The chicken house has become increasingly popular in recent years. It should be warm, bright, and dry. The conditions should be maintained throughout the year, but it is especially important to ensure that the chickens have the right conditions during the winter period. The main parameters that need to be controlled are temperature, lighting, and humidity. An infrared heater is usually used to maintain an optimum temperature of around +15°C. That is one of the most cost-effective and efficient ways of heating and poses no risk to chickens or humans. There should be about 12 hours of light per day in the poultry house, regardless of the season. Different types of bulbs can be used, including traditional incandescent bulbs. Humidity in the chicken coop is also important, as excessive moisture causes the growth of various pathogenic flora. A natural or supply/exhaust system should ensure an optimum humidity of 60-70%. In winter, it is also important to be able to regulate the degree to which the chicken house door can be opened. They should open and serve as natural ventilation, but the door must not remain open too long not to lose heat.
For optimal housing conditions, health maintenance, and high egg-laying performance, automation systems can be developed using equipment from akYtec GmbH. We offer two system variants to suit different needs.
1. Standard version
In this version, the Mini-PLC PR100 is the base unit. Up to 12 different input signals can be connected to its inputs, of which 4 can be analog (0...10 V, 4...20 mA) or discrete and the remaining 8 only discrete. It is possible, for example, for a heater to be switched on once an hour for about 5 minutes or when the temperature falls below a certain value. In addition to temperature, PR100 allows discrete control of lighting (e.g. 8:00 a.m. - on, 10:00 p.m. - off), fan, poultry coop door opening. For the simplest visualization, a SMI200 panel can be connected to the PR100.
The standard concept using equipment from akYtec GmbH
2. Advanced version
The Mini-PLC PR200 allows you to create a more complex system. The PR200 allows you to smoothly control the lighting, compared to PR100, depending on the photodiode readings so that the transition from darkness to light will not happen abruptly, but more naturally. You can control the operation of the heater more precisely. The analog outputs of the PR200 allow the creation of various climate control algorithms. In addition, the PR200 allows a wide range of visualization options. A human-machine interface can be installed to display the most relevant information such as:
- the temperature inside and outside the chicken house;
- switched on devices (light, heater, fan);
- warning about low temperature, high humidity, etc.
Using various network gateways, the PR200 (or other devices with RS485 interface) can be connected to the Cloud service via a GPRS / Wi-Fi channel.
The advanced concept using equipment from akytec GmbH
A poultry house will provide tasty, nutritious, and environmentally friendly products, as well as fertilizer in the form of poultry manure. The use of automation can significantly improve productivity, ensure consistent product quality and reduce chicken house maintenance time. AkYtec GmbH is a reliable and competent partner for any questions regarding your new project.
