Solar energy storage for zootechnic applications

The main aim of this work is to make an economic evaluation of solar energy systems applied to the zootechnic field. As a typical application, a cattle-breeding farm was chosen, with the following energy requirements: stable heating during the cold season, heating of washing water, and the drying of hay during harvest. By means of a computer program simulating the hourly operative conditions of the whole system (solar source, storage and thermal load) it was possible to optimize the plant components in order to minimize energy costs. Results are referred to a plant situated in Sicily (Messina).