In a 2019 study, Iowa State University's Allen E. Christian Iowa State Swine Teaching Farm compared supplemental heat sources for neonatal piglets in the farrowing house. The objectives were to evaluate weaning weight and pre-weaning mortality, sow and piglet behavior, and energy usage.
The study found that Kane heat mats controlled with a programmable thermostat can decrease the high energy needs in the farrowing house and have a projected savings of over $5 per sow per farrowing/lactation, with no production differences detected.