If you've ever kept a pile of manure overwinter, you know that it rarely freezes solid.The decomposing pile will generate enough heat to keep the pile from freezing. Your large scale compost pile can generate heat up to 60-70°C (less if you properly stir it). For those of you who have a compost pile, you can capture this heat and use it elsewhere on your farm with the same concept as a heat exchanger or geothermal system. The following diagram illustrates that you can use the compost pile as a heat sink and a heat capture in the seasons. Using a radiant floor system in you house or barn floor slabs, as well as under the manure pile, you can capture the heat generated from the decomposing and transfer it into your house or barn. Its free heating!
copyright Krista Duynisveld 2008 The following experiment could assist you in determining how much heat your compost mix can generate. ( experiment) Heat from composting cattle manure can generate 3 million btu in 24 hours.
Based on other research and reports compost heat costs approximately 15cents per KWh for spacial heating based on its yearly operating costs ( source).
A compost pile in action on a farm ( source)