Skating Through Seasons: The Future of Canadian Ice Rinks

Today we’re gliding into a topic that's as Canadian as maple syrup and hockey—ice rinks.  But these aren't your parents’ ice rinks. 

We're talking about the modern marvels that are redefining how we experience this beloved pastime. We’ll explore how innovative ice rink solutions go beyond preserving a cherished tradition, transforming it to create a new kind of Canadian magic. 

Hot hockey on cold ice: Year-round skating rinks  

Picture this: It's a sweltering 35 degrees Celsius outside, the sun is blazing, and hockey players are lacing up their skates – in shorts, ready to hit the ice. Sound impossible? Not anymore. 

Thanks to cutting-edge technology, ice rinks are no longer confined to the chilly months of winter. State-of-the-art warm-weather rinks are popping up across Canada, offering skate sessions and fast-paced hockey, regardless of the weather.

For example, Trane collaborated with Synerglace to provide ice for the Sun Life Pro-Am hockey tournament held in Quebec City, Quebec, last August. The pop-up event was held outdoors during the hottest days of summer!

“Synerglace, a leader in temporary mobile ice rinks, collaborated on rink development with Trane producing and maintaining rink ice,” said Trane Systems Sales Team Leader, Dave Bouchard, who works in the Quebec City sales office. 

“Trane coolers started making ice on Saturday afternoon and by Monday, teams were skating,” he said. “Even when the heat rose to 35 degrees, the ice remained frozen.”

Halifax Oval skating: Trane transforms outdoor track

The Halifax Oval in Halifax, Nova Scotia –  “the” place for locals to meet up, summer or winter – is 400 meters long (the size of three professional hockey rinks). The oval, which offers summer roller/inline skating and winter ice skating, is the largest outdoor artificially refrigerated ice surface in Atlantic Canada. 

Area residents, known as Haligonians, take great pride in this very popular community gathering spot. 

“As colder days settle in each year, Trane chillers transform the oval track into an ice oval,” said Trane Services Account Manager, Kirk Fraser, who works in the Halifax/Dartmouth sales office. 

Six 60-ton Trane CGAM ice making chillers make -12 C glycol that is distributed to piping under the ice surface’s concrete pad to cool the pad below freezing for ice making. 

“These systems are designed to maintain ice to an outdoor temperature of up to 10 C,” said Kirk.

Season extenders: Covered rinks   

Rink development isn’t just about producing ice. It can even include putting a roof over skaters’ heads, which can make all the difference. If you’re thinking, “hey wait, this is a Trane-published blog; they don’t make ice rinks roofs” – then you’re spot on. We don’t. 

What we do offer, however, is a complete solution for your ice rink needs, even sub-contracting to bring in other suppliers, like ice rink roof developers, when needed. Rink roofs provide multiple benefits. A covered rink enhances environmental control and enables an earlier skating season start date and a later season end date.

“A roof reduces the heat load on warm winter days when ice would otherwise start melting, so rinks can be opened sooner and operated longer,” said Dave. And those days when rain or sleet would normally pelt down on your skaters? No longer an issue. 

Even better, a roof means no more rink shoveling because the snow never touches the ice. 

The Scott Seaman Sports Rink in Diamond Valley, Alberta, for example, reaps covered rink benefits. The city’s outdoor rinks also benefit from two Trane solution options: free cooling and redundancy. 

Free cooling cuts costs

The ice plant serving Diamond Valley’s outdoor rinks incorporates free cooling, which can reduce energy consumption by up to 80 percent and extend chiller lifetime. Free cooling is a method where colder outside air is used to cool down fluid instead of using a chiller. 

Here’s how it works: When the outside air is cooler than the process fluid that the chiller needs to cool down, the colder outside air absorbs the heat from the fluid. (And Alberta has an abundance of cold air in the winter!)

“This reduces or even eliminates the need to use the chiller, saving energy,” said Trane Services Account Manager Joe Wilshire, who works in the Edmonton sales office. “In other words, the process heat is removed by the ambient air in the system’s free cooler providing ‘free cooling’.”

Location, location, location

Trane solutions also include identifying the best location for chiller systems.

“When a new chiller was needed to support the arena and the outdoor rinks at Diamond Valley, Trane’s customized solution placed it between the two locations and next to the existing outdoor air-cooled chiller,” explained Joe. “This enables Diamond Valley to leverage the remaining lifecycle of the older chiller, providing redundancy. Additional cooling capacity is also available for future expansion if needed.”

These are just a few examples of how ice rinks are coming together in unexpected ways in Canada.

“We focus on the best ice rink solution for each customer,” said Dave. “That means we’ll find a way to meet your goals, whether that involves making and maintaining ice, leveraging the benefits of winter cold to produce free cooling, tapping system redundancy or even literally putting a roof over skaters’ heads.”

Learn more about how your community can explore and incorporate creative and energy-saving solutions to your rinks by contacting your local Trane office.