Ice Rink Installation

An ice skating rink had metal halide lamps in their arena and considered plasma lamps as a replacement. The facility had dimensions of 231ft x 148ft for a total floor space of 34188sq ft and had a ceiling height of 30ft. The target floor lumination was 700 lux, necessary for ice skating competitions and public ice skating sessions. The lighting simulation showed a requirement of 44 units of 700 watt plasma lamps, model PSH0731B to achieve the illumination targets. The metal halide lamps have had a substantial operating cost due to the equipment and downtime needed on the ice rink to replace the bulbs and ballasts so the decision to switch to plasma lamps was easy.



Luminaire Positions



Simulated Illumination Levels



Initial Fixed Costs

400w Metal Halide Lamps: 700w Plasma Lamps:
Part # of Units Cost Total Cost Part # of Units Cost Total Cost
Bulb 109 $50 $5450 Luminaire 44 $1500 $66000
Ballast 109 $60 $6540  
Fixture 109 $100 $10900  
  Subtotal $22890   Subtotal $66000
 
Installation Labor Costs 109 $80 $8720 Installation Labor Costs 44 $80 $3520
  Initial Cost $31610   Initial Cost $69520


Installation labor costs is calculated at $80 per fixture, which takes into consideration the time to install, lift equipment and the wiring involved in installing these fixtures. The cost to install the lamps were higher given the environmental considerations. Initial fixed costs came out to be $69520 for the plasma lamps compared to $31610 for metal halide lamps, a difference of $37910. Note, the plasma fixtures prices are high estimates and are available at a lower price. The metal halide lamps are current retail prices.



Energy Costs

400w Metal Halide Lamps: 700w Plasma Lamps:
Watts per Fixture 460w Watts per Fixture 730w
Color Rendering Index 60~65 Color Rendering Index 80~85
# of Units 109 # of Units 44
Power Consumption 50140w Power Consumption 32120w
Cost per kWh $0.15 Cost per kWh $0.15
Hours per Day 12 Hours per Day 12
Days per Year 365 Days per Year 365
Annual Power Consumption 219613kWh Annual Power Consumption 140685kWh
Annual Energy Costs $32941 Annual Energy Costs $21102
  Annual Energy Savings $11839


The ice skating rink required the lights to be on for 12 hours a day, every day of the year. The 460w figure for the metal halide lamps include the power used by the ballast. The annual energy savings is obvious with plasma lamps. A total of $11839 is saved annually, which pays off for the price difference in the initial fixed costs within 3.2 years. But wait, there's more! Plasma lamps require less maintenance because the bulbs do not dim with age and the parts last longer, see the below chart for details.



Maintenance Costs

400w Metal Halide Lamps: 700w Plasma Lamps:
Bulb Life 10000 hours Magnetron Life 30000 hours
Ballast Life 30000 hours  
Hours on per Year 4380 Hours on per Year 4380
Hours per 10 Years 43800 Hours per 10 Years 43800
Bulb Replacements in 10 Years 4.38 Magnetron Replacements in 10 Years 1.46
Ballast Replacements in 10 Years 1.46  
# of Bulbs Replaced 477 # of Magnetrons Replaced 64
# of Ballasts Replaced 159  
Replacement Parts Cost $33419 Replacement Parts Cost $19272
Bulb Replacement Labor Costs $19096 Magnetron Replacement Labor Costs $2569
Ballast Replacement Labor Costs $6365  
Ten Year Labor Costs $25462 Ten Year Labor Costs $2569
Ten Year Parts Cost $33419 Ten Year Parts Cost $19272
Ten Year Energy Costs $329419 Ten Year Energy Costs $211020
Ten Year Total Operating Costs $388301 Ten Year Total Operating Costs $232870
Annual Total Operating Costs $38830 Annual Total Operating Costs $23287
  Annual Total Savings $15543
  Price Difference Payoff Time 2.42 Years


Though metal halide bulbs might be rated for 20000 hours, lumen depreciation within the first 10000 hours drops by 30%. Bulb orientation can also have a substantial effect on the bulb life and brightness. We used a figure of $40 per part replacement for the labor costs due to the difficulty in doing maintenance on an ice rink. Once we factor in the maintenance costs, the savings are even greater. Total costs to operate the plasma lamps annually is only $23287 compared to $38830 for metal halide. This is an annual savings of $15543, which means the initial price difference of $24710 between plasma and metal halide will be paid off in just 2.43 years!


Keep in mind these energy costs are calculated under the assumption energy prices remain the same during the 10 years. History has proven that energy costs will always rise with time so the payback time might be quicker than the figures shown above. 477 metal malide bulbs and the 28000mg of mercury that those bulbs would have contained were saved from the landfills by going with plasma lamps. Note the lower color rendering index of 60~65Ra with the metal halide lamps compared to 80~85Ra with the plasma lamps. The savings and benefits are obvious.



Picture of Final Installation