Innovative milk chiller being snapped up by dairy farmers

An innovative snap milk chilling system that improves milk quality, saves energy and lowers power bills, is achieving widespread acceptance in the dairy industry. Designed by Hamilton-based refrigeration specialist, Coolsense, three installations of the Vari-COOL chilling system were part-funded by the Energy Ef¿ciency and Conservation Authority (EECA) through its technology demonstration programme. The demonstration farms were chosen in different regions – South and North Canterbury and Waitoa, near Morrinsville – to showcase the technology to local farmers. Meddo Farm owner Hans Geessink was faced with having to ¿nd a new water supply for his farm in Waitoa. However, when Geessink put down a new bore, the temperature of the water he found there was 26°C, six degrees higher than his previous supply. At the same time impending stricter milk chilling regulations were signalled for all dairy farms in New Zealand. “We had our hands up against our back,” Geessink says. “It meant we could no longer comply with the milk chilling standards and we ran the risk of our milk being rejected by the dairy company. We needed to ¿nd a snap milk chilling system that could cope with the increased demand without our power bill going through the roof.” After investigating several options, Geessink decided to install the Vari-COOL system. Immediately there was a marked difference in his milk temperature at time of pick-up, dropping from 8°C to 4°C. While the higher bore water temperature was expected to increase the milk cooling requirement by 30 per cent, energy consumption on Meddo Farm after installation of the Vari-COOL system has remained the same as the previous years. EECA manager of the technology demonstration programme, Dinesh Chand, said the overall aim of the technology demonstration programme is to support energy ef¿ciency, or renewable energy, technologies that are underused in New Zealand and which will lead to quanti¿able energy and carbon emissions savings. “We are looking for technologies that are innovative, under-utilised or have not been applied in the New Zealand environment,” says Chand. “We support projects that can be replicated by other businesses so that bene¿ts go beyond the early adopter. “Support is provided to help share the risk for the project. There is a national advantage if the technology is successful and if others take it up.” In this case, take-up of the technology has been signi¿cant. “It is very encouraging that 80 dairy farms are using the Vari-COOL technology already and there are plenty more in the pipeline,” he says. Coolsense technical director Allan Steele, who invented the Vari-COOL technology, said the ability to demonstrate the technology in action de¿nitely provided traction. “Having one machine on the ground that you can study and prove the ef¿ciencies of the system was great, particularly for showing the good return on investment story,” he says. In the Culverden, in North Canterbury, 20 out of 98 dairy farms in the region have installed the equipment. Another seven are installing it in the offseason in June and July. Redwood Downs Partners, which operated one of the demonstration farms, has since purchased three more systems for other farms. The Vari-COOL system also produces hot water through waste heat recovery for use in the milking shed. Energy savings vary from farm to farm depending on season, location, herd size and milking pattern. For the three farms in the EECA demonstration programme initial ¿gures show electricity savings of up to 30 per cent with ongoing testing underway to accurately quantify these ¿gures. Steele said that for a 1200-cow farm with a 60-bale rotary milking plant, additional investment of around $15,000 was required for a Vari-COOL over conventional milk chilling equipment. However, savings of around $800 per month on electricity costs put the payback at around 18 months and the equipment has a 20-year life, giving a net gain of over $100,000. Chand said high ground water temperatures are a problem for many dairy farmers, particularly in the Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Northland. And with new milk cooling regulations that came into effect last year, many farmers are having to upgrade their milk chilling systems. Not all farms will have to upgrade – it is best to ¿nd out before spending money. “But if you have to then this is a very cost and energy-effective solution. It’s expensive to run a dairy farm and the average New Zealand dairy farm spends over $20,000 a year on electricity,” Chand says. “So any technology that helps reduce this spend is a big bonus for farmers.” Meddo Farm has held open days so local dairy farmers could see for themselves the advantages of this energy saving technology. To qualify for technology demonstration funding from EECA, projects must reduce energy intensity or greenhouse gas emissions, be applicable to multiple businesses in a sector, and must be ¿nancially viable, with a reasonable payback period. Funding for both capital and showcasing the technology can cover up to 40 per cent of a project cost to a maximum of $100,000.