39.7 kJ/hr/m2). That radiation of heat to birds
➤
would reduce the heat load from the roof from 700,000 Btu’s per hour (739,000 kJ/hr)
to only about 70,000 Btu’s per hour (73,900 kJ/hr). The ventilation system then can be
properly sized for only 695,000 Btu’s per hour (733,000 kJ/hr), including excess bird
heat of 625,000 Btu’s per hour (660,000 kJ/hr).
Thus it is clear that under-roof insulation, not added ventilation or evaporative cool-
ing capacity, is the solution to the problem. Insulation is fairly costly in some parts of
the world, but preventing exposure of birds to radiant heat in the first place is certain
to yield a much better cost-benefit ratio than oversizing ventilation or cooling systems
in an attempt to lessen the effects of the extra radiant heat load.
 Selecting Insulation Materials
The chart below shows the average resistance to heat flow of typical insulation
At least R-8 insulation materials in terms of R-value.* Different terms are used in different parts of the
is needed under roof world, but the principle of resistance to heat flow per unit of thickness is the same.
➤ For warm to hot climates, under-roof insulation of at least the equivalent of R-8 is
recommended. For example, this can be provided by 1.5 inches (4 cm) of easily-
installed polyurethane board, as shown in the chart. Insulation beyond about R-12
value is not likely to provide significant further benefits in comparison to cost. For
any given insulation product, the actual insulating value is likely to vary, and se-
lection should be made on the basis of a stated and if possible certified value for
the particular product.
Many insulation products A convenient way to add insulation to existing buildings is spray-on polyure-
are available – key is thane foam (care must be taken to achieve adequate thickness). Dropped ceil-
to get adequate R-value ings are easily insulated with blanket, batt, or blown-in mineral wool or fiber glass.
➤ Ceilings create an attic space that can be naturally ventilated, removing heat and
moisture and resulting in longer house life. A dropped ceiling also improves the
efficiency of tunnel ventilation by reducing the house cross-sectional area.
Foil-type reflective insulation is widely advertised as an ideal solution to the prob-
lem of radiant heat gain. However, side-by-side tests in poultry houses in the United
States have shown these materials to be much less effective than conventional in-
sulation when used alone. Factors contributing to their lack of acceptance in the U.S.
are that they lose a significant amount of their initial insulating value within a few
years because of dust accumulation; are usually difficult and costly to install; and
Foil-type reflective often lack durability. It should be said that installing foil-type reflective material is pref-
insulation alone will not erable to leaving the underside of a metal roof exposed. However, reflective materi-
give adequate protection als alone provide much less protection than conventional insulating materials, even
➤ when these appear to be very expensive. Reflective insulation alone is not recom-
mended unless no other kind of insulation is available.
Reflective roof coatings or white paints can provide some benefit but are not
nearly as effective as under-roof insulation. So-called reflective roofs will still ab-
sorb solar heat and re-radiate this heat downward into the house. As with foil-
type insulation, using reflective roof coatings is better than doing nothing, but will
not provide adequate protection from solar heat gain.
5 in
(12.5 cm)
in
Typical Insulating Values 6/ /in
2. /in
by Thickness R 3.1 3.2
4 in vg R
a g R avg
(10 cm) for Common – av
s – s–
Insulation thickness

a s rd l as
Insulation Materials l a g
l, g db
o
fib
er
oo ea l ,
Select insulation by 3 in l w b o n
ra e wo .0/i
R-value cost, not just (7.5 cm)
ine t y ren ral g R5
s e v
, m Poly r min –a
price or thickness
r fill o p lain in
➤ o s ed 5.9/
2 in - in g las e x trud g R
n ts, ne, av
ow ke tyre d–
(5 cm)
Bl a n l y s u n f ace
/bl Po age
d,
tts am,
Ba e f o
han
1 in
o l y uret
(2.5 cm) P

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
Insulation R-value
* For a given material, R is the reciprocal of the material’s overall heat-transmission
coefficient, which is measured in Btu’s per hour per square foot of surface area per de-
gree Fahrenheit temperature difference from one side of the material to the other.