Dairy Farm Lighting
The Value of Proper Light Levels
Tips to Save Energy
Use fluorescent lighting instead of
incandescent lighting.
Regularly turn off lights when they are
not needed.
Light only work areas, rather than
entire buildings.
Keep lamps, tubes, reflectors, and
lenses clean.
Install timers or motion sensors where
appropriate.
Replace mercury vapor, standard
metal halide and high pressure sodium
fixtures with pulse start metal halide.
Recommended Dairy
Illumination
Milking Parlor
General Lighting: 20 footcandles (f-c)
Operators Pit: 50 f-c
Milk Room
General Lighting: 20 f-c
Washing Area: 100 f-c
Bulk Tank Interior: 100 f-c
Loading Platform: 20 f-c
Utility or Equipment Room: 20 f-c
Holding Area: 10 f-c
Treatment and Maternity Areas
General Lighting: 10 f-c
Treatment or Surgery: 100 f-c
Office: 50 f-c
Feeding area, tie-stall barn: 10 f-c
Feeding area, free-stall barn: 20 f-c
For more information, call EnSave at (800) 732-1399.
65 Millet Street, Suite 105 | Richmond, Vermont 05477 | www.ensave.com
Proper lighting can improve worker efficiency, safety, and comfort. It is an important
consideration in the planning, construction, or maintenance of dairy facilities.
Cost Effective Energy Efficient Lighting
Factors affecting efficiency include amount of light per watt and lamp life. Linear
fluorescent and pulse start metal halide systems are more expensive to purchase than
incandescent fixtures and bulbs. However, the energy cost savings combined with
longer lamp life offset these higher initial costs for energy-efficient lighting systems.
Selection Criteria
Characteristics to consider when choosing between the different types of fixtures
include cost, availability from suppliers, geographic location of your farm, and
operating conditions. Linear fluorescent lighting fixtures come in a wide range of
options: low and high bay, cold starting, and vapor proof for wet or damp locations. It
is important to consider the temperature range that the ballast will be performing becauase
some ballasts are optimum for cold starting but may be too warm for enclosed or vapor-
sealed fixtures. A high output ballast may not be necessary if the ambient temperature
will not go below 50 degrees Fahrenheit. If it is in a wet or dusty environment then a
vapor sealed fixture will protect the fixture and facilitate cleaning. For outside lighting
such as pole or wall pack fixtures, consider using pulse start metal halide fixtures.
Pulse start metal halide fixtures will provide equal light output using less energy than
traditional mercury vapor, standard metal halide, and high pressure sodium fixtures.
Linear fluorescent and pulse start metal halide fixtures use quick starting electronic
ballasts and have overcome the slow start up time typically associated with high
intensity discharge (HID) and fluorescent lighting.
At left are recommended illumination levels for various areas of the dairy. The unit
of illumination is the footcandle, (f-c) which is defined as one lumen falling on
each square foot of work area. A lumen is a measure of the rate of flow of light from
a source such as a lamp or the sun. These recommended illumination levels can be
met with various types of lamps. In selecting the lamp type, the most important
characteristics are light quality and energy efficiency. The quality of the lighting
installation is influenced by the color of the light, light uniformity, glare, and reflection
of the surfaces in the room.
ENSAVE, INC. 2011