Effect of farrowing room temperature adjustment on total electrical energy consumption and sow and litter performance
A 445-sow commercial study in southern Brazil comparing two farrowing-room temperature programs. Raising the cooling setpoint by 2 °C cut total electrical energy use by 20.4% (≈ US$1.00/sow), but reduced sow lactation feed intake (6.5 vs 6.3 kg/day) and litter weaning weight by 5.8 kg, translating to a US$5.28/litter/sow economic loss — substantially outweighing the energy savings.