Olmsted County, Graham IV Ice Arena
Rochester, MinnesotaReplacing a 40-year-old ice-making equipment and natural gas furnaces, Graham IV Ice Arena employs state-of-the-art, energy-efficient geothermal technology to reduce fossil-fuel use, greenhouse-gas emissions, and operation-and-maintenance costs. Overall energy savings equal 50 to 60 percent over the old system.
The arena's "green" solution for ice-making equipment uses a clean, renewable heat source-the earth. The geothermal system consists of nearly 45 miles of networked tubing between the ground exchangers and the rink piping. The technology converts the earth's constant 56° F temperature into renewable energy to fuel the ice-cooling systems as well as heat the common areas through "waste" heat extracted from the ice pumps. The waste heat is then used as in-floor heat in the rink perimeter, spectator seating, mezzanine, and rest rooms, as well as heating common areas and snowmelt pits.
The project meets Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System Energy and Atmosphere prerequisite and credit.