How Indoor Ice Arenas Can Reduce Energy Costs While Maintaining Stable Ice Quality and Indoor Climate?
Indoor ice arenas are among the most energy-intensive types of sports facilities. A high density of engineering systems, strict requirements for ice quality and indoor climate, changing schedule of ice usage and complex electricity tariffs make their operation both technically and economically challenging.
Facility and Initial Conditions
Facility type
Indoor ice arena
Area
7,000 m²
Ice rink size: 56 × 26 m
Initial energy consumption
104,000 kWh
The arena operates under variable load conditions:
Weekday training sessions without spectators
Weekend matches and competitions with full stands
Technical breaks and periods of reduced usage
Excessive Energy Consumption
In practice, up to 25–30% of energy is wasted unnecessarily.
The main sources of losses include
Ventilation and dehumidification
accounts for up to 50–70% of heat losses
Refrigeration equipment
operates in excessive modes
Other systems
do not account for the arena’s actual occupancy
H – Heating, S – Supply ventilation, E – Exhaust ventilation
Lack of Coordination Between Engineering Systems
Ice refrigeration, ventilation, dehumidification, ground heating and spectator area climate control often operate as independent systems rather than as a unified whole.
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This leads to conflicting operating modes:
Overnight over-freezing of the ice
Subsequent overheating of the air
Reduced comfort for athletes and spectators
Increased wear on equipment
Example: reduction of night-time air temperature while maintaining ice temperature without over-freezing — before / after control.
Non-Adaptive Control Modes
Operating modes rarely adapt to weather conditions, schedules or actual occupancy
Refrigeration control does not reflect the real condition of the ice
Ice quality and indoor climate are assessed subjectively and depend heavily on staff experience
Lack of Transparency for Management
It is difficult to identify where losses occur
There is no objective before / after comparison
Economic impact is hard to prove in quantitative terms
Context and Key Challenges: Core Issues of Ice Arenas
The Ecomanagement Monitoring and Control System
Ecomanagement is a SaaS solution that operates on top of the arena’s existing automation systems rather than replacing them.
Principles of Interaction with Equipment:
Control is performed exclusively through manufacturer-approved standard interfaces
All setpoint changes remain within design and operational limits
Built-in protections, safety logic and local automation always take priority
In the event of communication loss or invalid data, equipment continues operating under standard control logic
Manual control remains available at all times
This approach improves energy efficiency without compromising equipment safety or ice quality.
All data is cleaned of anomalies, normalised and analysed in real time.
1 refrigeration machine controller
2 gateways for refrigeration and climate systems
2 infrared cameras
4 air temperature and humidity sensors
10 controlled pieces of equipment
60 electrical consumption sensors
System configuration::
To collect data and subsequently transition to active control of engineering systems, a comprehensive monitoring system was deployed with the following configuration
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How Monitoring and Management was implemented
Deployment of Monitoring.
A temperature and climate model of the arena was then developed, taking into account:
Ice condition (surface, ice mass and sub-slab zone)
Air parameters above the ice and in the stands
Equipment operating modes
Training, match and technical schedules
External weather conditions etc
Based on this model, the system predicts changes in ice condition and indoor climate, equipment loads, and energy consumption under different operating scenarios.
From Monitoring to Control
A Digital Model of the Ice Arena.
System Coordination and Heat Recovery
Waste heat from the refrigeration machine is used to heat supply air, resurfacing water and the ground
Operating modes of adjacent systems are synchronised
Total facility energy consumption is minimised
Advanced Ice Temperature Monitoring:
Instead of relying on a single indirect measurement point, the system uses: infrared surface scanning sensors within the ice, slab and sub-slab layers.
This enables the creation of a spatial and temporal ice profile and eliminates local defects
Indoor Climate Control and Heat Gain Reduction
Control of air temperature and humidity above the ice
Optimisation of ventilation supply, exhaust and recirculation
Selection of the most energy-efficient dehumidification modes
Accounting for air infiltration and weather conditions
Activation of refrigeration machine and circulation pump control
Condensing Pressure and Heat Exchange Efficiency
Floating condensing pressure setpoints are used
Fan and pump operation is optimised
Condenser fouling and performance degradation are monitored
Comparison of ice and glycol temperatures and refrigeration machine consumption before/after control.
Refrigeration Machine and Cooling Capacity Management
Daily operating profiles are formed based on load and tariff zones
Compressor operation is optimised (lead/lag, VFD and fixed stages)
The highest permissible evaporation temperature is maintained to improve efficiency
Short cycling and unnecessary starts are minimised
Comparison of ice temperature and glycol supply temperature before/after control.
The ice resurfacing process is not automated directly; however, the thermal load from resurfacing is incorporated into the control algorithms and analytics.
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How the System Manages Energy Consumption and Ice Quality
2023-09-05
2023-09-29
Regular retrospective analysis allows operators to:
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Compare actual operating modes and consumption
2
Assess the impact of changes
3
Continuously improve control algorithms without compromising ice quality or comfort
Based on the arena’s digital profile, the system:
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Analyses compressors, evaporators, expansion valves, pumps and condensers
2
Detects deviations, efficiency degradation and pre-fault conditions
3
Reduces emergency shutdowns and equipment downtime
Diagnostic Reliability and Continuous Improvement
Overall Results
Average monthly energy consumption was reduced from 104,000 kWh to a target level of 67,500 kWh.
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Economic and operational impact:
35% reduction in total energy consumption
Monthly savings of 36,500 kWh
Reduction of CO₂ emissions by 176 tonnes per year
Improved ice stability and quality
Reduced equipment wear
Full online monitoring and control of engineering systems
Business Benefits
Predictable and controllable energy costs
Consistently high ice quality under any load conditions
Fewer failures and less manual intervention
Transparent analytics for owners and operations teams
Compatibility with equipment of any age
Why Ecomanagement
Is the Best Solution for Ice Arenas
Is the Best Solution for Ice Arenas
Ecomanagement is more than monitoring or automation.
It is a systematic approach to managing a complex engineering facility, integrating ice physics, indoor climate, energy performance and business economics into a single, coherent and actionable model.
It is a systematic approach to managing a complex engineering facility, integrating ice physics, indoor climate, energy performance and business economics into a single, coherent and actionable model.
Contact us
Call us: +7 (495) 741-93-30
Email us: info@ecomanagement.pro
Email us: info@ecomanagement.pro
Energy efficiency management
Skolkovo Resident
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