First CO2 Ice Rink in the U.S. Saves Energy and Boosts Sustainability With Refrigeration System From Hillphoenix
(PRWEB) March 18, 2015 -- The first U.S. ice rink to use sustainable CO2 refrigeration is benefiting from lower operational costs and reduced environmental impact just two months after opening.
“We are already seeing savings, and we’re anticipating energy savings of 25 percent to 40 percent when all the results are in,” said John Rodda, Parks & Recreation Director for Anchorage, Alaska. The city operates the Harry J. McDonald recreational center, which reopened its ice rink to skaters and hockey teams in early January, following a nine-month renovation and installation of a carbon dioxide-based ice rink refrigeration system from Hillphoenix.
The energy-efficient CO2 system has lowered the ice rink’s electric bills, and it also has greatly reduced spending on refrigerant. CO2 refrigerant costs significantly less than freon, which was used by the rink’s previous system, built in the 1970s. Equally important, moving to the newer refrigerant also eliminated polluting emissions from freon.
Rodda sees the McDonald Center ice rink as a proving ground for CO2 as U.S. ice rinks start to comply with upcoming federal requirements to phase out freon. “We’ve got ice rinks calling us from all over the country to see how it’s going,” he said.
Anchorage’s early adoption of CO2 was a well-studied decision. Parks & Recreation spent a year considering options. “We looked at all the potential non-freon refrigerant solutions, but sooner or later, they all were likely to be affected by environmental concerns,” Rodda said. “We decided CO2 had the most benefits.”
Parks & Recreation then considered vendors and settled on Hillphoenix because of its experience with CO2; its reputation for stability and strong customer support; and technology-enabled capabilities of its CO2 refrigeration system, such as remote monitoring. Hillphoenix has installed CO2 ice rinks in Canada and has worked with CO2 refrigeration systems since 2005.
“We are pleased to be partners with the Anchorage Parks & Recreation Department in its pioneering efforts to build more efficient and environmentally sustainable ice rinks using CO2,” said Tim Henderson, Industrial Programs Manager for Hillphoenix. “We anticipate public and private ice rinks around the country will follow Anchorage’s lead.”
The city has plans to upgrade three more ice rinks to CO2 over the next few months, and Rodda expects those projects to yield similar results. “Trying something new was smart, environmentally friendly and efficient,” Rodda said. “From what I’ve seen in a short period of time, we made the right decision in choosing CO2.”
About Hillphoenix
Hillphoenix Inc., a Dover Company, is based in Conyers, Georgia. The company designs and manufactures commercial refrigeration systems, integrated power distribution systems, refrigerated display cases and specialty products, and walk-in coolers and freezers. Visit http://www.hillphoenix.com or call 800-283-1109 for more information.
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Kim Camp, Hillphoenix, http://www.hillphoenix.com, +1 (804) 451-2420, [email protected]
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