25 Oct REALice® System Installed at Martha’s Vineyard Arena
Extensive Arena Makeover Includes REALice
October 25, 2017 – Martha’s Vineyard Arena in Oak Bluff, MA has become the first indoor ice arena in Massachusetts to install a REALice cold water resurfacing system in its facility. The NHL-sized single pad facility has undergone a major renovation which includes a new ice pad and an ICE3 refrigeration system installed by Preferred Mechanical Services of Pembroke, MA. The REALice system, which eliminates expensive and energy-intensive hot water floods, was proposed as part of the $4.2 million expansion and retrofit to an arena that began its life as an outdoor rink in the 1970s.
In promoting the energy saving method, John Meade, Managing Director of Preferred Mechanical, recommended REALice to Martha’s Vineyard Arena in an email as follows:
“We have seen the coupling of REALice with the Cubes before,” Meade writes, referring to the distributed heat pump system known as the “Cubes” from Emerald Environmental Technologies. “The ability to cold water flood has allowed a great reduction in the refrigeration demand at facilities such as Keene Ice and Kimball Union Academy — so much so that Keene Ice does not have a water heater and has operated ever since it opened using only the reclaimed heat as wash water for the ice resurfacer.”
Background:
The floodwater for maintaining the ice in indoor arenas is traditionally made using very hot water. As the water is heated, the tiny air bubbles are removed from the water, resulting in a smooth skating surface when poured thinly and then frozen. The REALice® system is a radical and proven approach to ice making, removing the micro bubbles in the water, lowering its viscosity through a patented vortex process delivering the same results, without the expense of hot water.
Tom Smolarek, the managing director of Cypress Ltd, the energy advisory company that supplied Martha’s Vineyard Arena with their REALice system, says this is an outstanding example of a “green approach” to an ice arena .
“Martha’s Vineyard Arena is looking to the future with the retrofit it has done. By paying attention to their energy spend, they will benefit from reduced energy consumption as well as lowering the arena’s carbon footprint,” Smolarek says. “We find that most rinks retrofit with REALice can save upwards of $15,000 in utility costs their first year alone. Those are substantial avoided costs and we’re exceptionally happy to have our first installation in Massachusetts.”
The REALice® system is available for purchase or can be financed.
For more information, contact:
Tom Smolarek, Managing Director
Cypress Ltd.
380 N. San Jacinto Street
Hemet, CA 92545
Email: support@realice.us
Toll free: (844) 464-8408