09 May Ice that Impresses with Easy-to-Quantify Savings
We recently visited Scott Fusco and John O’Neill at The Edge Sports Center in Bedford, MA. You may have heard of Scott Fusco: he played on two US-Olympic hockey teams, is a Hobey Baker Award Winner, Harvard grad and a successful businessman. John O’Neill is a seasoned facility manager, having joined the team at The Edge last year.
Cold Turkey
John came into The Edge without any prior REALice knowledge. He says he was was nervous when he found out they were using treated cold water to maintain the ice. He also says that if his owner had come to him and said they’d be going to cold floodwater technology, he would have said “NO”. However after using REALice, he’s impressed with the ice — especially how quickly it sets up. One of their rinks always had a hard time freezing in during the summer months but now, using REALice, it sets up as it should. He’s even found that by using cold water to maintain the ice, they avoid grey ice due to paint migration compared to what he used to get with hot water floods.
Scott talks about the business side, saying that unlike other energy-efficient initiatives like low-e ceilings, REALice is one of the easiest energy-saving initiatives to quantify. He’s seen it with a big-time reduction in his run time hours – 20-25% less than what they had when they still did the ice with water heated to 140°F.
The Edge Sports Center benefitted from incentives from public utilities NationalGrid and Eversource for their REALice installations. Rebates like these are available from many public utilities and we’ll do the legwork to research and even make the applications for you. Those incentives will bring your arena’s simple payback time down significantly. And the REALice will set you up with long-term avoided energy spends — and great ice — for years to come.
Just look at that ice! Skating at The Edge Sports Center in Bedford, MA
Online Training
We’ve just launched the REALice Training and Certification Course. This online course, which can be done from a computer or smartphone, takes just over an hour to complete and is loaded with tips to make sure your ice is top notch. Once successfully completed, with a passing grade of 80% or more, you’ll become a REALice-certified Ice Meister, complete with course certificate and badge. The course is FREE for up to to five operators with the purchase of each new REALice system; existing customers, please reach out to learn more.
Great Ice – and Great Financing, Too
Financing your REALice purchase makes a lot of sense. We work with the National Energy Improvement Fund’s Commercial Energy Finance Division for equipment financing. NEIF, a certified B Corp®, can finance up to 100% of costs for improvements that make businesses resilient, energy efficient, healthy, and comfortable – like REALice. Stay liquid, and benefit in many cases from financing, rebates and tax savings. Send us an email and we’ll send you a 1-page brochure from NEIF – as well as the information we need to put a rink savings profile together for your rink.