System and method of heating livestock barns using modulating radiant emitter

A radiant brooder system for heating an agricultural building, the radiant brooder system comprising:

• a pair of multistage radiant brooders, each multistage radiant brooder configured to emit radiant energy to a floor area to create a first temperature zone, each multistage radiant brooder having a high output setting and a low output setting;
• a pair of black body sensors, each of the black body sensors being positioned to gather radiant energy data within a respective first temperature zone of a respective multistage radiant brooder;
• a solar air collector integrated into a wall of the agricultural building, the solar air collector configured to preheat external air coming into the agricultural building using solar energy;
• and
• a processor coupled to each black body sensor to receive the radiant energy data therefrom, the processor operatively coupled to the pair of multistage radiant brooders to control the multistage radiant brooders in response to the received radiant energy data from the black body sensors.