How to Choose Poultry Cooling Systems — Buyer's Guide
Above 28 °C, bird performance falls off a cliff. Cooling is not optional in tropical, arid or continental-summer climates — it is the second half of the ventilation investment.
- — Any project with design temperature ≥ 30 °C
- — Retrofit where summer performance drops sharply
- — Breeder houses in hot regions
- — Broilers in hot climates — evap pads + tunnel fans
- — Layers and breeders — evap pads or high-pressure fogging
- — Hatcheries — dedicated HVAC (different discipline)
Selection criteria
Evap pads work best in dry climates (large wet-bulb depression); fogging suits mild-humid; refrigeration only for hatchery.
Iron, hardness and bacterial load destroy pads and clog nozzles within months if untreated.
Undersized pads bottleneck the whole ventilation system. 4″ or 6″ pads at 1.2–1.5 m/s face velocity.
Blowdown ratio, sump size and pump backup — small line items, big impact on pad life.
Cooling activates on temperature and humidity, not just temperature.
Pad area sized to tunnel air velocity × face-velocity target. Typical: 1 m² of 6″ pad per 4,500–5,500 m³/h airflow. Always calculate for the specific climate — one rule of thumb does not cover both Nigeria and Saudi Arabia.
Cooling itself is low-energy (pump + water). The energy cost is the tunnel fans that pull air through the pads — see the ventilation guide.
Monthly pad cleaning, quarterly water treatment audit, annual pad replacement in aggressive climates. Fogging nozzles need weekly inspection.
Budget considerations
Class 4 estimate — indicative CAPEX bands, subject to detailed design.
| Scenario | Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Small house (10k birds) | USD 4,000–9,000 | Pad wall + pump + basic filtration |
| Mid-size house (30k birds) | USD 12,000–25,000 | Full pad system + water treatment + fogging assist |
| Large house (60k+ birds) | USD 25,000–50,000 | Redundant pumps + monitoring + spare pads |
Procurement checklist
- Wet-bulb and dry-bulb design temperatures documented
- Pad depth (4″ or 6″) and area specified
- Water treatment package included
- Sump size and blowdown ratio in the RFQ
- Backup pump specified
- Cleaning and replacement schedule in SAT
- — Buying pads without treating the water first
- — Undersizing pad area — bottlenecks tunnel airflow
- — Skipping backup pump — pad failure = house heat event
- — Fogging without pressure control — wet litter and welfare hits
Frequently asked questions
Pads or fogging?
Is refrigeration ever justified?
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Read the full category specifications, checklists and budget bands.
Buyer credit, ECA and leasing options — subject to third-party approval.