Read about the benefits and comfort of Smart electric fencing in the words of renowned Shetland sheep breeder Mr Roman Cieslar.
It has been more than 8 months since we installed the Modern Smart Farm system in the Zlín Zoo for remote control, real-time monitoring, and an overview of the electric fences. One of the main goals of the system implementation was to make the work of individual employees more efficient and save their time.
Before describing the individual enclosures themselves, let's take a figurative look at the benefits the system has brought to workers. There are currently 34 active RF devices on the site. They are all connected to the fencee Cloud, which 17 employees can access from the mobile app. All map bases are managed by the manager of the electric fences from one central PC. The result of installing the system is a time saving of 3 hours every day. 11 working days in a working month. If we think about the financial aspect and convert working hours into money, the monthly saving is 1 051 €. For the entire working year, the savings amount is over 12 612 €, which is more than half of the purchase price. But above all, the huge benefit of the entire Smart Farm system in the Zlín Zoo is: "Absolutely perfect overview of the status of all electric fences and a time-saver for workers." As Mr. Mizera, the Zoo's electric fence manager, says.
We talked to Vlastimil Mizera, the manager of the electric fences, about the use of the Smart Farm system in operation, its benefits, and possibilities. From his talk about the entire Smart Farm fencee Cloud system, it was clear after just a few sentences that it is a significant benefit to the Zoo and a streamlining of work for the whole team of breeders and technicians who work with it every day. Thanks to the system, the Zoo can now spend more time on tasks other than the day-to-day care of the electric fences, such as checking that the electric security system is working properly. Zoo staff gained confidence in our system, which immediately alerts them to any non-standard situation. The Smart Farm system is therefore great insurance not only for livestock farming but also for securing the enclosures of such majestic animals, which we will discuss below.
Constant control of electric fences with online supervision - these are the benefits that employees working with the fencee Cloud application value the most. Every technician or breeder who is in charge of the animals in the enclosures is equipped with a smartphone with the fencee Cloud app. For security reasons, ordinary breeders and caretakers have user control access with limited possibility to control selected functions of the application. "With the advent of the Smart Farm system, caretakers and breeders are required to check individual fences on the app every morning and if a problem is found, they will start taking steps to fix it. I, of course, also check individual fences from the computer. There I have the Smart energizers and the entire electric fences plotted on maps and in case of any non-standard situation I inform the technician about the problem and together we find a solution immediately. Compared to the past, this is a huge advantage in the event of a fault, we know about it immediately and we go to the exact location of the problem, which the map bases in fencee Cloud app show us." - praises the function of the system Mr. Mizera.
Let's take a closer look at the various inhabitants of the electric fences, which are the different species of animals that we have had the privilege to work with for a while. The animals in Zlín Zoo are divided into 4 regions - Africa, Asia, Australia, and America. Thanks to the cooperation and implementation of our Smart electric fence system in several enclosures, we had the opportunity to see all the areas with animals from different continents.
The individual enclosures were secured with an electric fence powered by Smart energizers EDX. Furthermore, monitoring devices Monitors MX10 were placed in each fence, which measure the voltage and send the data to the central device Gateway GW100, which is connected to the Internet via WiFi.
Let us now take a closer look at the animals of each enclosure and the devices used to secure them:
Geladas are baboons but spend most of their lives on the ground, where they collect grass clumps and rarely climb trees. Adult males can weigh up to 20 kg. They live in groups consisting of a male and several females with their young.
In Zlín, the geladas have one of the largest enclosures in Europe with an area of almost 5000 m². Two Smart energizers energy DUO RF EDX150 with an external antenna were installed in the background of the geladas to ensure trouble-free operation with the highest quality RF signal transmission between the RF devices. For safety reasons, two separate electric fence circuits have been installed, each powered by one powerful energizer. Along with the energizers, there are four monitoring devices - Monitors MX10, the so-called guards, which measure the voltage of the fence, report alarms in case of voltage loss, and also help in locating the problem section. The energizers and monitors were connected to a central device FENCE WiFi GATEWAY GW100.
Hyenas are native to Africa, most commonly found in savannas, semi-deserts, and mountainous areas. They are one of the most voracious scavengers, with an adult able to eat up to 14.5 kg of meat at a time. They live in ordered clans of 5 to 30 individuals and are ruled by a dominant female. A pack can run up to 80 km per night.
Hyenas have their rugged space in the hilly terrain. The area of their enclosure is almost 400 m². Two Smart energizers energy EDX150 with an output power of 15 J are used to power the electric fence keeping the hyenas safely in their enclosure. Two control monitors were also placed on the electric fence to report the voltage in the wires at regular intervals. This gives technicians an overview of any power losses in the electric fence. As with the geladas, the energizers and monitors were connected to a central gateway.
