In the same article, Dr. Brad Cumper of Saqinaw Valley Equine Clinic in Freeland, Michigan unequivocally states, "Poor barn ventilation can ultimately kill your horse."
Poor air quality is due to many things found inside the barn, including mold from grasses, hay and other substances, rancid smells from urine, and pathogens floating in the air. Lack of ventilation means horses have to breath this stale dirty air (think about how you feel after breathing the air in an airplane for hours on end).
In addition, horses are subject to heat stress; the hot summer months can be brutal on horses in barns that lack sufficient ventilation.
Box fans are ok but . . .
Many horse owners use high speed box fans to keep horses cool and to help circulate stale air. The problem with these fans is that they consume vast amounts of energy, they're expensive to run, and you need lots of them to cool down a barn. They kick up a ton of dust and they're also just plain ugly — as seen by this horse barn box fan that recently was for sale on eBay (notice how much dust is on this thing — yech!).
HVLS Barn Fans Gently Blow Air Down and Out
A relatively new technology, High Volume Low Speed (HVLS) fans were invented by our founder, Walter Boyd, in 1995 to help cool dairy cattle. Cows won't eat when they're under heat stress and stressed out cows don't give milk.
For some people, the slow movement of an HVLS fan is deceptive — how can a slow moving fan cool down animals in a hot barn? The answer has to do with the physics of airflow. Because they're so large, HVLS ceiling fans move a large column of air down and then out 360 degrees. This large, slow moving air mass moves throughout the barn, mixing and circulating air more efficiently and cooling livestock without creating unnecessary noise and drafts or kicking up dust.
Ranging in size from 8 to 24 feet in diameter, our HVLS fans create a cool gentle breeze during the summer months. During winter months, our barn fans can be run in reverse to move and mix hot elevated air (at ceiling level) with cold air (at floor level) to even out and raise the overall temperature in your barn — ensuring your horses remain comfy no matter what the temperature outside.
HVLS Barn Fans are Energy Efficient
One MacroAir HVLS Barn Fan can cover up to 20,000 square feet and can replace 50 high-speed box fans reducing noise, energy costs, and maintenance. In fact, one HVLS barn fan costs less than a dollar per day to operate!
If you want to learn more about how an HVLS barn fan can help your horses remain healthy, happy and cool, just give us a call.
More Info: https://macroairfans.com
