In Fontenay-sous-Bois, the Salvador-Allende ice rink heats the pools of the neighboring swimming pool

More efficient, the equipment installed by the teams of MCI, an Equans entity, allows the City of Fontenay-sous-Bois to achieve significant energy savings while reducing its carbon footprint. The icing on the cake, the heat generated by the production of the ice is recovered to heat the water of the neighboring swimming pool and further reduce energy consumption.

Created in 1973, the skating rink of the Salvador-Allende complex is one of the historic places of conviviality in the town of Fontenay-sous-Bois. With a length of 58 meters by 27,50 meters and a capacity of more than 1.000 people, the facility hosts many courses, sporting events and free practices of hockey, ice dancing and figure, synchronized or speed skating.

In 2020, as part of the infrastructure renovation, the city of Fontenay-sous-Bois called on MCI teams to renew its equipment and set up a virtuous heat recovery system. Already in charge of the old ice rink facilities, MCI will operate and maintain the new infrastructure until 2026.

Launched in April 2021, the work was finalized by MCI in the summer of 2022, in time for the opening and return to service of the ice rink at the start of the school year. After 9 months of service, the first results are conclusive: the performance commitments, measured in particular through a cooling efficiency coefficient (EER*), have been achieved and even exceeded with coefficients reaching up to 4,72 ! An application has also been submitted by the community to obtain financial support within the framework of the CEE (Energy Savings Certificates) system set up by the State.

Digitize, green and enhance: the 3 pillars of greener skating!

Specialist in refrigeration and energy optimization for 50 years, MCI has installed a refrigeration production plant, equipped with frequency converters and 8 compressors. Coupled with an energy monitoring and remote control system set up by Equans Digital, this innovative equipment makes it possible to adapt and therefore limit the production of cold according to the real and anticipated needs of the ice rink. Many factors affect the energy consumption necessary for the proper functioning of the ice rink: the outside temperature, the hours of use or the desired thickness of ice, which differs according to the uses of the ice rink (hockey matches , free practice, etc.)...

Another key improvement, a heat recovery device has been installed. Concretely, it makes it possible to recover the fatal heat evacuated by the refrigeration equipment during the cooling of the ice rink to make it available to other infrastructures. In the case of the Salvator-Allende sports complex, the town of Fontenay-sous-Bois did not have to look far and uses it for the hot water for the ice rink and the pool basins.

Finally, the ice rink's refrigeration equipment now works with a natural fluid, transcritical CO2. While regulations on refrigerants, responsible for 5% of greenhouse gas emissions in France, are tightening, transcritical CO2 has an almost zero global warming potential (GWP) and is therefore not covered by current regulations. With excellent thermodynamic properties, it is also an excellent choice in terms of energy performance and cost.

For Jean-Philippe Gautrais, Mayor of Fontenay-sous-Bois: "Beyond the practice of the sport that we want to encourage, the Salvator-Allende complex ice rink is a place of conviviality that has been delighting young and old alike for many years! We are therefore very happy to be able to offer Fontenaysiens a transformed infrastructure that is more energy efficient and more respectful of the environment. »

For Cyril Bezet, Area Director at MCI: "A skating rink to heat a swimming pool... at MCI, we gladly concede: technological advances can sometimes seem surprising or even a bit counter-intuitive!" Fortunately, they do not generate less real benefits. Remote control and supervision of equipment, consumption adapted to needs, low-carbon fluids and heat recovery: the modernization of the ice rink constitutes a new stage in the energy transition of Fontenay-sous-Bois that the MCI teams are proud of. to accompany. »

*Energy Efficiency Ratio: the cooling efficiency coefficient measures the energy performance of equipment at a specific time. The higher it is, the more efficient and energy-efficient the equipment. For example, if the EER is 3, it means that the refrigeration system produces 3 kW for each kW consumed.