The goal: maintain professional-grade ice and enough comfort so that | spectators will stick around.In_| the old days, facilities would dump too much outside air into the space and then chase a good indoor environment into overtime and beyond. These days, they play hockey in the desert, and the elusive hat trick involves facing off with dewpoint and rh levels, meeting ASHRAE 62, and taking a heating assist where you can getiit (hint: think desiccant, and you've gota shot). BY KEVIN V. DICKENS, P.E, | vas the bastion of winter sports and of ice hockey in particular While our Canadian brethren lived and breathed the spoct for decades, with the exception of the North ‘east, the United States had remained lange ly immune tothe hockey virus. The “Original Six” National Hockey League (NHL) teams plodded along from the "405 t0 the "60s with no appreciable increase in interest (read on forthe answer to the trivia question, “Who ate the Origi- nal Six?" These teams played in storied ole lites similar to the pl who pioneered the game: uncomplicated, rough, an at times lacking contal Inthelate"60s, the NHI expanded int new markets and asthe interest inthe spor grew, the need for neighborhood sinks grew s wel Soin cities like St.Louis, Philadelphia, and Los Angele, exiting ice shets were enclosed in makeshift structures. Needless t0 say, these fetes wer crude, butt dn ake much to satisfy the typical hockey enthasast 52 Engineered Sustems December 2003, Bad ice, moldy locker rooms and carbon monoxide-(CO)induced headaches not withstanding, the populatity ‘of hockey continued to rise, The Original Six gave way 1030 franchise in such winter game hotbeds as Phoenix, Dallas, and Tampa Bey. (Old barn like the Chicago Stacivin, Boston Garden, and the Forum in, Montreal give ‘vay to maltimilion dollar venes, And it should come as no surprise that this evolution bas been duplicated on the ‘community Fevel as well COMMUNITY RINK EVOLUTION Like many NHL teams, the St, Louis Blues have always had practice fecilities that double as community sinks. As a young engineer, I was called in to take a look at their original practice facility Although the building was steeped in histo ry, the playing environment was terrible. The locker rooms were damp and moldy, the structure was rusting, and worst of al, the ice sheot was less tha ideal ‘Years later, I was doing some research for a rink design and I visited the Blues new facility. I assumed that since this was the home of an NHL franchise, it must beWhen your @=@ * computer room| gets overheated tyou're headed | | Sforea,bad day. | the reliabla choice in ~~ process and precision cooling. __ ee DATA AIRE INC. Data Aire 230 BlueRidge Ave., Orange California 92865 714-921-6000 www.dataaire.com.Hockey Rink Basics imply put, i stunk, conditions were certainly better than the | | old sink, but they were stl licking The vention [sem smal ni ancononed tdor sir ‘was inttoduced into the pace ergo it was not used | very often, There were heat pumps onthe Fink coe nes for dehumidifiation, but the ice was soft and when conditions were just right, fog would creep across the shes. The rink operator spoke of having to begin each day chisling away te litle ie stalag mites that woukd form on the ice sheet over night {due to dripping from the structure a Fastforward 10 208, anit comes a8 no surprise to Swoplnensl _) Ratrytost_ a learn that che Blues are building anew home, bu this conoate cing spy Ser time they are employing a state-of the-art aetve desi sector ‘ant dehumidieation system. ‘They have recognized Sara rancor ea that the indoor environmental canltionsaee ett nd havea significant impact onthe coneltion ofthe FIGURE 1. An example ofan active desiccant dehumifiation system which sable to handle the entire ventilation continuously under ful load conditions. The system oper. {ates based on dewpoint not rh, thus will not over dry when the ar temperatures cod ‘orunder dry when the at temperature ses ‘THE MODERN HOCKEY RINK: ENVELOPE, ICE, ANDAIR state of the art. And sadly, it was. The fist thing I noticed as 1 According tothe