Air Distribution and Air Handling Unit Configuration Effects on Energy Performance in an Air-Heated Ice Rink Arena

Abstract

Indoor ice rink arenas are among the foremost consumers of energy within building sector due to their exclusive indoor conditions. A single ice rink arena may consume energy of up to 3500 MWh annually, indicating the potential for energy saving. The cooling effect of the ice pad, which is the main source for heat loss, causes a vertical indoor air temperature gradient. The objective of the present study is twofold: (i) to study vertical temperature stratification of indoor air, and how it impacts on heat load toward the ice pad; (ii) to investigate the energy performance of air handling units (AHU), as well as the effects of various AHU layouts on ice rinks’ energy consumption. To this end, six AHU configurations with different air-distribution solutions are presented, based on existing arenas in Finland. The results of the study verify that cooling energy demand can significantly be reduced by 38 percent if indoor temperature gradient approaches 1 °C/m. This is implemented through air distribution solutions. Moreover, the cooling energy demand for dehumidification is decreased to 59.5 percent through precisely planning the AHU layout, particularly at the cooling coil and heat recovery sections. The study reveals that a more customized air distribution results in less stratified indoor air temperature.

Energy Analysis in Ice Hockey Arenas and Analytical Formula for the Temperature Profile in the Ice Pad with Transient Boundary Conditions

“…The measurements did not imply any significant differences in temperature or relative humidity depending on the location over the ice pad, either corner or centre, in agreement with Taebnia et al (2019).…”

“…The accurate measurements, energy balance analysis and analytical temperature profile in the ice pad presented in this work can constitute useful tools for increasing the energy efficiency in the ice hockey arenas, since the ice thickness covers a role in the overall energy demand, as suggested by Somrani et al (2008), and control of the indoor air stratification is capable of reducing the energy consumption appreciably, as demonstrated by Taebnia et al (2019).…”

“…Though obtained for a specific case-study, our measurements can be applied to the majority of standard ice hockey halls, for instance in the development of new control methods for ice rink cooling systems (see for instance Lü et al (2014Lü et al ( , 2015). Our findings also help in developing methods to reduce the indoor temperature stratification as suggested by Taebnia et al (2019), or to collect a portion of the heat generated and reuse it in the ice hockey hall. Moreover, the temperature profile formula we obtain is very general and is not limited to ice hockey arenas; rather, it can be applied to other heat conduction processes with transient boundary conditions.…”

“…Process optimization and energy efficiency have therefore increased their role of key research concepts on very diverse, yet correlated aspects of energy management. These can range from the concrete pad design as in Haghighi et al (2014), to the air distribution and ventilation (Yang et al (2000(Yang et al ( , 2001) and their effect on the overall heat balance, as addressed by Palmowska and Lipska (2018); Toomla et al (2018); Taebnia et al (2019), as well as the exergoeconomic analysis performed by Erol et al (2017).…”

Human exposure to air contaminants in sports environments

“…In Finland, the reported average temperature and humidity inside the arenas were 3.5°C–8.8°C and 64.5%–82%, respectively 139,142 . Salonen et al 12 listed the following means to reduce exposure in ice arenas: 1) the use of electric resurfacers instead of combustion engine powered resurfacers; 2) retrofitting emission control technology in propane‐fueled resurfacers as an efficient temporary option to reduce engine emissions; 3) mechanical ventilation at a reasonable air exchange rate (0.25‐0.5 h ‐1 ) during opening hours; 4) personnel training to understand the risks associated with poor maintenance practices if combustion engine resurfacers are used; 5) if the CO concentration is >20 mg/m 3 (17.46 ppm) or the NO 2 concentration is >150 µg/m 3 , ventilation should be increased; 6) at CO concentration >60 mg/m 3 (52.37 ppm) or NO 2 concentration >2000 µg/m 3 , ice arena users and spectators should be evacuated if the elevated pollutant level cannot be effectively reduced within 15‐30 minutes.…”