Heat Reclaim Systems
A Recreational ice facility is highly dependant on a refrigeration system to provide the necessary cooling to produce and maintain an ice surface. The electrically driven refrigeration equipment is the highest ongoing non-labor cost of operation for your facility.
The entire refrigeration process is devoted to removing heat from the ice and disposing of it outdoors at the condenser. Since a great deal of heat is being conveyed by the refrigeration system anyways it makes economic sense to harness this valuable source of free energy. With a properly integrated building design, the real dollar value of recovered heat can easily exceed the cost of electricity several times over.
Benefits include:
- Drastically reduced facility operating expense
- Increase in refrigeration system operating efficiencies
- Reduction in dependence of fossil fuels
Some good uses of heat reclaim are:
- Heating of public areas
- Heating of bleachers
- Under floor heating
- Zamboni water heating
- Dehumidifier reactivation
- Walkway and driveway snow melting
- Domestic hot water heating
- Swimming pool heating
- Fresh air make up pre heat
- Snow melt pit
It is possible to provide a very large portion of a facility heating requirement with free waste heat. With the addition of an opportunistic thermal gathering system you can provide all of the facility heat at a minimal operating cost. This valuable resource in many cases has been the tipping point of turning unprofitable facilities into profitable facilities. There is generally a very quick payback on first costs and some rebates do apply. By leasing equipment your lease costs can be much less than your savings, providing you with an immediate positive cash flow.