International Ice Hockey Federation (IEE) fee stepped into the lobby was the unique olfactory cacophony of Rink Ma highly recommended tease an the topic, the basic ‘human odors that is only brewed inthe confines ofa hockey locker technical elements of a wellworking facility includ a tight, wel WINTREX’ and SAFE-T-THERM” * GLYCOL HEAT TRANSFER FLUIDS ‘National distributor of water treatment chemicals. Houghton Chemical Corporation cy 1-800-777-2466 SRP REX" and SAFE-T-THERW® ae estese ademas ol Haughton Cenial Crp, 54 Engineered Systems December 2003It’s time to take another look at Lennox. See our larger-than-ever commercial lineup, including our improved Lennox’ L Series® Rooftop Unit. ltyou have looked at Lennox Commercial Comfort Systems With ourenhanced efficiencies, environmental fienly lately you wont live your yes We've developed a wide refrigerants and imoroved system contro functions ts easy to range of new ASHRAE 90.L-complint products designed to see wry Leana srg fr mare of our commercial HAC nes, ge YoU more choices, more conta and even more ways Learn more at var nxcom or call 1-800-4-LENNOX. to save money, 1s time to take another look at Lennox! 2 LENNOX } ‘COMMERCIAL COMFORT SYSTEMSSmartFan' Nimbus Pea nares ST Seay Sey eC Your Applicaton ec Cec oon Pi 3 a Temperature Hens {atte ies Flow Browse Our Catalog worw.cont Pee errs Cu ees a olescom DONCO AIR PRODUCTS Your Air Diffuser Specialists TBar Diffusers Distribution Linear Diffusers Plenums © Bar Grilles * Light Troffer Architectural Diffusers Diffusers. % Special Designs a | Va! Erpercence a breath of fresh acs DONCO ‘AIR PRODUCTS ‘ion, 1 60005 vw donconiccom 56 Engineered Sysiems 41 48820 December 2003, Hockey Rink Basics insulated structure, mechanical ventilation, an efficient heating sy3- tem, and air dehumiditication lf moisture problems occur inside the building, the HVAC engi eer is reflxively hung out to dry (no pun intended). Soi is pr dent to advise the architect in such a critical facility, Per the ASHRAE Humidity Control Design Guide, the following sugges tions and cautions should be relayed + Build a leak tight exterior envelopes +The vapor rtarder goes othe outside, and must be continuous + Low-e ceilings are useful in reducing the load on the ice sheet + Roof insulation need not be excessves + Pay attention to the western exposure due to a propensity for high radiant loads; and + Provide access through a closed lobby or vestibule. ‘The hallmark of an ie vink that caters primarily to hockey ist ice, Figure skaters and hockey skaters have different ideas of w 00d ice and bad ice are. Figure skaters prefer an ice temperature within the range of24° to 28°F. Ice in that temperature ange is soft cr 0 it grips the skate edges better. Hockey pyers on the other hand prefer ice at 20" to 22°, With many skaters on the ie simulta neously, itis easy forthe ie surface to get chewed up atthe tem peratures preferred by igure skaters. And ifthe ice is too warm, it mnay cause players to lose their edge during a crucial play Affecting dhe quality of the ice isthe tate ofthe ai, an this facts reflected in the NHL standards, Thee call for an ar temperature sta- bilize a 60 and ana levels than 40%, which equates to 035" deve point, That i fairly aggresive, but because most rinks are competing to attract league play that generates consistent revert, this environ mental criterion is especially relevant, Why? cause the rink with Playing conditions most conducive to hockey, ie, those that approach the NHL ideal, will have the competitive advantage over other rinks. PICK YOUR DEWPOINT Tn the simplest terms, there ae three major problems that can be adresse vin dewpoint controk Fog, dripping, and soft ie. The designer can determine the moisture control level according to which problems are most important tothe enduser. Keep in mind that as ‘he humidity level goes down, the cst of equipment often goes up. Ata 45° dewpoint, the simple problem of fog can beelimineted. All that is required to remove fog sto prevent the ai above the ie from reaching 100% rh. This can be accomplished using mechanical deh- mitts, They usualy cost less per cin than desiccant systems, and they can be installed with no ductwork, minimizing instalation cost. To address dripping due to condensation on the ceiling, you must keep the ai dewpoint below the coldest surface temperature inthe roof structure. 