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ClimateQuiet 7d · day 7

Barber's Farmhouse Cheesemakers deploys milk-source heat pump to cut emissions 66 tons annually

UK's oldest cheddar-maker slashes electricity use by half and carbon pollution with Arkaya Energy's novel heat pump technology.

newest coverage 6d agosummary written 6d ago5 pieces16 likes & upvotes NewswiresHacker NewsGoogle NewsMastodon

What to know

  • Barber's Farmhouse Cheesemakers deployed Arkaya Energy's milk-source heat pumps in 2024, cutting electricity use by 50% and reducing annual carbon emissions by 66 tons while saving £70,000 yearly.
  • Arkaya's innovation extracts waste heat from fresh cows' milk to simultaneously chill milk for freshness and heat water for equipment sanitization, replacing separate chillers and boilers in one system.
  • The payback period is under two years—substantially better than typical industrial equipment—making it an economically compelling alternative to conventional heating and cooling despite higher upfront costs.
  • Food manufacturers remain slow to adopt heat pumps despite suitability for low-to-medium temperature processes, citing unfamiliar technology, price premiums, and rising electricity costs that make fossil fuel replacement risky.

“There's not many investments that have [even] five-year paybacks. Every penny counts in our game.”

Alfie Barber, Seventh-generation cheesemaker and farm manager · The Guardian ↗ · Sep 16

Barber's Farmhouse Cheesemakers dairy and cheesemaking companyArkaya Energy UK heat pump technology startupAlfie Barber seventh-generation cheesemaker and farm managerChris Barber farm directorKumo Sharma Arkaya Energy founder

Barber's Farmhouse Cheesemakers deploys milk-source heat pump to cut emissions 66 tons annually
theguardian.com

How it unfolded 1 development · click the chart to see its coverage articlesposts

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Sep 18Sep 19Sep 20Sep 21Sep 22yesterdaynow · 2:57 AM ET
  1. 1

    Guardian reports Barber's heat pump performance and carbon savings

    Coverage details the technology's results: cutting electricity use in half, saving £70,000 annually, reducing carbon emissions by 66 tons per year, and achieving payback in under two years. The article explains Arkaya's innovation of drawing heat from fresh milk rather than air, ground, or water sources.

    “It is just a wonderful feeling … when we can save energy, save on the bottom line, and reduce our carbon footprint…”
    — Chris Barber
  2. background

    Barber's Farmhouse Cheesemakers installs milk-source heat pumps — The 190-year-old cheesemaker deploys Arkaya Energy's milk-source heat pumps at three of its seven milking parlours. The devices chill milk to 1.6°C while simultaneously heating water to 92°C for equipment washing.

Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet

  1. 3 outlets ‘It bloody works’: why the world’s oldest cheddar-maker uses a ‘milk-source’ heat pump

    first by Guardian Business, 6d ago · also Guardian Environment, The Guardian