Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/726594
34 / SEPTEMBER.OCTOBER.2016 RINKMAGAZINE.COM straightforward. Collect it, process it and reuse it. Recycling is good for our environment and sustainability. Approaching our energy sustainability, our first step is not, however, to collect it. When it comes to energy sustainability our approach is upside-down. The first step isn't recycling. The first step is to either find cleaner sources of "it" (energy) or change to more efficient equipment. Perhaps it's a solar installation, perhaps it's a green power purchase agreement (where the utility sells you "premium" power generated using clean sources), and perhaps it's a lighting upgrade to LED. We skip right over recycling. Yet energy recycling is not only a highly sustainable activity, it's also profitable. ENERGY RECYCLING Maybe your ice rink has a desuperheater (funny little word isn't it?). "De" for removing, "super" for something we should want, shouldn't we? "Heater" to heat up? A desuperheater is a specialized energy-recycling piece of equipment that removes the "best" heat from a refrigeration system's waste heat stream for, in essence, recycling. You may have known about that already. COST INTEGRATION, DONE CORRECTLY, REDUCES OVERALL COSTS BY REALLOCATING MONEY ALREADY BEING SPENT ON EXISTING BUDGETS. IT'S NOT NEW SPENDING, IT'S SMARTER SPENDING. SOMETHING YOU MAY NOT KNOW: a desuperheater will collect at best 20 percent of the waste energy in a refrigeration system (less in an ammonia- based refrigeration plant). So, what happens to the other 80 percent? We throw it out. Then we buy more. And around the hamster wheel our facility rolls. But when enhancing our energy recycling, we approach cost integration. Integrated costs. Buy it. Reuse it. Reuse it again. Let's apply the basic process of recycling to energy. Collect it, process it and reuse it. To recycle cans we place blue boxes around our ice rink. Energy collection means we have to identify collection "points." Much like we don't put our blue recycling containers in the storage mezzanine, locating appropriate energy collection points is similar. Next consider purchasing energy to operate. Is there an opportunity to harness waste utilities (including water) to reduce purchased utilities? Challenge yourself to go further. It's easy to find opportunity; it's often easier not to. Bridging the gap between collection and reuse is our processing step. This may involve something as small as a thermostat to a small controller or maybe a full automation system makes financial sense. Small improvements can add up quickly. Building systems that operate in conjunction with each other are referred to as being integrated. Unfortunately, an integrated system does not necessarily guarantee cost integration. Cost integration is achieved when building systems are integrated, configured and commissioned to operate in unison to recycle energy multiple times prior to purchasing new energy. In an open-market real-time pricing structure, the system is also configured to capitalize on the on-peak and off-peak rate structures. UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY Ice rinks present a unique energy recycling opportunity. Ice rinks are energy intensive operations with naturally occurring collection points that result in an ideal candidate for cost integration. Cost integration sounds familiar. In fact, the industry has been engaged with elements of cost integration for years. What makes the cost integration of 2016 different? Simply put, computers, technology and an evolved marketplace. Years ago, most facilities operated on a series of thermostats or spring-switches, mechanical devices which are robust and have their place today, but there's a reason computers have become part of the fabric of our lives. Computers handle complex and dynamic tasks easily. Leveraging computers to manage this synchronized operation of the entire building's systems is now practical and highly economically viable. Technology improvements have resulted in better equipment options, specialized heat-harnessing equipment, and new energy storage equipment. All of these advancements in the last 10 years have elevated the possibilities in a reliable fashion. Finally, consider an evolved marketplace. On-peak, off-peak (sometimes mid-peak or hourly) pricing has brought definition to the cost aspect of our cost integration activities. Altering equipment operation, without effecting delivered service, allows for greater cost recovery from less expense in operation. This in turn directly allows for more financially viable business cases enabling greater levels of energy recycling and subsequent sustainability to be realized. Smart automation operation of specialized equipment allows for shorter payback periods and long-term financial (and environmental) sustainability.