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Effect of different roof design on dairy cattle heat load in warm periods using simplified steady-state heat balance
Published by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, St. Joseph, Michigan www.asabe.org
Citation: 2026 ASABE Annual International Meeting 2600694.(doi:10.13031/aim.202600694)Authors: Bjarne Bjerg, Li Rong, Peter Kai
Keywords: Dairy cow, heat balance, heat load, high reflective, roof materials.
Abstract. Cattle housing is traditionally constructed with uninsulated roofs because construction costs are lower. However, the challenge of uninsulated roofs is to maintain dry barn condition during cold periods and to risk animals being exposed to an additional heat load during warm and sunny periods. If the roof of cattle barns can be insulated or use high-reflective material during summer with large solar radiation, the cooling load could be significantly reduced, leading to lower air exchange requirement. In addition, this can also reduce the airflow required in winter. This is highly beneficial when emissions are considered to be captured due to climate change.
This study investigated how roof insulation and more reflective roof surfaces could influence the ceiling surface temperature of the roof and thus the ACH. There are five connected steady state heat balance equations used to estimate the roof surface temperature, the ceiling surface temperature, the indoor air temperature, and the floor surface temperature, respectively, in which the values of the last three temperatures were subsequently applied in a steady state heat balance model to estimate the cattle‘s body temperature. The results showed the extent to which roof insulation or the use of more reflective roofs can contribute to reduce in cooling load on dairy cows or to compensate for a reduced air exchange requirement.
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