City of Leduc Alexandra Arena REALice Retrofit

OVERVIEW

As part of the MCCAC’s Recreation Energy Conservation (REC) program, the City of Leduc installed a REALice system at the Alexandra Arena. The facility has a single NHL sized ice surface with a supporting space building area of approximately 32,121 square feet. REALice is an energy-saving de-aerating system for ice rinks. It creates a controlled and structured vortex to remove gases and other particulates such as limescale as water flows through the device. REALice treated water eliminates the need to use heated water when building or resurfacing your ice and reduces compressor loads. The system has no moving parts and is easily integrated into existing piping systems.

The project was commissioned in June 2021.

APPROACH

This newly installed REALice system will help to reduce the costs of heating the water used to resurface the ice as well as the electricity costs associated with cooling the ice following resurfacing. This system eliminates the need for hot water when building and resurfacing ice by removing micro air bubbles from the incoming water resulting in lower natural gas consumption from hot water heaters and less load on compressors.

RESULTS

The REALice installation resulted in a reduction of 16 tCO2/year and an energy cost saving of $3,172.60/year. The system enabled the hot water heater setpoint temperature to be dropped from 140 F to 70 F. The project resulted in an 8% GHG reduction from the existing system and 2% reduction facility-wide from the baseline.

We continue to focus on improving our facilities, finding cost savings, and planning for an environmentally sustainable future.” said Leduc Mayor Bob Young. “This new technology contributes to all three of these priorities, and we’ve seen it working at the LRC, so converting the Alexandra Arena as well just made sense”.

By installing the REALice technology in the Alexandra Arena, the City of Leduc is helping the community reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reduce operating cost. Arenas are the heart of communities, when savings are passed down to users, they help bring the community together,” said Trina Innes, Executive Director of the Municipal Climate Change Action Centre.