Pondeuses JL relies on heat exchangers to reduce its natural gas bill and improve productivity on its farms
For Pondeuses JL, a family-owned business in Montérégie that specializes in raising turkeys, chickens and laying hens, energy efficiency makes all the difference. By installing heat exchangers in its barns, the company not only saves considerable energy and reduces GHG emissions, but also improves animal welfare—and hence profitability.
For its 40 livestock buildings, Jocelyn Leblanc, owner of Pondeuses JL, chose heat exchangers manufactured by ESA, a Quebec company specializing in air quality. The principle behind these devices is relatively simple, but very effective: outside air entering the building is preheated by air vented outside, which reduces the energy needed to maintain a comfortable temperature for the animals. In addition, a filtration system prevents fouling of the system by contaminants in the air vented outside (fine dust, down, feathers, ammonia, etc.).
Cost-effective technology
M. Leblanc is full of praise for his ESA-3000 heat exchangers. “They are easy to install, less expensive and really efficient. Right now, I think we’re saving about 70 percent on our natural gas bill,” he said. In addition, the low-voltage fans on the exchangers also save electricity, says Leblanc.
Healthier and more productive birds
Beyond energy savings, Leblanc finds that heat exchangers provide many other benefits: “Air quality is much better, birds are under less stress and they don’t need to eat as much to warm up. In addition, since preheating the air prevents the dew point effect that wets the litter, the animals are more comfortable and productive. This is a revolution compared to how we used to do things.”
Game-changing grants
To date, the Leblanc family has acquired nearly 200 ESA-3000 heat exchangers. To make these acquisitions, the company has benefited from more than $700,000 in grants1 to date under the energy efficiency measures implementation2 component of Énergir’s energy efficiency program. “The ESA-3000 heat exchangers are relatively new to the market and Énergir’s financial assistance has created a huge leverage effect on production and access to financing,” says Leblanc.
952,495 m³
of natural gas savings
1,799 tons of GHG
prevented annually
An investment in the future
Mr. Leblanc also highlighted Énergir’s efforts to decarbonize, which is an important facet of Pondeuses JL’s culture: “Énergir supports energy efficiency projects that reduce fossil natural gas consumption and its grants help us reduce our impact on the environment. As a family business, this is important to us and to the sustainability of our operations. It allows us to practice greener agriculture,” he says. The Leblanc family is so pleased with their choice that they are installing new ESA-3000 heat exchangers on the poultry operations they own in Alberta and Saskatchewan. “[Exchangers] are a big investment, but they help us to ensure the company’s succession and future—this is extremely important to us,” says Leblanc.
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1This amount includes grants to Volailles Yamaska, a Leblanc family business.
2Conditions apply for grants. See each program page for more information.
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