Behan's Dairy Farm, Abbeydorney

Services:

SEAI Funded Energy Audit

Size:

2085m²

Edward & Claire Behan own and operate a 100 Acre dairy farm in Abbeydorney in North Kerry. The 70 cow herd produces approximately 650,000 litres of milk a year. They are previous recipients of the prestigious Lee Strand Co-op Overall Milk Quality Award in 2019. Keen to reduce their energy costs their first step was to avail of a free SEAI Energy Audit through the SEAI’s Support Scheme for Energy Audits (SSEA).

Reduction in energy

Cost savings

Payback

Background

With the ever increasing cost of energy and fuel, the Behan’s have seen their energy bills on their farm increase exponentially in recent years.

In a bid to reduce operational costs and improve energy efficiency and to seek guidance on available grants and funding such as he Targeted Agriculture Modernisation Schemes (TAMS), they decided to apply to SEAI for a €2,000 voucher towards the cost of a professional energy audit selecting Energi IQ as their preferred auditor.

The Audit

A SEAI registered Energy Auditor from Energi IQ visited site in July 2025. A detailed site survey of the farm was carried out, including identifying significant energy users.

Existing energy consumption over the previous 12 months was collated using energy billing provided by the client to establish a baseline year. From this energy trends over twelve months were analysed and benchmarked.

The report was then compiled providing a comprehensive list of energy upgrade recommendations that could be implemented to reduce their energy use with potential funding sources identified.

Outcomes

Recommendations included:

Install Variable Speed Drive on Vacuum Pump
Install Buffer Tank to Preheat Hot Water
Install Solar PV
Install Energy Management System

Installing all of the recommended measures would lead to an 55% reduction in energy costs.

All measures can be implemented with grants from either the Targeted Agriculture Modernisation Schemes or the SEAI which offers a significant contribution towards the capital costs of the upgrades. By availing of this funding, all measures can be implemented with an ROI of less than 4 years.

In addition we identified that current day and night electricity rates on the farm is much higher than the average day and night electricity rates on farms based on the most up to date Teagasc research figures. We advised the client to research the market to get a better electricity tariff.

Benefits from implementing measures from this Energy Audit