Ice Rink Refrigeration System With Co2 As Secondary Fluid

Besides improving the facilities one by one it is important todistinguish common features that will indicate the potential energy saving possibilities for all ice rinks more than 97 of the swedish ice rinks use indirect refrigeration systems with a secondary fluid moreover the thermo physical properties of secondary fluids directly impact.

Ice rink refrigeration system with co2 as secondary fluid.

The average energy consumption of one ice rink is around 1000mwh year which approximately 69 is occupied by the refrigeration unit and heating demand. Until 2011 almost all of the ice rink refrigeration systems in sweden are running with nh 3 as refrigerant in the first cycle and brine in the secondary cycle said nguyen. A secondary fluid is a complex mixture. About 25 ice rinks in the world mainly in the eu have applied similar technology incorporating co 2 in the secondary cycle.

A miniature ice rink was built and designed with copper tubes imbedded in a concrete slab. Indirect co2 ice rink systems are generally the way to go in more southern locations. After the first ice rink system using carbon dioxide co 2 as secondary refrigerant was built in 1999 it took until 2010 before the first ice rink using a trans critical co 2 system was realized. The first application of co 2 in ice rinks was in austria in 1999 when co 2 was used in the.

The use of co2 refrigeration systems in the ice rink industry has potential to provide a paradigm shift moving from indirect systems to co2 dx systems. Among energy consuming refrigeration applications ice rinks can be mentioned as a significant example therefore this application is of potential interest for a. This technology has won much ground in the supermarket field in recent time. Indirect co2 systems can also include the use of co2 in the primary or machine room plant and another slab refrigeration media in the secondary like glycol brine or even aqua ammonia.

Co2 as a phase changing secondary fluid has advantages compared to traditional secondary fluids where the low pumping power required is the most dominant.