Low-cost, No-cost Tips for Recreation Facilities

There are many ways you can improve the energy efficiency of your facility and reduce your energy costs. We offer a variety of low-cost, no-cost solutions in addition to a selection of Power Smart programs that will help you reduce your building's energy consumption.

Low-cost tips

• Install a setback thermostat and set it to automatically reduce the air temperature by 5 C in heated areas during unoccupied times.
• Replace incandescent bulbs with equivalent compact fluorescent bulbs and replace incandescent exit signs with LED equivalents.
• Change any linear fluorescent light fixtures that use T12 lamps and magnetic ballasts to T8 lamps, electronics ballasts, and silver or polished aluminum reflectors.
• Replace the temperature sensor that measures the temperature on the brine loop return line with an ice temperature sensor. Cycle the brine pump based on the ice temperature.
• Install low-flow showerheads and shower control push buttons.
• Install occupancy sensors to control lights in low traffic areas, washrooms, and change rooms.
• Caulk and weather strip your facility's walls, floors, windows, roof, and doors. Seal air leaks and insulate water heaters and pipes in unconditioned areas.
• Change air filters on ventilation and heating equipment regularly.
• Shave the ice to maintain one inch of ice thickness. The amount of power required to keep ice frozen increases incrementally based on its thickness.

No-cost tips

• Turn the lights off when they are not needed and keep them off for extended periods of time. Ensure outdoor lights are turned off during daylight hours.
• Post the rink's monthly utility bill on a bulletin board and encourage employees to take steps to conserve resources.
• Consider giving your staff benefits and creating a bonus structure based on finding and implementing ways to reduce utility bills.
• Clean the concrete and level the sand before making ice. Mark a one-inch line on the rink boards to help maintain ideal ice thickness.
• Reduce the ice flood water temperature from 71 C to 54 C (160 F to 130 F) and dump ice shavings outdoors (if permitted).

Tips to reduce your rink's electrical demand charges

Monthly electrical demand charges are based on the average peak electrical use recorded during any 15 minute interval that exceeds 50 kilovolt-amperes during the billing period. In almost all artificial ice rinks electrical demand is high enough that the rink must pay electrical demand charges.

• To avoid demand charges, do not start the refrigeration compressors until the meter has been read and do not run the compressors during shutdown season.
• Using one refrigeration compressor at a time in cold weather can result in significant savings to your demand charges and overall electrical use.
• For rinks with artificial ice, add power factor correction to help reduce the peak electrical demand.
• Minimize the use of non-essential electrical equipment, such as drink coolers, refrigerators, and freezers during the start-up period.
• Choose the highest efficiency (called premium efficiency) motors when replacing electrical motors on the ice plant and brine pump.
• Install demand-limiting equipment and controls that sense when a new demand peak is approaching and immediately warns building operators or automatically shuts off non-critical loads.