Farming · livestock

Heat stress starts at 23 °C.

Long before a heatwave. Rindergesundheit Schweiz puts the onset of heat stress in dairy cows at 23 °C outside air and 35% humidity — and the cost shows up in the milk tank.

What the heat costs

Up to 20% less milk

The Rindergesundheit Schweiz leaflet reports up to 20% less milk yield, about one hour less lying time a day, and up to 50% more water drunk.

What actually cools a cow

Moving air over the lying area

The same leaflet calls for at least 2 m/s of air over the lying areas, where the animals spend ten to twelve hours. An evaporative cooler brings both at once: the air flow and the cooled air.

What has to be checked

Evaporative cooling adds humidity

That is the limit of the method, and in a barn it matters: if the air cannot get out, the humidity rises and the effect falls away. The survey first records the ventilation already in place and the openings, before anything is proposed.

The water comes from the farm, not from a contract: 18 litres an hour on the RS-A15C, 65 on the RS-A20C — the two models for which the manufacturer states it. A 230 V socket is enough, and there is no refrigerant to declare or top up.

Common questions

Is the humidity not a problem in a barn?

That is the real question. The air blown in picks up moisture, and if the barn cannot get rid of it the effect dies away. The survey looks at the existing ventilation first — and sometimes concludes that what the barn needs is opening up, not cooling.

How much water does it use?

18 litres an hour on the RS-A15C and 65 on the RS-A20C: the two models for which the manufacturer states a figure. The water comes from the farm's own supply.

Is it suitable for a greenhouse?

Evaporative cooling is standard practice in greenhouses. But a crop does not ask for the same thing as a herd: the survey starts from the crop, the ventilation already in place and the humidity you are aiming for.

Barn, greenhouse or farm building?

Tell us the building, the herd and the ventilation already in place. We reply within one working day.

Request a survey