29 Jul St. Albert’s REALice Journey
Earlier this week, folks from the Municipal Climate Change Action Centre were in St. Albert, AB to present a plaque and take a tour of the twin pad indoor ice skating facility at the Jarome Iginla and Kinex Arena. They came, along with invited dignitaries, to celebrate the City’s move away from hot water flooding to REALice. By doing so, the St. Albert has reduced its energy spend — without compromising ice quality. This was done with grant money though the MCCAC’s Community Energy Conservation Program as well as additional funding from FortisAlberta.
Not their first rodeo
This makes the City of St. Albert a repeat REALice customer — not just once, but twice!
St. Albert began their journey away from hot water floods to REALice in 2020 at the twin pads within the enormous Servus Credit Union Place. The pride of St. Albert, this is a 320,000 ft2 multiplex that includes field houses, gyms, an aquatic centre and 3 NHL-sized ice surfaces The REALice system was installed in the flood room that connects the Troy Murray Arena with the Mark Messier Arena.
- The arena operations team followed our best practices.
- They saw the cold treated REALice water froze faster, produced high quality ice — and needed less cooling to maintain the surface.
- The ice operations team and user groups were happy with the ice, which prompted them to consider this energy-saving measure for their other rinks.
In 2022, they purchased a 2nd REALice system for the third sheet of ice within Servus Credit Union Place, the 2,023 seat Performance Arena, making that facility a REALice-only facility!
Jarome Iginla Arena and Kinex Arena
With St. Albert’s second twin arenas now having converted, the City has turned its back on hot water floods completely. The REALice system uses water pressure instead of temperature to treat the floodwater, much colder water can now be used for the ice. The City is expected to save over 335,000 kWh of electricity, and over 2,700 GJ of natural gas each year, an annual cost avoidance of over $50,000.00.
REALice is a maintenance-free solution, a quick install, and has an expected life of 25+ years where it will continue to treat the floodwater and avoid utility costs. Is your ice already in? No problem! REALice can be installed at the start of the season, or mid season too, with limited disruption.
Incentives and grants are available across Canada and we’re happy to make applications on your behalf, where possible. Pre-approval is always required, but most utilities and program deliverers (like the MCCAC in Alberta and Save ON Energy’s retrofit program in Ontario) have quick turnarounds.
