Thermal characteristics and energy conservation measures in an indoor speed-skating arena

For indoor speed-skating arenas in cold districts, the calculation of heat income and outgo (heat balance) constitutes a special case because we have to heat the arena throughout the year while manufacturing ice in the rink. We adopted a speed-skating rink located in Obihiro City, Hokkaido, Japan, as a sample, and after operating the air conditioning/freezing systems, we assessed the environment of the place. We used building performance simulation to analyze energy saving measures and the measured data were used to verify the model. With the objective of finding energy savings, we chose three items as parameters: reduction of out air quantity, the number of freezers, and the temperature setting of the indoor environment, and conducted experiments using real data and simulations. By doing this, we could analyze the special conditions and propose ways to reduce energy use and improve the management of the building.