THERMAL INSULATION WITH RECYCLED MATERIAL IN CREEPS FOR PIGLETS

ABSTRACT In the swine intensive farming, one of the biggest problems is to meet the thermal requirements of piglets in heated creeps, which demand high consumption of electricity and increase in production costs. The aim of this study was to evaluate the thermal efficiency and the consumption of electric energy in heated and internal insulated creeps, made of recycled material, when compared to creeps without thermal insulation. The treatments were: control (TCON): creep heated through suspended electric resistance, controlled by thermostat; thermal insulation with recycled material (TPK). The experiment was carried out for 21 days. In the treatments, the temperature (°C) and relative humidity (RH) of the air, consumption of electric energy (kWh), specific consumption (kWh kg-1), specific cost (R$ kg-1), weight gain (kg) and daily weight gain (kg day-1) were measured. The indoor insulation creep kept the upper air temperature (33.05°C) to the control treatment without thermal insulation (32.6°C) and was more efficient in the use of electric energy (2.46 kWh) in comparison to the non-insulated creep (3.48 kWh). The heat-insulated creep shelter consumed the equivalent of 1.02 kWh more than the insulation treatment to maintain the thermal comfort condition of piglets between 30 and 34 ° C. The conclusion is that the use of recycled material as thermal insulation in heated creeps reduces heat losses and economy electricity.