Arena Guide currently lists over 4,500 ice arenas, indoor and outdoor ice rinks near you and all across Canada and the USA.

Install a snow melt pit

In a busy arena the ice is resurfaced up to 10 times a day; during which ice is scraped off and allowed to melt. Some facilities even use hot water to melt the snow and with this more energy. The ice shavings are often taken outside of the arena and dumped nearby. This introduces risks such as health hazards to ice rink operators and also causes energy loss and increased humidity in the arena.

A snow melt pit allows for the snow to be melted without opening the outside doors and letting the heat in. The refrigeration plant will run cooler and the refrigeration power costs will be reduced significantly during the ice melting process. Snow melt pits should be regularly cleaned and sanitized to create a safe work environment for operations crews.

Benefits: 

  • Less refrigeration costs
  • Less humidity in the rink since the doors stay closed
  • Less temperature imbalances in facility
  • Less health hazards such as bacteria build-up and traffic obstructions in facility parking lot

Savings: 

  • Natural gas, if snow is currently melted with hot water
  • Electricity, because doors stay closed and humidity is controlled
  • CO2 emissions

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