Milk Chilling - Overview

Improve milk chilling energy efficiency by up to 18%

Farms audits have shown that around 17% of the total energy used on a dairy farm goes into chilling milk.

Milk leaves a cow at approximately 38.6°C and needs cooling to below 7°C within three hours of milking and often the need be stored before pickup. Until the milk is collected it needs to be kept at the chilled temperature (often around 4-5°C), which is usually below the surrounding ambient conditions. One collection per day is standard.

There are a few ways to reduce the amount of energy you use to chill milk. Immediate savings can be realised by following these simple but effective energy saving tips:

• Carry out a regular maintenance programme to keep equipment working efficiently - this includes replacing filter fans. and cleaning air condensers. When cleaning condenser take care not to damage fins as this reduces efficiency.
• Maintain the correct refrigerant charge.

To make a reduction to your long-term milk chilling operating costs, the best opportunities include:

• Using a pre-cooler.
• Insulating your milk vat.
• Investigating the economics of installing an ice bank or chilled water storage system.