Grain silo ventilation: a crucial factor for optimum preservation

The ventilation of grain silos plays a crucial role in the conservation of crops. This process is much more than a simple storage technique: it preserves the quality of the grain, ensures its safety and avoids considerable economic losses. Without adequate ventilation, grain storage in silos can quickly become problematic. Grain can heat up as a result of its own respiration, leading to a build-up of heat that encourages the growth of mould and harmful insects. Similarly, moisture can condense on the silo walls, creating an ideal breeding ground for mould and compromising grain quality. Over time, these conditions can alter the smell and taste of the grain, making it unfit for human or animal consumption.

The 3 ventilation levels recommended by Arvalis

Step ventilation is a technique commonly used to efficiently cool grain stored in silos. This method involves gradually lowering the temperature of the grains in successive stages, maintaining constant temperature levels for defined periods.

Advantages of step ventilation :

Progressive, even cooling: Step-by-step ventilation allows the grains to cool gradually and evenly, avoiding thermal shocks that could alter their quality.
Better humidity control: By gradually lowering the temperature, step-by-step ventilation encourages a gradual reduction in grain moisture, thereby limiting the risk of mould developing.
Energy savings: This technique optimises energy consumption by targeting cooling only when necessary.

Find out more about the three ventilation levels

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Optimising ventilation performance with digital technology

For storage facilities, ventilation is a crucial element in guaranteeing the quality of the products stored. However, it is also the biggest energy consumer for storage organisations, costing up to several tens of thousands of euros a year.

Factors influencing energy consumption :

Volume and type of products stored: The larger the volume to be ventilated and the more sensitive the stored products are to temperature and humidity, the higher the energy consumption.
Stored product quality High levels of impurities can obstruct airflow, making ventilation more difficult and requiring more energy to ensure efficient air circulation.
Weather conditions: External climatic conditions, such as temperature and humidity, have a direct impact on ventilation energy consumption.
Ventilation system performance: The energy efficiency of the ventilation system, including fans, ducts and filters, plays a decisive role in energy consumption.
Operating modes: The mode of operation of the ventilation system, whether continuous or intermittent, also has an impact on energy consumption.

The impact of global warming on grain storage in silos Global warming is causing a loss of 7% of ventilation hours in silos in summer and 12% in winter. This loss is uniform throughout the country. Silos located in areas with a warm climate, such as south-west France, and silos with a large volume and height, are the most affected. Faced with these variations, it is crucial to become more professional in the management of silo ventilation. In particular, this means putting in place more detailed and precise control of ventilation systems in order to optimise the use of favourable time slots. By adopting a professional and proactive approach, players in the sector can guarantee optimum preservation of grain in silos, even in the context of climate change.In conclusion, optimising energy consumption linked to ventilation at storage organisations is a major challenge that can generate significant savings. Digital technology offers a number of solutions for achieving this, making it possible to reconcile performance, energy efficiency and respect for the environment.

Anticipating the impact of climate change

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The solution: automatic ventilation control

A case study was carried out by Javelot's data teams on 23 storage sites and over 500,000 tonnes of cereals stored over a 12-month period, with the aim of measuring the performance of the various ventilation methods adopted on the storage sites (thanks to the availability of all ventilation and thermometry data on the application Store&save used by the customer throughout their campaign).

The results show that the automatic steering mode performs better than the programmed and/or manual mode.

Store&save allows you to monitor the efficiency of your ventilation. Thanks to Javelot, you can achieve energy savings of up to 30% by optimising your energy consumption.

Find out more about automatic silo ventilation

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Our Store&save application for optimising automatic ventilation

Javelot, a well-known Agritech in the field of grain storage, offers an automatic ventilation system called Venti'Javelot. This connected system enables optimised management of silo aeration, guaranteeing optimum conservation of stored grain.

Operation of the Javelin ventilation system :

Connected sensors: Temperature sensors are installed in the silo. These sensors continuously collect data on the conditions inside the silo.
An intelligent connection box: The sensor data is transmitted to an intelligent connection box linked to the network. This box can be used to view the data remotely and control the ventilation system.
An intuitive web and mobile application: Store&save Our dedicated mobile application allows you to monitor conditions in the silo in real time and manage the ventilation system remotely. Users can set temperature thresholds, and the system automatically triggers ventilation when these thresholds are exceeded.
Optimised ventilation control: The Venti'Javelot system analyses sensor data and triggers ventilation only when necessary, optimising energy consumption. The integrated algorithm takes into account various parameters, such as the outside temperature and the type of grain stored, to ensure that ventilation is adapted to each situation.

Advantages of the Venti'Javelot system: Improved grain preservation: By maintaining an optimum temperature in the silo, the system monitors the development of mould and harmful insects, helping to preserve the quality of stored grain. Reduced losses: Better grain preservation means fewer post-harvest losses, making storage more profitable. Optimised energy consumption: Intelligent ventilation control reduces energy consumption, contributing to both financial savings and a more sustainable approach. Simplified storage management: The system offers a remote storage management solution, enabling users to monitor and control the status of their silos from anywhere. Peace of mind: Continuous monitoring and automatic triggering of ventilation ensure optimum silo management, even when the user is away. Javelot solutions can be adapted to all types of grain silo, providing an efficient, cost-effective solution for optimising ventilation management and preserving the quality of stored crops.

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