Armstrong Spallumcheen Parks and Recreation has invested in a brand new REALice system.
Just in time for the upcoming season, the Nor-Val Sports Centre has built its ice from scratch with unheated water.
This switch will not only save the community thousands of dollars immediately in avoided utility costs, there is also a huge environmental benefit.
Skating arenas are one of the most energy guzzling buildings a city has to run.
The arena boasts a single NHL rink and is in operation eight months a year. On the single pad, the return on investment is calculated to be only 2.5 years. The annual energy savings is estimated to be 100,819 kWh in electricity and 567 GJ for natural gas.
“Managed by Canlan, in partnership with the Armstrong Spallumcheen Parks and Recreation Commission, the arena will be the next in Canada using unheated water to flood and maintain their ice,” said Florian Gabriel, managing director of SWiCH Services, the distributor of REALice in Canada.
“Municipalities and private operations are becoming more aware of the emission and costs savings that are possible because of the avoided utility expenses.”
Through the project at the arena, the City of Armstrong is pursuing its pledge for a greener community.
In 2012, the city signed the Climate Action Charter pledging to become more carbon neutral and to be more energy efficient.
Over a 10-year period, the REALice System is expected to save the municipality $113,000 – which corresponds to 200,000 gallons of gasoline, taking 375 passenger cars off the road — or 45,674 trees planted.
