Published online by Cambridge University Press: 08 February 2008
A well-designed environmental control system is the most efficient tool to ensure optimal production in livestock housing. In countries having a hot climate, such as Spain, the former comprises a large proportion of the capital invested in housing, and it deserves a thorough assessment. Most of the research carried out has been done in countries with a temperate climate and considering short hot periods, or even without them. The efficiency of the evaporative cooling system, which is commonly used in hot climate areas, depends upon the pad wetted surface area exposed to the passing air. Keeping the chosen inside temperature requires a definite cooled down of the outdoor air that is related to the ‘temperature tolerance’, i.e. the difference between inside and incoming air temperatures. The objective of this work was to establish the temperature tolerance when using the steady-state heat balance in commercial poultry housing. The heat balance estimates were imbalanced whenever the difference between indoor and outdoor temperature was less than 2°C. Substituting the exhaust air temperature for the indoor temperature in the expression that provides the heat drawn out through ventilation balanced the heat equation. The difference between inside and incoming air temperatures, temperature tolerance, has to be at least 2°C.