This is a very popular bear species, which, unlike other bears, is active mainly at dusk and at night. The adult bear is an impressive 190 cm tall and can weigh up to 140 kg.
It is not surprising that the bears have a really large enclosure with a total area of 1890 m². The entire bear space is made up with a large height difference, concrete walls, and an electric fence on top of the wall. The fence was secured with two Smart energizers energy EDX150 and three control monitors that divide it into 3 different sectors. The monitors were installed in hard to reach areas to monitor the voltage in certain sectors of the fence. In this way, Zoo staff have a constant overview of the entire electric fencing and in the event of the merest loss of voltage below a set level, they immediately know which sector is reporting a problem via the monitor.
Thanks to the control monitor, workers figured out the cause of the problem causing the voltage drop. "At the bear enclosure, we often dealt with a low voltage problem and were unable to recognize where the problem was coming from. After installing the control monitors, we found that the voltage drop on the fence only occurs when it‘s after rain and wet lying branches weigh down a certain sector of the electric fence so much that the gateway triggers an alarm. We took the necessary measures to remove the branches in places and now everything is fine." Mr. Mizera describes the solution to the problem.
The lion is one of the most beautiful animals and is often referred to as the animal king himself. The one in Zlín Zoo - the Katanga lion, is a rarely bred and endangered subspecies of lions. Lions live in prides of 5-30 members. An adult individual can eat up to 45 kilograms of meat.
The lions' enclosure, like the bears', is a very well secured place with several levels of protection. Their enclosure is large, covering an area of 1300 m². Our electric fence system is the most important security feature of the enclosure. The entire electric fencing has been divided into two circuits. For the power supply of electric fence, our most powerful Smart energizers EDX150 with external antennas were installed to ensure smooth RF signal transmission to the central control gateway. A large part of the lions' background is situated in the rock, where the thickness of the wall exceeds even 1 m. In such places, we recommend always installing an external antenna and avoiding possible drops in the RF signal. All electric fencing is monitored at various points by four control monitors that measure the fence voltage and give keepers confidence that the wild beasts are safely guarded.
The tiger is the largest living felid and one of the largest carnivores ever. In particular, the Siberian tiger is a highly endangered species that is on the verge of extinction and is therefore strictly protected. It weighs up to 300 kg with a body length of up to 280 cm. The tiger prefers a solitary lifestyle and pairs up only during the breeding season.
The tiger has a large and rugged enclosure with a total area of almost 1600 m². Two Smart fence energizers EDX150 with external antennas were installed in the lion electric fence. Zoo technicians then deployed 2 control monitors in the most critical areas of the electric fence. The energizers and control monitors were paired to a central gateway. Subsequently, everything was carefully plotted to the map bases in the fencee Cloud application (see the pictures in the gallery below the article).
Finally, let us summarize the second phase of the implementation and operation of the Smart Farm system in the Zlín Zoo. In the second part of the project, 5 animal enclosures were secured. Practically two separate circuits of electric fencing were installed at each enclosure, each powered by a Smart powerful energizer EDX150 and control monitors were installed at each electric fence as needed. In total, the security of these five enclosures is provided by 24 Smart RF devices that have been paired to two central units GATEWAY GW100. Gateways were placed in a server room in the zoo's mansion. The electric fence energizers and central control units were further supplemented with external antennas to ensure trouble-free RF signal transmission even in poor conditions.
The overall satisfaction with the operation of the Smart Farm system in the five animal enclosures with electric fences can be seen in the words of a satisfied electric fence manager.
"The Smart Farm fencee Cloud system has met all the expectations we had. We appreciate the online monitoring the most, where we can clearly see the status of individual electric fences. Last but not least, we appreciate the substantial time savings for individual workers when searching for a fault in a fence or during routine inspections, which we were forced to do before we purchased your smart system."
Electric fence manager Vlastimil Mizera
We wish all the animals and visitors of Zoo Zlín a pleasant stay and thanks for this valuable experience. If you are thinking about purchasing a Modern Smart Farm system, please do not hesitate to contact us. We will be happy to answer any questions you may have and help you fine-tune all the installation details.
In the gallery, you will find samples from the fencee Cloud app and also some photos from the Zoo.
Pictures: Zoo Zlín archive www.zoozlin.eu
Author Vít Šiller
Through sports management and logistics management in a large company, I got into the e-shop administration and online marketing at VNT electronics s.r.o. My task is to provide customers with information about fencee and Dogtrace products in the best and clearest possible way.
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Smart Farm fencee Cloud system is protected in the EU utility model Nº 1870632, Nr. 202018102939, Nr. 31675
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