Free online tool helps farmers monitor and reduce electricity consumption

(01/04/2010)

ADAS is offering a free online tool to help farmers assess and reduce energy consumption and cut carbon emissions. ADAS’s interactive online Farm Management Resource tool, based on data from 900 farms, became available to farmers on the ADAS A+ website in March and is designed to help them assess whether they are needlessly wasting electricity in day to day operations.

Brian Angell, head of farming and rural advice at ADAS said rising electricity and fuel prices were a grave concern for farmers but could be mitigated with a series of low cost measures like reviewing energy providers, regular machinery maintenance, reviewing day to day operations such as travel and ensuring all staff are aware of the importance of reducing energy throughout the business.

He said: “Farmers are already feeling the pinch of fluctuating commodity prices and the rising cost of inputs. Factor in utility bills and government requirements to reduce CO2 emissions and some might find their figures just don’t make farming worthwhile. However resource efficiency assessments we’ve carried out suggest most farms could reduce electricity and fuel use by at least 10 % and in some instances we’ve found opportunities to save 60 per cent which equate to very significant financial saving in an industry with tight margins.

“What we really want to do with this tool is help farmers monitor electricity consumption and then reduce it. All the signs are that electricity prices are going to rise significantly – perhaps by a quarter on current in the next decade – and that’s a major threat to profitability.”

The free Farm Management Resource is available to ADAS A+ subscribers. On the A+ site, users log details of their own operations, including size, type historic electricity consumption and any other key factors which could affect energy use. This data is compared against baseline data collected from 900 farms of various types, sizes, efficiency and location around the country.

Once all the data has been inputted, the software compares energy use and ranks the farm according to a traffic light system: green, amber and red.

Brian Angell said: “Those farms that are marked as amber could make significant savings and those that are ranked as the red need to take urgent action to reduce their energy consumption because it’s both unsustainable and easily avoidable.

Related categories:  Energy saving technologies