Milk-Source Heat Pumps Cut Dairy Energy Costs and Emissions

Barber’s Farmhouse Cheesemakers, the world’s oldest Cheddar maker, is using a milk-source heat pump to recover heat from freshly milked cow’s milk and reuse it for hot-water requirements at its dairy farms. The technology simultaneously cools milk for storage and heats water used to clean milking equipment, creating an integrated heating-and-cooling system.

Barber’s began using heat pumps supplied by UK startup Arkaya Energy in 2024. The company said the technology has reduced its electricity consumption by around 50%, saving approximately £70,000 a year, while cutting carbon emissions by nearly 66 tonnes annually. The systems have so far been installed at three of the company's seven milking parlours.

Unlike conventional air-source, ground-source or water-source heat pumps, Arkaya’s system draws heat directly from fresh milk, which leaves the cow at a relatively warm temperature. The recovered heat is transferred to water, while the milk can be cooled to as low as 1.6°C for safe storage.

The system can heat water to approximately 92°C, close to boiling point. Dairy farms require hot water for cleaning udders, milk tanks, suction cups and other equipment, making the technology particularly suited to operations where heating and cooling requirements occur at the same location.

For Barber’s, the investment has delivered a reported payback period of less than two years. The technology replaced a system based on an ice bank and heat recovery, which still required additional electric-resistance or fossil-fuel heating to achieve the temperatures needed for cleaning.

Arkaya Energy began selling its milk-source heat pumps in 2024 and has installed 27 systems to date. The company expects to deploy another 34 systems by the end of 2026, with plans to expand beyond the UK, initially targeting Ireland and the wider European market.

The technology has also received industry recognition, with Arkaya’s heat pump winning the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers’ 2026 innovation award. Industry experts cited in the report see milking operations as a particularly suitable application because dairy farms have simultaneous and predictable heating and cooling requirements.

Barber’s plans to install the technology at its remaining milking parlours by 2028. The development illustrates how heat recovery and electrification can be applied directly at the farm level, potentially reducing energy consumption and operating costs while lowering emissions from dairy production.

Source: Dairynews7x7 18 Sep, 2026 Read full story here

#DairyIndustry #DairyInnovation #SustainableDairy #EnergyEfficiency #DairyTechnology #DairyFarming