Ice Rink Replaces R-22 Refrigeration System With CO₂

The 8,000-seat Santander Arena in Reading, Pennsylvania is a Tier 3 rink and home of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) Reading Royals, who are affiliated with the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). This multi-purpose venue is managed by ASM Global, an international management firm responsible for more than 300 venues – many of which include ice arenas.

Since its opening in 2001, the Santander arena has been served by an R-22 refrigeration system. However, as the global crackdown on R-22 refrigerant intensified, driven by the HCFC refrigerant phaseout, it became clear that the time had come to upgrade the refrigeration system to a more sustainable option. Santander’s management had four priorities for the new system: energy efficiency; low water consumption; 30-year life cycle; and low maintenance costs.

ASM Global had prior experience collaborating with industrial refrigeration contractor, CIMCO, on a CO₂ system installation, and given this successful history, they invited CIMCO to bid for the Santander project. After a comprehensive assessment of the project’s requirements, CIMCO determined that CO₂ technology would offer the most efficient and economical solution for Santander, taking into account potential savings in emissions, energy consumption, and the prospect of utility incentives.

The Retrofit

Santander’s R-22 refrigeration system was replaced with a packaged 190 TR (668 kW) transcritical CO₂ system, complete with the V-shape VARIO with hydroBLU™ adiabatic gas cooler from Güntner. “That adiabatic gas cooler only requires water during peak conditions, approximately 10% of the year. The remainder of the year you’re able to operate dry,” said Jascha Heynck, vice president of sales at Güntner. “What makes our unit unique is our fan management, as well as our water management controls. It’s operating in a manner in such that it uses the least amount of water and the least amount of electricity.”

To take advantage of CO₂’s favorable refrigerant properties, the system was also kitted out with heat recovery for the underfloor and snow melt, further improving the energy efficiency of the installation.

Although the upfront investment was fairly similar for both systems when comparing the life cycle cost of this CO₂ system to an F-gas alternative, CO₂ had a much lower total cost. The modeled annual energy cost was also much lower for the CO₂ system, with calculations showing that CO₂ would result in a 19% energy reduction, while choosing R-513A would actually increase energy costs by 14.3%.

The installation wrapped up in August 2022, with the entire project completed in just 12 weeks.

Energy Savings

In order to ascertain the tangible energy savings resulting from the installation of CO₂, a comprehensive analysis of energy bills spanning from October 2022 to April 2023 was conducted. These bills consistently revealed a notable decrease in energy consumption of 129,627 kWh in the six-month period.

The data for the six-month period from October 2022 to April 2023 was juxtaposed with the corresponding period in the prior year. This comparative analysis unveiled a significant decline in energy usage, commencing at a 12% reduction for the October bills and culminating in a substantial 55% reduction in energy consumption by April 2023. The cumulative effect translated into a total savings of 1,147,494 kWh over the span of six months.

Moreover, in order to assess the effect of replacing the evaporative condenser with a new gas cooler on water consumption, a comparative analysis was conducted against the corresponding period in the previous year. It is worth noting that the cooling load remained constant throughout this evaluation. The results revealed a substantial reduction in water usage of approximately 55.23%, with consumption decreasing from 509,520 gallons in the previous year to 228,130 gallons. By strategically eliminating R-22 and optimizing electricity consumption, the arena achieved a remarkable 60% reduction in CO₂ emissions. Brad Wilkins, team lead for U.S. recreation projects at CIMCO Refrigeration, added, “With Santander Arena, the savings that they’ve seen to-date today, they’re 30% down overall on their water consumption and 90% on their refrigeration plant.”

Beyond the notable energy and water savings achieved, Santander Arena demonstrated its commitment to environmental responsibility by meeting the criteria for reduced emissions and energy usage, making it eligible for a local utility incentive program. As a recognition of these efforts, the arena received a substantial incentive payment of $81,000 in October 2023.