40° dewpoint will prevent drips in almost any climate, but a surface temperature calculation ean show you if the temperature is actually higher than that, possibly making mechanical dehumidifiers viable Bat i hard ice is your goal, and iti you want hockey revenue, then theres no doubt thata dewpoint well below 45" willbe required, and the only equipment that can get you there i active desiceant VENTILATION —THE FIVE MINUTE MAJOR OF RINK DESIGN In hockey, the biggest penis result in the longest time in theThe Fine Art of Humidity Measurement IDES aoa HMP238: Probe = ee lected eee i iro erent pete) ey CL) ae Pea Ne Non-condeasing oa) pete ory Hundreds of products; Thousands of applications; Tens of thousands of installations make Vaisala number one! + Ist in accuracy + 1% + Ist in stability + 0.5% RHlyr + Ist in easy onsite calibration + 19 RH NIST traceable lab standards 10 basic 3% RH HVAC transmitters + Ousputs: RE, dewpoint, temperature, absolute humidity Fama i ing ratio, wet bulb temperature and enthalpy Call 1-888-VAISALA or e-mail for FREE catalog or CD. Or access our online catalog at www.vaisala.com ae VAISAL Humidity * Dewpoint * Carbon Dioxide + Pressure * Ammonia Aceuracy that lasts BSG) RUC Co LTD eh FREE INFO: 111Hockey Rink Basics controlled ventilation plus passive desiccant ‘energy recovery hat rick, The single sytem would consis of nominal 10,000 efin two-wheel desiccant dehumidiia tion system (TWDS) air handlee with an active esicant wheo, supply fan, a passive desiccant energy wheel, regeneration heater, exhaust fan, and, fneedled, post coling (Fig ), During unoccupied periods the unit would run in rectculation mode, bypassing the ener By recovery wheel. During low occupancy times, the unit would operate at a reduced ve tiation quantity, perhaps 159% to 2056 of the amount suggested by ASHRAE 62, Dating fll rink operations, the unit would provide the full ventilation quantity 2s required Inall modes the system would maintain the ewpoint of the ait, not its th. By operating based on dewpoint, the system will not over dry the space when the air temperature i cold nor under dry when the air temperature rise. For ‘Toachieve the NHL ideal of 60" ar temperature and 40% rh with a35° dewpoint, ASHRAE rec- simple, at the NHL conditions of 60° andl 40% the aircan negatively affect ice conditions, penalty box. A good ight if ii aly frst-clas, wil always result ina five-minute major. Whe it comes tothe HVAC design of a rink, the biggest punishment by far i meted out by the ventilation requirements, ‘ASTIRAE 62 requites 05 cfinsq ft of ce sheet and 7.5 efin/person for spectator if they are inthe arena for les than three hours. For & smal rink with no seating, the mininwam air quantity then is 8.250 cin (05 clnisq fx 16,500 sq). Add 400 spectators, anda ofthe sudden you ate up to 11,250 cfm (8,250 cfm + (7.5 efimlag fx 400 people) ince itis commonly held thatthe 0.5 cfm'sq tof rink outdoor air requirement is due to concerns regarding CO buildyp from resurfacing operations using propane-fueled resurfaces, some jnrisdictions wil allow ths quantity to be handed by an emergency ventilation system tied to & CO monitor, ‘The drawback to this approach is that even though you are say ing money on the installation, ithe system goes off, unconditioned sir willbe introduced into the space, condensation an fog ill like ly form, and the ie wil be compromised. I personally have night- mares about such systems popping off during some inopportune time like during a midsummer thunderstorm for example. Yeesh! Concerning the ventilation for the spectators, recall the need to ‘maintain the dewpoint at or near 40° to avoid dripping, With ‘mechanical refrigeration makeup ai units, you ae limited to about 45° dewpoint supply temperature, so "you can't