The goal of the present work was to evaluate the thermal environment inside physical models of broiler housings built in reduced scale (1:10). The thermal comfort was evaluated through the Black Globe Humidity Index (BGHI), Thermal Heat Load (THL) and effectiveness of the roofs in reducing the BGHI in relation to roofs built with aluminum tiles (epsilon). Four models built with ceramic tiles and equipped with natural or forced ventilation were compared to two models built with ceramic and aluminum tiles, respectively, without ridge vent. It was concluded that the roofs with forced (B30CVF) and natural (B30CVN) ventilation chamber provided better thermal environments inside the reduced models, in which the last has the advantage of not requesting electric power source.
covering; thermal comfort; poultry
