Astro-Rink Low Emissivity Ceiling
in a Nutshell

A substantial energy conservation opportunity exists in arenas because of the relationship between emissivity and infrared radiation. Infrared radiation occurs when two adjacent surfaces are at different temperatures. Energy will radiate from the warmer surface to the cooler one. The magnitude of this radiation is related to the emissivity of the warmer surface. The higher the emissivity, the greater the amount of energy which will be radiated. The amount of radiation is also limited by the difference in the temperatures of the two surfaces. The greater the temperature difference, the greater the radiation from
the hot surface to the cooler one.
 

• Transfer of heat by radiating energy from the warm ceiling of an indoor ice arena to the cold ice surface can account for as much as 30% of the daily load on The Skating Rink’s refrigeration system.

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• An 80 ft. x 200 ft. ice surfaces at 26ºF with a flat deck ceiling at 60ºF have a radiant heat load of 35.6 tons. This is a substantial radiative load on the ice under fairly moderate conditions. In calculating the heat load above, it was assumed that the ceiling emissivity factor was 90%. This factor is the one normally associated with conventional ceiling deck materials such as steel or wood.

• If the surface emissivity factor could be reduced to 10%, then the radiation energy would be reduced to 3.95 tons, a reduction of 31.7 tons. Therefore, reducing this load by 80%, as in the above example would be highly desirable. Ceiling radiation can be reduced by lowering the ceiling temperature, raising the ice temperature or reducing the emissivity of the warmer surface.

The only practical way to reduce the amount of heat radiated from the ceiling to the ice is to change the emissivity of the ceiling. Energie Innovation’s “Astro-Rink” low-emissivity ceiling has an emissivity value of 5%. Thus, the installation of the “Astro-Rink” ceiling will effectively eliminate a substantial amount of the radiant energy transfer from the ceiling to the ice surface.