Fuel Savings Estimates for Conversion from Pilot Ignition to Spark Ignition Brooders for Broiler Production

Production of broiler chickens requires a large amount of energy for space heating. The majority of this energy is used during the brooding period. Energy use data from broiler farms in Georgia and Arkansas were used to estimate the amount of energy wasted by radiant brooder pilot lights while operating in standby mode. This information was used to develop a work sheet to estimate the annual fuel savings that can be achieved by converting to spark ignition brooders. It was determined that 10% to 29% of the annual propane (LP) gas requirements on a broiler farm can be wasted by pilot lights operating in stand-by mode .At current LP gas prices, elimination of the pilot light by using spark ignition brooders can save $4717 to $7878 per year for a four-house farm depending on pilot light gas flow rate, and will pay for the added expense of spark ignition brooding equipment in 0.7 to 1.1 years.