Peter Doolan is a third-generation dairy farmer at Doolan Farms. Peter share farms with his brother Sam, their wives and his parents in Ecklin South, southwest Victoria milking 600 cows on about 280 hectares.
Milk cooling and water heating made up approximately two thirds of the farm’s energy usage. Through the installation of a glycol water chiller and CO2 heat pump the business has been able to halve the energy use in both these areas. The technology allows the farm to maximise the utilisation of the solar energy generated on-farm and reduce peak load demand during morning and night milkings which occur when there is limited or no solar production.
The glycol water chiller acts as a thermal battery. Water is cooled using energy generated by the PV solar system during the day and stored in an underground tank. During milking, the water is pumped through the plate cooler chilling the milk to 5-6°C when it enters the vat.
The CO2 heat pump also acts as a thermal battery using energy generated by the PV solar system to heat water during the day. This has reduced water heating energy usage by 50% and with some tweaking should be able to reduce energy usage by 75%.
Jarrod Leak, Australian Alliance for Energy Productivity (A2EP), recommends assessing your own circumstances. It is nice to hear that a heat pump has worked for neighbours but you need to understand what you are being offered.
Transcript – Doolans Energy Smart Dairy Farm with Heat Pump Technology
