MIPS Project Detail:

AHPharma Food Safety Products, Inc.

Solar LED Lighting Systems for Poultry Houses

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Company

AHPharma Food Safety Products, Inc.

Salisbury

Wicomico

County

, Maryland

Founded:

2006

Website:

https://www.ahpharma.com/

Company Description:

The mission of AHPharma is to conduct private research for the agriculture industry and reinvest in the core business of the design, development, and commercialization of new technologies for improving animal agriculture production, nutrition, health, energy savings and housing techniques.

AHPharma’s radiant floors are designed to provide heat closer to bird activity via hot-water piping. By only emitting heat where it is needed, growers can reduce propane usage by up to 75 percent.

The company’s LED lighting system for poultry houses, called AviLighting®, reduces energy cost for growers by up to 94 percent per year over incandescent bulbs.

MIPS Project

Solar LED Lighting Systems for Poultry Houses

Project #

4205

|

MIPS Round

42 |

Starting Date:

Aug 2008

MIPS Project Challenge:
AHPharma developed a low-voltage, bird-height, LED lighting system for saving energy in poultry houses. For one of its MIPS projects, the company sought to work with faculty to demonstrate the effectiveness of its lighting system for both energy savings and improved bird performance.

Project Scope:
For the solar-powered LED lighting system project, researchers planned to: improve bird performance (less stress, improved feed conversion, more rapid growth, etc.) for birds grown under a combination of colored LEDs (cool white + blue) versus incandescent or fluorescents under standard integrator production protocols; improve energy savings with the solar-powered, DC low-voltage LED system versus 115 volt lighting systems; and conduct innovative cycling of colored light protocols (white to blue) within the production cycle (and short 3-4 hour periods) to stimulate meal feeding improvement.

Results:

AHPharma’s AviLighting® LED lighting system has made an important entry into the turkey-rearing industry. LED lights appear to save more than 75 percent over previouslyemployed lighting technology, while providing a biological means of calming the normally nervous breed of fowl, helping birds to conserve feed energy for growth potential. This product line has resulted in over $2.5 million in sales for AHPharma.

MIPS provides an avenue for the poultry industry to get on a path of sustainable agriculture, produce energy savings that result in quick payback and significant grower profits, provide technology needed to meet EPA regulations to have a positive impact on Chesapeake Bay Restoration, and provide a much-needed boost in the Maryland jobs market, not only in the manufacturing of new technology systems, but in the marketing, installation, and maintenance of these systems as well.

James L. McNaughton, President and CEO, AHPharma, Inc.