get there from. here” with uch equipment. That isn’t to say that such equipment is ruled out completely in every case, tthe author's opinion is that DX is not appropriate for a competitive rink maleeup air system, HVACHAT TRICK In many areas, building codes will equie that the installation heve sulficient capacity to handle the entte ventilation load continuously lunder fall load conditions. In this worst-case scenavo the best solu ton may be found inthe active desiccant dchumidifction, demand 58 Engineered Sustems December 2003 ‘ommends, among other suggestions building aleak-tightexterlorenvelope sincethestateof th theres no benefit to drying the air below the 35° dewpoint. Bu when ait in the building cools at night, a humidistat at 4096 rh will be calling for dehumidifcation even though the dewpoint falls way below 35°, ‘The ventilation mode would be controlled based onthe signal fom {\CO, monitor located atthe setingarea and a CO monitor atthe ink, Regards of which sensor trggets the change, the system would only _g0 into fll venation during peak periods andthe cost associated with «lying the ventilation air at al times would be avoided Las the energy wheel can reduce the cos of the system by as much 285 308% to 509%. For example, ifthe outdoor condition in Atlanta (Giome ofthe Thrashers) is 83°, 133 gains andthe indoor condi- ‘ion is 60° 30 grains/b; then 66 Ibvhr of water must be removed fiom ‘every 1,000 cfm of ventilation air brought into the builing. With a Passive wheel, that incoming load drops o approximately 20 Ibi! When it coms to energy use and utility bills many designers dis miss active desiccant systems out of hand, claiming it is too expen sive to operate, But the I believe that the DOR's Federal Energy Management Program debunked this myth when they stated “While i is difficult to generalize the cost effectiveness of (active slesiccant) systems, there are a few applications where cost-effee: tiveness i 0 well established that detailed analysis is not necessary. ‘These include .. ice arenas that operate in summer. PRESSURE RELATIONSHIPS, HEATING, AND COOLING ‘his atl has Focused on the unique requirements ofthe rink, but the basics covered ina previous article regarding recreation center needs for proper air balance and control of odor migration apply in cinks as ‘well. The only exception, anditisa biggies that the rink should be net Positive tal surrounding spaces and the outdoors, ‘Trying to heat a building with a massive radiant cooling source a its primary feature isa waste of energy and money. Instead, pro- vide infrared heaters over the seating areas, With « desiccant unit, the supply ait will be hot more often than not, £0 ipso facto, it becomes a heating source. Direct the supply air high and toward theST UMC emt ‘The all NEW next generation NORTEC GS Series Gas Steam humidifier answers the ee Cnn acne cen UC om See pte eee eo ue eT aun Pee Mc eer cra cueec ee See ene Cen aa eco Coen re emer RM es ‘are built to operate on potable, RO or Di water. Unit services are a single external connection for easy, quick, and trouble-free installation. For building management systems, the GS with Nortec's Total Controller PTC acre Where do you find engineering specifications that promise all these features’ Sen aca p—{Nortec] RMA eel aol FOE a Cr reat oe ar a)Usapar se2ions1 Continuous Capacity \\ Modulation is EASY With the APR control many Ae ten * For any application * Enhances make up air control ‘+ Multi Evaporative Zoning 2 hk & ate hans deep tet connotes cece omah charging coors —a wilenaaing te epoar in ehunyg mad cing pal loats. THE ARP CONTROL IS, AVAILABLE IN EIGHT DIFFERENT Sizes FROM 4-172 10 19 TONS TO. SOLVE YOUR CAPACITY CONTROL PROBLEMS. Tel. (800) 727-6447 Fax (203) 596-1313 FREE INFO: 196 OHHH OO OD eee PECs caed ee eee ae era bids, Immersion or suace mount, TD's, thrmistors, and transmiters for build’ zutomaton + 0.03°C typical stabity + Patinum elemenis: 100 or 1000.2 « WiFe elements: 9 °C output + Low cost dependable Temptran™ vansmiters + Instock Drit-fee sensing maintans peak efficiency without