Town of Slave Lake – Multi-Recreation Centre REALice Retrofit

OVERVIEW

As part of the MCCAC’s Recreation Energy Conservation (REC) program, the Town of Slave Lake installed a REALice system at the Multi-Recreation Centre. Built in the 1970s and most recently renovated in 2010, the Multi Recreation building houses two ice rinks, a fieldhouse, dressing room facilities, concession, retail space, and offices. 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.

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 water heaters and less load on compressors.

RESULTS

The REALice installation resulted in a reduction of 42 tCO2/year and an energy cost saving of $7,880.45/year. The system enabled the water heater setpoint temperature to be dropped from 122 F to 60 F. The project resulted in a 10% GHG reduction from the existing system and a 3% reduction facility-wide from the baseline.

“The Town of Slave Lake is pleased to be able to participate in the REC program, to help do our part to reduce greenhouse gas emission, reduce our energy consumption (and reduce our costs).  Without the REC program through the MCCAC, the Town of Slave Lake would not have been able to undertake this project.”

Garry Roth, Acting Chief Administrative Officer