Optfor better

Ainsworth uses Opteon™
Refrigerant & High
Efficiency Parallel
Refrigeration System
Designs to Support
Community Rinks.

“So far we have installed
Opteon™ refrigerant in six
community rinks across the
Canadian prairies, and ourcustomers couldn’t be more
pleased with the simplicity,reliability & efficiency of therefrigerant & system.”— Rhett Svingen,
Controls and Engineering Manager,
National Refrigeration, Ainsworth

Ice hockey and curling are mainstays ofwinter recreation throughout the provinces of
Saskatchewan and Manitoba. In these provinces,many ice plants used for curling or hockey rinks
are aging and nearing the end of the equipment’slife. For these rinks, deciding on the type of new
refrigeration system is key to keep hockey sticks
on the ice and the brooms sweeping. Due tothe expansive geography of these prairie lands,
having service technicians as well as systems andcomponents readily available is critical to avoid
shutdowns and disruption to rink operations.
National Refrigeration, Div. of Ainsworth, havebuilt and serviced refrigeration equipment in
Saskatchewan for more than 25 years. Whenassisting rink owners and operators in making
decisions on new or replacement refrigeration

The content of this story is the sole responsibility of The Chemours Company.

systems, factors such as equipment capital
cost and operational costs, ease of service andavailability of technicians, as well as the direct andindirect environmental impact of the system are allconsidered. For Ainsworth, many of their ice plantsystems are intentionally designed to mirror themulti-compressor systems that are commonly usedin supermarkets – which helps technicians readilyfind components for maintenance and repair whenservicing the equipment. This design similarity
also allows technicians to work on a variety ofsystems without the need for additional training,which helps assure that a knowledgeable service
technician is always available to respond quickly tothe rink if needed.
In the recent past, Ainsworth has used R-404A
refrigerant, an HFC blend, in these multicompressor ice rink systems. However, withthe HFC regulatory phase-down underway in
Canada, for their more recent system installations,Ainsworth worked with the Chemours technicalservice team to understand their refrigerant
options that would support the move towardslower global warming potential (GWP) gases.
Through this evaluation, Ainsworth selected
Opteon™ XP40 (R-449A), a non-ozone depleting
refrigerant that has a 67% lower GWP comparedto R-404A, without giving up the ASHRAE
safety classification of A1: low toxicity and nonflammability 1.The selection of XP40 made sense
for Ainsworth’s customers, because the refrigerant
is already readily available, as it is commonly usedwith leading supermarkets throughout Canada andthe US and is approved by major equipment andcomponent manufacturers. Additionally, XP40 has
the advantage of very similar operating pressures
to the other traditional refrigeration systemdesigns of R-22 and R-404A with which service
technicians are comfortable and familiar 1.
Beyond the similarity to previous HFC systems,
Opteon™ XP40 also provides less burdensome
operating requirements when compared to newrink designs with ammonia, which often require
added cost layers for safety management,
emergency response planning, and upgradingmachine rooms for compliance with ClassT Specifications. With Opteon™ XP40, an
evaporative condenser is not needed, which is abenefit for locations with hard water, leading to
additional lower operating costs by avoiding water
consumption and maintenance to soften the water,
eliminating the need to clean fouled condensers,
and preventing system inefficiencies due tomineral buildup.

“So far we have installed Opteon™
refrigerant in six community rinks
across the Canadian prairies, and ourcustomers couldn’t be more pleased
with the simplicity, reliability &efficiency of the refrigerant & system.
The cost-effective operation of theserinks is critical to keep ice time costs
down and facility doors open. We’reproud to be able to contribute to ourcommunity in this important way,”
said Rhett Svingen, Controls and Engineering
Manager, National Refrigeration, Ainsworth.

Ainsworth at a Glance: Formerly National Refrigeration, Ainsworth is a national building
services company with locations across Canada. Ainsworth services a variety of equipment that ranges
from supermarkets, to convenience stores to ice rinks. The design group have experience building
custom ice plants for more than 40 years. When faced with providing a solution for owners and operatorswith R-22 ice plants that were nearing end of life, the team at Ainsworth including Matt Hale, Roger
Hale and Rhett Svingen develop the optimal proposal for their customers, taking into account: up-front
CAPEX, ongoing OPEX, ease of system serviceability and operation, environmental impact, and safety
management and the associated costs.
The team at Ainsworth has consistently and successfully resolved numerous chronic rink maintenanceconcerns for their customers, including cost effective system upgrades and replacements for aging
systems, energy efficiency optimization, computerized controllers and MCC replacement, managing
the use of hard water in condenser cooling, preventative maintenance programs, providing reliable,
responsive & trained labor on-site when maintenance is required, provided emergency response planningfor customers with ammonia facilities, and supporting time-sensitive rink start-ups and re-starts tominimize and/or avoid rink downtime. National Refrigeration, Ainsworth provides refrigerant and system
upgrades for all ice rink refrigeration and ice field piping systems.

In fact, Ainsworth Refrigeration and the rinkowners and operators they work with are not alone
in their quest to cost-effectively build, maintain,and replace community ice rink infrastructure.
Across North America, enabling an environmentallyand economically sustainable community rinkinfrastructure is vital to the mission of the NHL®,
who views the community rinks as the front-linesof their sport, and is committed to educate andshare best practices to improve community rink
operations through the Greener Rinks Program.

Conclusion
The collaboration and community focus of
Ainsworth, working together with the Opteon™
refrigerants team, is just one example of bringing
the NHL’s Greener Rinks Program to life—
providing community rinks in Saskatchewan
with a forward-looking, economically andenvironmentally suitable, ice plant solution.

For more information on the Opteon™ family of low GWP products,
visit optforbetter.com/NHL© 2021 The Chemours Company FC, LLC. Opteon™ and any associated logos are trademarks or copyrights of The Chemours Company FC, LLC.
Chemours™ and the Chemours Logo are trademarks of The Chemours Company. (3/21).
NHL and NHL Shield are registered trademarks of the National Hockey League. © NHL 2021. All Rights Reserved.
1See XP40 Product Information Bulletin and References @ www.opteon.com/en/-/media/files/opteon/opteon-xp40-prodinfo.pdf