Agriculture is the oldest industry in history. Despite its age, it relies heavily on modern technology to continue operating safely and efficiently. The role of industrial heaters is essential to the agriculture industry.
The versatility of industrial circulation heaters makes them essential to agricultural practices. They are capable of automation, maintaining specific temperatures, and can serve many applications. This article will discuss the applications of industrial heaters in the agriculture industry.
Electric circulation heaters are becoming more popular in farming due to their lower environmental impacts, maintenance costs, and temperature control. Some of the other benefits include:
Pasteurization is one of the most important processes in the food and beverage industry. According to the CDC, unpasteurized(or raw) milk is responsible for three times more illnesses than any other food source.
In the dairy industry, pasteurization involves heating milk at a high temperature to kill germs. Pasteurization requires high heat that can be strictly regulated. We examined a dairy farm that made the switch from gas heated pasteurization to electric industrial heaters.
The farmer had four 800 gallon tanks that were used for two separate processes. One of these processes require high-temperature, short-term (HTST) heating. The other used ultra heat treatment (UHT). HTST pasteurized milk is then cooled and refrigerated. UHT is sealed in an airtight container.
Both of these processes rely on steady heat maintenance and benefit from the fast, uniform heat transfer of electric immersion heaters.
In this case, electric industrial circulation heaters were paired with digital sensors and control panels. This allowed them to offer stable and efficient heat transfer. As a result, they were able to ensure that highly specific temperatures could be maintained to highly specific time periods. They also allowed for a higher level of automation in the pasteurization process, therefore making the whole process more efficient and less costly.
High temperature processes are only one role of electric industrial heaters in agriculture. There are a number of important agricultural processes that require lower temperature heating.
One of the most common uses for lower temperature heating in agriculture is industrial convection heating.
Industrial convection heaters are a good solution for heating spaces. They are low maintenance and quiet because they do not use fans or motors. They can be used by themselves or as part of a series of heaters, depending on the size of the space they are heating. The ability to heat specific areas, as needed, makes them an economical choice. They are used for a number of important agricultural applications.
Some of the applications of industrial convection heating in agriculture include:
Keeping livestock healthy requires giving them a warm place to stay. Industrial heaters provide area heating to barns and other livestock holding facilities. Convection heating is especially useful in areas used for temporary holding where the number of livestock being held is not always constant. It allows for only heating as much space as required.
Area heating allows for maintaining goods in warehouses and storage facilities. This is important for removing moisture or keeping a specific temperature where required.
Drying crops requires highly controlled industrial heating. Crops need to be dried effectively for transport, storage, and to ensure they keep properly. The temperature needs to be high enough to dry, but low enough to minimize damage or risk of fire.
Equipment warming, especially in cooler climates, is essential to the long-term operation of machinery. Agricultural equipment is expensive and important to processes. By using an industrial heater to warm-up equipment, long-term damage and stress can be avoided. This leads to longer lasting and more efficient equipment.
Freeze protection is an important aspect of food processing. The ability to prevent liquid from freezing is crucial to agriculture industries. Freezing liquid can lead to not only the damage of the product but to tanks and equipment as well. Freeze prevention avoids expensive problems.
There are two main elements to freeze protection in agriculture. The first is insulation. The tank must be effectively insulated. Otherwise, any heat generated to prevent freezing will be lost. This is inefficient as more power will be required to maintain temperatures. As well it puts the liquid at higher risk of freezing.
The second is the heater. Electric industrial circulation heaters allow for better temperature maintenance and control. Electric circulation heaters provide heat quickly and uniformly. Digital controllers and sensors calculate the ongoing needs for temperature and are able to adjust to outside forces.
Choosing the right heater for agricultural applications will ensure you get the best lifespan and efficiency out of your industrial heater. Contact Wattco for information on finding the right heater for your process.
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