City of Leduc installs cost saving device at Alexandra Arena
The City of Leduc’s Alexandra Arena has said goodbye to its reliance on hot water to create and maintain ice, and will be running cold through a new REALice® water treatment system.
In November 2020, Leduc City Council gave the green light for the new device at Alexandra Arena, which was installed in July 2021 and is ready to go for the upcoming season.
This update follows the Leduc Recreation Centre’s (LRC) REALice device installation in 2020, where the technology has been working successfully for the last year on all three ice surfaces.
“We continue to focus on improving our facilities, finding cost savings, and planning for an environmentally sustainable future.” said Leduc Mayor Bob Young. “This new technology contributes to all three of these priorities, and we’ve seen it working at the LRC, so converting the Alexandra Arena as well just made sense.”
This water treatment system eliminates the need to use hot water when building and resurfacing ice. According to the REALice website, the system provides the following benefits:
- Reduction in energy costs and water usage
- Creates a harder, stronger ice surface
- Less condensation and rust on structural beams
The REALice installation cost was approximately $37,200; however, with the Recreation Energy Conservation rebates from the Municipal Climate Change Action Centre (Action Centre) of $28,000, the City’s investment was only $9,200.
With the City’s projected annual energy cost savings of $2,181, the new system will recover the investment in only four full years in operation.
“By installing the REALice technology in the Alexandra Arena, the City of Leduc is helping the community reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reduce operating cost. Arenas are the heart of communities, when savings are passed down to users, they help bring the community together," said Trina Innes, Executive Director of the Municipal Climate Change Action Centre.
With the Alexandra Arena installation, Leduc is the first municipality in Alberta with multiple indoor ice surfaces to convert all of its indoor ice to the REALice floodwater technology with assistance from the Action Centre’s Recreation Energy Conservation program.
The Alexandra Arena device is expected to save 29 tonnes of CO2 annually, which equals eight passenger vehicles driven in one year. Combined with the LRC, this new technology is expected to save a total of 265 tonnes of CO2 annually (59 passenger vehicles driven in one year).
The Municipal Climate Change Action Centre is a partnership of the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association, Rural Municipalities Association, and the Government of Alberta.