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Burnsville goes green with arena geothermal refrigeration systems

It is the newest trend in green arena design: using geothermal refrigeration systems to cool the ice and provide heat to other parts of the arena complex as well as adjoining buildings. Several arenas in Minnesota and Canada are using the technology to good effect, lowering energy and coolant consumption.It is the newest trend in green arena design: using geothermal refrigeration systems to cool the ice and provide heat to other parts of the arena complex as well as adjoining buildings. Several arenas in Minnesota and Canada are using the technology to good effect, lowering energy and coolant consumption.

In Minnesota, arenas in St. Cloud, Paynesville, Austin and five other cities already use geothermal refrigeration systems to good effect. They’ll be joined by a two-rink complex, the Burnsville Ice Arena, by October 2010 if all goes well.

In an arena geothermal refrigeration, the temperature-tempering qualities of the Earth are accessed. The temperature below the frost line is relatively constant, around 50 degrees. Loops of tubes are placed deep under the frost line, and a mixture of coolant and water is circulated. A heat pump extracts the heat, leaving behind a coolant cold enough to create ice for the arena.

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