Phillips Academy, in Andover, Massachusetts, commissioned Emerald Environmental Technologies for a 2017 installation to heat and cool their new 105,000-square foot Snyder Center Field House to be constructed in a free standing location at the end of the rink furthest from the mechanical room.
The Academy had a 15-year-old ammonia refrigeration plant which recently had a chiller vessel fail, contaminating their brine with ammonia. The maintenance bills for the ammonia system were high before the failure, and the recent repair costs were significant. As part of their new building plans, Phillips Academy opted to replace the existing ammonia plant serving their two sheets of ice.
They had the lofty goal of installing a system that would be extremely efficient – to such a degree that they wanted to add the 105,000-square foot field house within the energy consumption limits of their existing rink. The school had recently installed a geothermal project in their campus wellness center, which proved to be highly successful in energy efficiency.
Domestic hot water and Zamboni preheat water systems were installed remotely above the Zambonis. High-efficiency gas boilers were employed to reinforce ice3 Cubes if heat demand exceeds operating Cube demand. All mechanical equipment was located within the arena and piped underground to the Snyder Center Field House. Piping and design allow for the future geothermal systems to be added.
The project came online, on time, in August 2017 and is a commissioned LEED project.
The installation heats and cools an adjoining building from the ice3 Cubes that are replacing a high maintenance ammonia plant, allowing Phillips Academy to increase capacity within the same footprint of space. Maintenance costs are lowered dramatically, and the fact that the system is modular will allow the twelve units to more closely match the load at time of use.
We specialize in highly efficient refrigeration plant replacements with total heat and geothermal reclamation, an asset waiting to be harnessed.