recalibration» Duct averaging sensors in lengins to 24 feet + Fesible Therm-Ribbons™ fr nonswasiva Pipe sensing * Output compatible with mast systems Minco Products, inc. o 7300 Commerce Lane Minnespols, Mit 880029177 USA] Tet (769) 571-3121 | Fax: (709) $71-0827 | mw minco.com Fate invor 27 60 Engineered Systems December 2003 | Hockey Rink Basics roof peak rather than downward, This nt ant avoids soft spots oa the ice, but it kicks up the coiling sem perature, alleviating the di ping concern, The best location forthe return is near the grout | leva, which keeps the air mass moving in a circular pattern from bigh to lov, which Regarding cooling, consider these neo extremes on the possbil: ty continuum. The net effect of the ie sheet is difficult to deter ‘mine with any accuracy bt teases ventilation efficiency. nawacturersclaen that the credit From the ice sheet may be as much 26 50 tons, in which case post. coaling is never actually requived even when iti installed econuly, ifthe space migh ever be used ar another purpose — haps the ice is covered with therenal panels and basketball or indoor soccer is played! — then providing a separate DX cooling system for such an activity maybe prudent. Yous reality wil likely Fall somewhere between thet. SUMMARY ce rinks and facility expectations have evolved since the catly days ofthe Original Six (trivia question answer: Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs, Chi the Montreal Canadiens Rink construction, at texyperatan, a ice conditions a ei igo Blackhawks, New York Rangers, ond Bocause revenue is closely tied 10 the quality of ice, in many cases the ideal ewpoint of 35° ean only be reached and maintained with active desiccant syste, Ventilation can be a back breaker, but the incorporation of demand control and passive energy recovery can make fora viable solution, A positive pressure relationship between the rink and ather spaces must bemsintained. And heating and cooling shout be kept as simple as posse, always considering the impact of the ee Go Blues! €5 An! most import Dicens so deputy detox and sere proect era eer with Jcobs Facies, ne. St, oul) You can ‘each him by esr arkevin dickens acobs.com. ‘CITED WoRKS Iniemational Jee Hockey Federation, nicl Guidlines ofa lee Rink,” cap. in HEI ee Rink Mana. Ze, Stent, 200. 2, American Society of Healing, Refiiger~ Engineers, “lee Arenas,” chap. 28 in ASHRAE Hunidigy Control Desig Guide for Gonreied a fnstusional Budding, Adana, 2001 3. American Society of Heating, Reiigetating end Ait-Condi tioning Engineers, “ice Rinks, lee Rink Conditions” chap. 34 in ASHRAE Fandbook-Refrigeration, tlata, 1998, Mad 4. National Hockey League, "Bulg eoneitions for games, Nations a Hockey League instructions te cubs." Neve York, Api 19,1999 5. American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and AitsCond Yioning Engineers, ANSIFASHRAE Standard 62-1999, “Table 2 — Outdoor Air Requirement for Ventilation.” Atlanta 1999. 6. Dickens, K. “IAQ for Health and Rereation Facilities,” Fag noord Systems (April 2003): 37-46, 7. United States Department of Energy, “Federal Technology Alert, Y\vo-Wheel Desiocant Dehumiiieation System —Technole ay for Dehumidlfcation and Improving Indoor Air Quality.” US Deparinien of Energy’ Federal Energy Management Progtam, 19! |var 1086, Naa oni AUR CCL Oa CooL CHOOSE GAS HUMIDIFICATION FOR DRAMATIC ENERGY SAVINGS. Help your customers squeeze more from their operating budgets with a GTS gas-to-steam humidification system from ORFSTEEM. Compared to an electric canister humifies, a GTS system can dramatically reduce energy and maintenance costs. With a broad capacity range, and thousands of successful indoor and outdoor installations, DRE-STEEM can customize a system to meet your project's requirements. Go online and let the savings amaze you. Use our free ENERGY-CALC® analyzer to easily demonstrate potential energy savings with a GTS humidification system. Visit www.dristeem.com/website/gts fr call the humilfcation experts at 1-800-328-4447, GTEEM 8 TRUNENODLER” ——SFORSEAM—STEAMIMUECTEN ——_UTHASORRY——_—_‘YAPORMST