Solar/Battery underfloor heating for donkey shelter

Zuiderzee

OK, a little unusual. I want to build a shed – shelter for my donkey, Delaney, and his friend.
I have a design in mind that would provide constant access and a rain water collection system for fresh water without having to lay down mains pipes.

One thing I would like to install is an under floor heating system, particularly for colder weather later in the year when the ground is frosty or frozen.

My first thought is electric – no problems with freezing liquids or bursting pipes.
I am open to suggestions on geothermal options.

As it will be off the grid it would need to be powered by battery.

I work on ships, and have frequently seen in freefall life boats that a photo voltaic cell is used to provide the charge for them.

A timer or automatic operation based on temperature activation option would be ideal

Has anyone here ever seen or undertaken anything similar?
I cant afford that much but am willing to negotiate about an advisor - installer if someone here has the skills

Do-more

Will does big rubber cow mats not do the same thing? Provide an insulation layer from the cold ground so that the animals are not directly touching the cold concrete floor.

hi5

If its a 'stand alone' heating only system, you could use an antifreeze mixture in a simple loop from solar panel to underfloor pipes.

freddyuk

Sadly you will find it impossible to heat the shelter using batteries for a sensible budget. Setting up a standalone thermal system would be a project and quite easily done but it would require some considerable kit and again not cheap. The power from the batteries would again cause some cost issues. You will want this to work in winter at night and therein lies the problem as thermal will not work at night and a heat store would be overkill.

First question is how big will the shelter need to be?
And how much insulation will you get into the whole structure. I assume it will need to be open to allow the animals to get in and out? If so I would forget heating entirely.

If closed up:

My thoughts are getting a small enough and well insulated enough shelter to use some form of heat lamp or storage heater with a well insulated structure. Or possibly build a very well insulated heat sink into the floor and heat by PV or thermal during each day.
Once you know the watt hour requirement you can start to work out a cost but it will not be done on a restricted budget.
Or how about a color gas boiler running a radiator or underfloor with a small battery bank just to provide the electric power.
I would think this is the cheapest capital cost if the boiler is second hand. Running cost would depend on weather and insulation values. You will need to plan and built it according to regs.

Do-more

I was pushed for time when I posted suggesting the rubber cow mats, but freddyuk has pretty much summed up my thinking on this.

Heat loss from the shed will be the big issue and I am assuming that when you say that the donkeys will have constant access to the shed it will probably mean an open door?

Perhaps you could fit those strips of clear plastic hanging from the top of the door like you see on some warehouse doors, if you can teach the donkeys to walk through them? That would stop the worst of the gales.

But any heated floor is still going to be problematic. Rather than heating the space I presume your intention is that the donkeys don't have to lie down directly on a cold surface? Hence my suggestion of the rubber cow mats which will mean that the donkeys won't be loosing body heat to the floor and so should be able to stay reasonably comfortable.

quentingargan

I was going to go down the techie route on this, but what about straw? Is that not what animals always used for bedding? When we had cattle in over the winter, we used to sprinkle fresh straw on the manure each night. By mid winter the stuff was steaming hot as it all broke down.

freddyuk

I am not a farmer but think cow manure will breakdown quicker than donkey dung. I have had horse dung for the garden and it seems very firm and dry compared to cowpats. And at some point you are going to have to muck it all out.
I am interested in the possible techie solutions for not just this but other similar situations.
Is it possible for a reasonable cost or is it just not feasible at current equipment prices?
Be interested in any ideas as you seem to indicate you may have a possible solution? I guess the OP is just looking to keep the frost off not run the barn at room temperature so quite low loads.

quentingargan

freddyuk wrote: »

I am not a farmer but think cow manure will breakdown quicker than donkey dung. I have had horse dung for the garden and it seems very firm and dry compared to cowpats. And at some point you are going to have to muck it all out.
I am interested in the possible techie solutions for not just this but other similar situations.
Is it possible for a reasonable cost or is it just not feasible at current equipment prices?
Be interested in any ideas as you seem to indicate you may have a possible solution? I guess the OP is just looking to keep the frost off not run the barn at room temperature so quite low loads.

Sorry - what I meant was that I was being sucked into thinking in techie terms - a bit like NASA developing anti-gravity biros while cosmonauts used pencils. But if I had to do this, it would be a large well insulated bulk tank with an anti-freeze protected solar loop, and underfloor heating.

But the earth is always warm, and if well insulated with straw, it won't freeze. And I presume these donkeys aren't house trained, so you'll have to muck 'em out anyhow. And they can't really sleep on hard concrete. But then we built our house of straw, so we must be more fond of the stuff than most.

hi5

Do-more wrote: »

Perhaps you could fit those strips of clear plastic hanging from the top of the door like you see on some warehouse doors, if you can teach the donkeys to walk through them? That would stop the worst of the gales.

And since we're going all techie;), how about a pir controlled electic door,you could have concrete around the door to discourage the donkey from lying in that area:).

Do-more

hi5 wrote: »

And since we're going all techie;), how about a pir controlled electic door,you could have concrete around the door to discourage the donkey from lying in that area:).

K.I.S.S.

nailer8

While its nice to look look after your donkey I really think anything more than a rubber mat and/or a bit of straw is completely overkill. I have been in Coolmore stud a few times where they keep some of they most valuable horses in the world and they don't have anything like that.

Also
Batteries are a no go for heat supply.
Solar thermal is no good on the coldest months when you need it.

Mothman

Delaney and his friend will grow a winter coat. Once they have a shelter to protect from wind + rain they should be grand, but if not then bedding and a blanket will see them through the worst weather.
The frost is not an issue for the animals, but keeping a water supply flowing (when very cold) is and IMO this is where thought needs to be directed.