Jarome Iginla and Kinex Arenas REALice Retrofit – City of St. Albert

Overview

As part of the MCCAC’s Community Energy Conservation (CEC) program, the City of St. Albert installed a REALice system at the Jarome Iginla and Kinex Arenas. 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 was easily integrated into the existing piping systems.

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. Most ice resurfacing requires heating water to remove micro air bubbles from the incoming water, then cooling it down to freeze. The REALice system results in lower natural gas consumption from water heaters and a reduced compressor load.

Results

The REALice installation resulted in a reduction of 80 tCO₂/year and an energy cost savings of $13,383.69/year. The project resulted in an 18.3% GHG reduction from the existing system and a 6.3% reduction facility-wide from the baseline.

“Being champions of environmental action and upgrading our facilities to be more energy efficient as we adapt to a changing natural environment are major priorities for the City. Converting additional rinks in our community with the REALice® water treatment system directly showcases our commitment to finding innovative ways to protect our environment for future generations.”

Cathy Heron, Mayor, St. Albert