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ELK RIVER ARENA <br />ELK RIVER, MINNESOTA <br />APRIL 8, 1998 <br /> <br />FEASABILITY STUDY <br /> <br /> a. The three 12,000 CFM fans are used to bring ventilation air into the facility. <br /> There are two primary uses for the ventilation air: (1) provide fresh air for the <br /> occupants of the building, and (2) provide ventilation air for the ice resurfacer. <br /> b. The three exhaust fans are typically all energized during an ice resurfacing <br /> operation. This is 4.2 times the minimum ventilation rate required by the <br /> governing codes. We have designed numerous ice arena facilities with code <br /> mandated ventilation rates and have not had any problems controlling the <br /> contaminant level in the buildings. The excessive ventilation rate is one of the <br /> biggest moisture sources for the arena. <br /> <br /> c. The control of the ventilation air for the occupants of the arena is also a concern. <br /> One 12,000 CFM fan closely matches the amount of ventilation air required for a <br /> 1,500 occupant wintertime event. We recommend that one of the fans be run <br /> continuously when the arena is fully loaded. <br /> <br /> d. The maximum building occupancy occurs very infrequently during the use of the <br /> facility. During all other periods of operation a reduced ventilation rate could be <br /> used. The current ventilation system allows the choice of running one, two or <br /> three of the 12,000 CFM exhaust fans. One of the fans will accommodate the <br /> maximum occupancy of the facility. We recommend that a method of providing <br /> fresh air for the occupants of the arena be included in future design revisions. <br /> <br />The arena dehumidification system consists of two 17 lb/hour refrigerant style dehumidifiers. <br />The units are installed in opposing comers of the arena. We have the following comments <br />pertaining to the design of the system: <br /> <br />1. The units were sized to remove only a small portion of the total moisture load in the <br /> building. We have estimated that the typical moisture load on the building on a warm <br /> humid day would be approximately 600 lbs/hour. The installed dehumidifiers remove <br /> approximately 6% of the moisture introduced into the building on a design day. This <br /> accounts for the moisture problems experienced in the facility. <br /> <br />2. The existing dehumidifiers are located in the arena. The moisture enters the building <br /> through the ventilation air and people loads. The dehumidifiers then attempt to remove the <br /> moisture fi.om the building and dry the air back out. We recommend that as much of the <br /> moisture be removed from the ventilation air before it ever enters the building. This is <br /> accomplished by dehumidifying the ventilation air prior to introducing it into the building. <br /> <br />3. The existing dehumidification units use refrigeration to remove the moisture from the air. <br /> The units cool the arena air down below the dewpoint temperature of the air. The moisture <br /> then condenses on the cooling coil, is collected in the drain pan and disposed of in the sewer <br /> system. The units are effective when the temperature of the air in the arena is fairly warm, <br /> say 70 °F. As the temperature in the arena drops the efficiency of the units drop and they <br /> remove less moisture from the air. <br /> <br />NELSON-RUDIE & ASSOCIATES, INC. Page 5 <br /> <br /> <br />