The Ferme piscicole des Bobines chooses Rackam to design an innovative multi-component water heating system

30 November 2020

The Ferme piscicole des Bobines located in East Hereford in Estrie, near the border with the United States, is the largest fish farm in Quebec and produce trout for consumption.  As the demand for its high-quality fish continues to increase, the fish farm constantly invests in the modernization of its infrastructure and stands out for its innovative attitude and the great attention it pays to sustainable development.

The company also uses modern filtration technology which allows it to reduce its supply of fresh water to 10% of the water circulated in its basins as well as a second technology which allows it to reject extremely clean water while producing fertilizer for surrounding land.

This year, the Fish Farm is growing again by constructing a brand new building for the nursery – the first stage in the growth of fish. In this new state-of-the-art building, the water temperature must be kept at precise temperatures during the various stages of fry development.  As the new water supplied to the installation is drawn from the ground, it is relatively cold and its temperature can vary from 4 degrees Celsius to 13 degrees Celsius. For this reason, Clément and Normand Roy, the main designers of the new installation, called on the Rackam team to design an efficient and energy-efficient water temperature control system.

To meet these specifications, Rackam has chosen to combine 3 technologies:

• heat recovery, via two plate heat exchangers,

• the production of low-temperature solar energy using a 72 m2 flat panel installation,

• heating using a combination of heat pumps.

The project, which is due to start in summer 2021, will allow the Fish Farm to reduce its electricity consumption by 90% compared to an equivalent electric kettle. The East Hereford facility will add its renewable energy production and power Rackam’s renewable energy meter in summer and winter. It will also be possible to consult the energy production of the installation directly on the Rackam site since Clément and Normand agree to participate in Rackam’s major project: to demonstrate the performance, utility and relevance of the solar thermal energy in the fight against climate change!