The increase in energy prices further underscores the benefits of synthetic ice
The current energy crisis, with the price of electricity skyrocketing, is having a substantial impact on all business sectors due to unprecedented global inflation.
Within this global context, the market for conventional ice rinks is being negatively higher energy costs. The use of generators to keep the ice frozen involves a high cost that continues to rise, causing operating costs to also rise. Given this situation, synthetic ice rinks can step in and be an ideal alternative as they do not need electricity for their operation or maintenance.
Cost of electricity for a conventional ice rink
Let us compare real data on the actual cost of maintaining a conventional ice rink. It is true that there are many elements that influence the cost of kWh/m2 (like wind, humidity, location of the rink, etc.), the average consumption is about 3 kWh/m2/day. With this data in hand, the energy consumption of a standard conventional ice rink (200m/2000sqft) during one month, amounts to $3,200 for the US / 3.600 GBP for the United Kingdom and 4.900€ for the European Union.
The numbers speak for themselves. This data explains why the demand for synthetic ice rinks has exploded. Nobody wants to pay enormous energy and maintenance costs when it’s possible to operate a synthetic ice rink that needs no generators or any other energy source.
Other energy costs of conventional ice rinks
The energy costs needed to freeze conventional ice rinks go beyond this. The same standard rink of 200m/2000sqft uses 10,000 liters/2600 gallons of water per month, and emits 5.5 tons of CO2. Additionally, the cooling system and generators cause significant noise pollution in their surroundings. Not to mention the possibility of leaking water and glycol.
Given the current situation, it’s understandable that there is an increasing demand for synthetic ice. Who wouldn’t want to switch over to ecological ice and reduce their maintenance costs to almost zero?
