| Summary: | Ice rinks are among the most energy intensive public buildings in developed and developing countries. According to a research on Swedish ice rinks; a typical ice rink consumes approximately 1185 MWh/year which leads to more than 300 GWh/year for the 342 Swedish indoor ice rinks. The refrigeration system is usually the largest consumer by 43% average share of the total energy consumption. To decrease the refrigeration system energy demand, there are a variety of energy efficiency techniques known and available but the key to select the best ones is finding the major heat loads on the ice sheet and refrigeration system, which is unique for each ice rink. To fulfil this objective and in addition to review literature, this study has two main approaches. The first approach is to measure and evaluate the performance of the refrigeration system in two ice rinks, called Norrtälje and Älta. The estimated cooling capacity is approximately equal to the total heat load on the ice plus the heat gains in the distribution system. This goal has been accomplished by using a performance analyser called “ClimaCheck” which is based on an “internal method” because it uses the compressor as an internal mass flow meter and consequently, there is no need for an external one. The refrigerant mass flow rate is calculated by an energy balance over the compressor. By knowing the mass flow, enthalpy of the refrigerant, etc. the cooling capacity and COP of the system can be calculated. While the total heat load is known by the first approach, the second approach tries to discover different heat loads shares by analytical modelling. The measured physical and thermodynamical parameters plus the ice rink geometrical characteristics are input to the heat transfer correlations to estimate the heat load magnitude. The results of the measurements show that the total energy consumption in Norrtälje is about two third of Älta. The main reasons for this less energy consumption are smarter control systems for compressors and pumps, better ventilation ...
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