Proof Coop Insulation Does Nothing.

[patandchickens]

Mrs. AK-Bird-Brain :

Maybe Mythbusters can help with this...

I can so totally see Adam standing there talking to the camera with a hen sitting on his head

Pat​

 

[joebryant]

I'm gettin' a headache.

 

[Chickens-246]

Pat, Your grabbing at straws, with your opinionated "facts" and everything I do is "flawed". You indicate that you hate advance technology and seem to be trying to debunk it by any means possible, via my "flawed" testing or my "lack of knowledge". Assuming I know "nothing" is a bad assumption and I consider this a personal attack since you don't know me or my background. "You" are not the only professional here, but it does seem you lack common sense. Re-read post 34.

Go back and read only my posts, you see some of your debunking has been addressed.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
'Scuse me????

I'm a coauthor on a _Nature_ paper in which I was the one running the $100,000 gizmo for detecting trace gas production by protozoans/algae/bacteria. I am married to an computer sysadmin/security guy. I got no problem with advanced technology.

I only have problems with not understanding what it does tell you, and what it doesn't.

Assuming I know "nothing" is a bad assumption

I'm not assuming that. And I have certainly never said that, which your quotation marks would seem to imply.

I am observing that your arguments and data do NOT support your title thesis (they simply don't address it).

Go back and read only my posts, you see some of your debunking has been addressed.

No, no it hasn't.

I believe I've made my point, and probably have nothing further to add here.


Pat​

 

[RIBill]

Can I agree with both sides? First, I must state that I have no advanced degree in thermodynamics or anything similar. That said, I am using a common sense approach. I think the link between both sides is heat loss. If the ventilation is so great that a temperature equilibrium is reached in a fully insulated coop, then in fact the insulation does nothing. Stating the obvious, insulation doesn't produce heat. Therefore, insulation will not make a coop warmer. Insulation only reduces heat loss. Ideally, it would reduce the heat loss to a point where temperatures inside the coop will stay the same or increase (in winter). If a very well ventilated coop is located in a cold, windy area, it is entirely likely that insulation would do nothing. If, on the other hand, the coop has large windows, heating devices and other heat inputs then the insulation would be highly effective at keeping the coop warmer at night until the passive solar heat returns.

 

[Mrs MIA]

Quote:
I can so totally see Adam standing there talking to the camera with a hen sitting on his head

Pat

Maybe I'll write to them.

 

[Mac in Wisco]

RIBill is correct. The infrared data is incomplete without knowing the temperature difference between the inside and the outside of the coop.

The greater the difference in the temperature the greater the heat loss is, the smaller the the temperature difference the smaller the heat loss. To say that insulation makes no difference because you only see a slight difference in temp between the two areas in the image only tells me that the temperature difference between the two panels is minimized because there is little difference between the inside and outside temperatures.

Your theory is somewhat correct if you are over-ventilating. If the inside temperature is the same as the outside then the insulation does nothing, but you say that there is heat retained in the coop because it is somewhat warmer inside. If there is some heat retained then the insulation will do something. Whether the cost of the insulation is worth the additional energy retained in the coop at relatively small inside/outside temperature differences is debatable.

I've done a rough heat analysis on our layer barn:

When it is -15 F outside and I want to keep it at 65 F, I have a temperature delta of 80 degs.
Ventilating at 1250 CFM gives an air demand of 109,000 btu/hr, structural loss at that temperature difference is 30,000 btu/hr (taking into account the R-value of the walls and ceilings and the surface area involved).
The hens produce around 105,000 per hour.
This gives me a net loss of 34,000 btus per hour.
How can I maintain a 65 deg inside temperature under these conditions? Propane produces 90,000 btu/gal. I would need to burn .38 gals of propane every hour make up for the 34,000 btu/hr deficit.

What if increased my insulation to reduce the structural loss by 50%? Given that my structural loss is just about equal to my energy deficit (at the given temperature difference), then a 50% reduction in structural loss is equal to a 50% savings in propane.

 

[Attila the Hen]

I love the pics of the chickens. I knew those feet were really hot. I wonder how they keep them so warm.

 

[Mrs MIA]

OMG... I don't even keep my HOUSE at 65*F in the winter time... I hope that was just for the sake of the example...

 

[Mac in Wisco]

Mrs. AK-Bird-Brain :

OMG... I don't even keep my HOUSE at 65*F in the winter time... I hope that was just for the sake of the example...

No, I actually do keep it at 65. I have a layer barn of 2500 hens producing certified organic eggs. If the hens are kept below 50 F then there is a marked decline in production. Also, as the temperature drops they consume more feed. Below 65 degrees the increase in feed consumption goes up rather quickly. I can either feed them more of the expensive organic feed or I can heat it with propane and also keep the conditions rather nice in there. Over the 4 month heating season here I spend around $1000 in propane heating the layer barn. Over that period they eat around $17,000 in feed. If they eat 5% or 6% less in feed during that period because of the increased temperature in the barn, then the propane is paid for by reduced feed costs.

It's a wash either way. I can spend the money on feed or I can spend it on propane. I choose propane because it keeps the environment nicer in there and the litter in better condition with less ammonia production.

By the way... It's 30 F outside right now and it's 70 F in the barn right now, without any supplemental heat. That's because the barn is well insulated and the ventilation is adjusted to the minimum rate to keep the humidity and ammonia in check. My birds are nice and cozy, running around the barn picking through a few hay bales I gave them earlier in the day.​