Village of Boyle: Boyle Arena REALice Retrofit

OVERVIEW

As part of the MCCAC’s Recreation Energy Conservation (REC) program, the Village of Boyle installed a REALice system at the Boyle Arena totalling 24,488 ft². The building is used for skating and as a hockey and curling arena. 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 May 2022

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 16 tCO2/year and an energy cost saving of $4,146.79/year. The system enabled the water heater setpoint temperature to be dropped from 185 F to 98 F. The project resulted in a 10% GHG reduction from the existing system and a 7% reduction facility-wide from the baseline.

“Thanks to the REC funding from MCCAC, the simple payback on the REALice project should be less than four years, and with an expected equipment life of over 25 years, the Village will save money and reduce carbon emissions from ice making well into the future. This is a long-term advantage for our community. Saving on energy and carbon costs is a win for the Village.”

Mayor Colin Derko

“After salaries, a recreation facility’s biggest operational cost is energy. REALice is maintenance-free, has an expected life of at least 25 years, was an easy install, will have a meaningful impact on costs, and will reduce CO2 emissions for years to come”

Kevin Jacobs, Municipal Energy Manager