This week’s Clean Buildings Performance Standard (CBPS) success story comes from the Sno-King Ice Arenas in Kirkland and Renton as they skated into compliance.
“Even with the high process loads that come with ice arenas, we’ve already seen benefits in the form of better system stability, fewer ‘mystery’ spikes in energy use…”
Thomas Sommers, director of maintenance for Sno-King Ice Arenas
“We successfully met Tier 2 compliance under the Clean Buildings Performance Standard for two Sno-King Ice Arenas facilities — Renton and Kirkland — by taking a ‘measure, manage, improve’ approach,” said Thomas Sommers, director of maintenance for Sno-King Ice Arenas.
Sommers describes the compliance process as straightforward, starting with benchmarking to create a clear baseline of their energy use. Next, the team built its O&M and EMP documents so day-to-day operations mirrored the intent of the CBPS.
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“Even with the high process loads that come with ice arenas, we’ve already seen benefits in the form of better system stability, fewer ‘mystery’ spikes in energy use, and faster troubleshooting because we now have clearer tracking and a consistent O&M approach. That translates to more reliable comfort for tenants and staff, fewer surprises, and a cleaner path for ongoing efficiency improvements. We’re backing this up with real capital work and ongoing upgrades, especially on major energy drivers like ice plant and HVAC, with an emphasis on modernization, controls improvements and better monitoring. Our focus is long-term, durable savings through improved reliability, tighter control, and preventing issues early — not one-time ‘quick fixes,’” said Sommers.
Through hands-on system improvements and better daily operations training for staff, Sommers helped drive an estimated 10% to 15% reduction in energy use across the rinks since January 2024, while improving consistency and reliability.
Thanks to the success of meeting compliance with the CBPS, Sno-King Ice Arenas were also able to take advantage of the available Early Adopter Incentive Funds. Sommers, who led the compliance efforts for Sno-King Ice Arenas, built a collaborative team and credits success to several partners along the way, including Sno-King’s internal staff for “doing the hard work to make this practical and repeatable.”
Sommers also credits the success to the Clean Buildings Team, MacDonald Miller’s technicians and management, PSE and Stillwater. Thank you for sharing your story with us, Thomas!
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