Climate Change Case Study: CSL Varivac
Dairy farming is an energy-intensive business. Without careful management, energy use in milking sheds can have serious environmental and financial impacts for farmers. Luckily, energy-efficient computerised dairy farming systems are bringing New Zealand farmers huge savings and improving livestock productivity.
At the forefront of developing this cutting-edge dairy technology is Opunake-based Corkill Systems Limited (CSL). CSL, founded by Steve Corkill in 1985, specialising in the research and implementation of computerised variable speed control systems and programming tools for dairy farms.
CSL’s flagship product is the Varivac, the first system of its kind designed to alleviate some of the problems associated with high energy use in milking sheds.
The Varivac is a software-driven, vacuum control system created specifically for use in milking sheds. The controller manages the level of vacuum in the dairy to ensure that the vacuum pump energy use is sufficient only for the number of cows being milked at any one time.
The Varivac was, for some time, the only product of its kind in the world. Steve developed the idea on returning to New Zealand in the mid-80s from working on oil rigs abroad, "I saw the dairy sheds here hadn’t changed at all and yet there was all this great technology available."
During the early 1990s, the water ring vacuum pump became very popular in milking sheds. At that time, Steve was working as an electrical contractor, "I noticed a lot of people saying things like ‘since I built my new shed my power bill has gone through the roof.’ So, I set about finding a way to control that."
"There didn’t appear to be anything else like it in the world when we started and since then, we have worked really hard to finesse the water ring vacuum pump systems," he says.
Farmers who have installed the Varivac have been enjoying huge savings on their power bills, as well as unexpected stock health and productivity benefits. Sales Manager Vern Coxhead says the Varivac saves farmers up to 25 per cent of their electricity use in the shed. However, he says, "the system makes the cows more comfortable so they milk faster and more cleanly. We have documented cases of overall energy savings that end up around 50 or 60 per cent."
Moreoever, power savings from the Varivac system occur when it is really needed. Milking occurs during peak electricity consumption periods in the mornings and early evenings, and largely over summer when hydro lake levels are low.
The Varivac is installed in between 400-500 New Zealand dairy farms and overall, farmers are delighted. "They ring us and say they’re over the moon. You get people coming up to you at Fieldays saying ‘That product is awesome, what else have you got?’, or recommending the Varivac to other farmers," says Steve.
"One farmer came up to me at my son’s rugby game and said the power savings on their farm had been so dramatic, the power company had been out to see them three times to check the meter!"
For further information visit:
Meridian Energy For Your Farm - www.meridianenergy.co.nz/yourfarm
Genesis Energy - www.genesisenergy.co.nz/dairysavings
Energy Efficiency Conservation Authority - www.eeca.govt.nz
Last updated: 14 April 2008
