Clean air is critical to animals’ respiratory health, while keeping cows cool is increasingly important in a warming climate.
Keeping the air inside a cowshed in motion is crucial – it supports natural ventilation and ensures a consistent, healthy airflow.
Ventilation removes harmful, stale air and helps cows to more effectively release excess body heat. Natural ventilation is of course an important part of the barn design – but it can also be supported with carefully placed fans for optimum effect. “Barn ventilation is much more than simply hanging a fan,” says Eric Bussem, Managing Director at Abbi-Aerotech. “That’s why it’s important to be well-informed about the different ventilation concepts. What are your goals with ventilation, and which concept suits your barn setup best?”
Abbi-Aerotech introduced its cross ventilation system in 2015, and the concept is increasingly being applied across the globe, says Eric. “Cross ventilation is the only system that cools your cows while supporting and improving the natural ventilation in your barn. This leads to a cooling airflow, which draws fresh air in through the sidewalls and disperses the heated ‘used’ barn air through the ridge. The air quality in the barn is significantly improved, which in turn has a highly positive effect on your cattle.”
Cross ventilation
Cross ventilation cools cows much better than other ventilation concepts because the airflows along the length of the animals in the cubicles and at the feed fence, he explains. “As a result, the cow’s body heat dissipates more quickly and over a larger body surface area.” However, there must be enough natural ventilation through the sidewalls and the ridge to allow for sufficient air exchange. “Fans can be mounted on both sides of the barn, provided the ridge vents are large enough,” adds Eric. “The fans are placed at regular intervals along the inside of the barn in front of the curtain. Depending on the barn width, an additional row of fans can be installed. This approach works particularly well with the energy-efficient, direct-drive Abbifan ventilators. The Curved Wave propeller blades generate airflow with consistently optimal airspeed.”
Longitudinal ventilation
For those who cannot implement cross ventilation (because the barn is too low, for instance), or who just want to cool cows by adding air circulation to the barn, then longitudinal ventilation would be the next option to consider.
Here, fans are mounted behind each other along the barn’s length, explains Eric. “In contrast to the cross-ventilation concept, fresh air is not actively drawn into the barn. Research show that for longitudinal ventilation, the best results are achieved when the fans are placed both over the walkway along the feed fence and the cubicles themselves. “As with cross ventilation, the ideal airflow is achieved when the fans run at full speed. The air speed and the fan’s throw determine the distance between the fans in the barn.”
Additional (adiabatic) cooling
Besides cooling the barn using Abbifans, additional cooling with water (misting or soaking) can achieve another cooling effect of 4-6 °C in air temperature!
Soaking is used in waiting areas and behind feed barriers, because the whole surrounding will get wet. Misting therefore can be used in the whole barn, also in the cubicle area! Reason? Cows, bedding, walking and feed alleys will stay dry! The atomised water droplets evaporate immediately, cooling the ambient temperature, which in turn allows the cows to release their body heat. Each fan (Abbifan and Appi-Apex) is mounted with a misting bracket with several nozzles (sprinklers). A high-pressure pump supplies water at 60-70 bar to the nozzles.
The great advantages of Abbifans
- The most energy efficient: Only 0.53kW
- The quietest: Only 55dB(A)
- The greenest: Close to 100% circular
- Latest direct-drive motor technology
- No frequency control, needed
- No motor protection switch needed
- No special wiring needed
- Maintenance-free, no wearing parts
Vertical ventilation
Ceiling fans are characterised by extensive air dis-placement at low rotational speeds. The fan exerts vertical airflow, ‘pressing’ the air down, as it were. The rotor’s low rotational speed makes a ceiling fan highly suitable for cooling areas like group housing, straw-bedding pens, sick pens, and calving pens and milking parlours.
Finding the right solution for optimising barn climate and combating heat stress to keep your livestock and profits healthy involves so much more than just placing a fan somewhere. Together with our specialised dealers, we are here to help you!
We will also be attending Dairy Day 2026. Feel free to visit us and learn more about our solutions for a healthy barn climate. Together with our colleagues, you can discuss your requirements and explore the possibilities.
Visit us at Booth L24 in Ludlow. We look forward to meeting you there!
Please see below for more information:
T +31 184 711 344
sales@abbi-aerotech.com
www.abbi-aerotech.com