Comparative life-cycle cost analysis of refrigeration systems in ice rinks.

Many ice rinks are facing renovations which require sound financial decision-making to improve their overall performance. Hence the concept of life-cycle cost (LCC) analysis is increasingly applied to estimate costs. However, a practical way to incorporate the concept when comparing the economic performances of refrigeration systems seems to be missing. This study addresses this issue by developing an LCC analysis model that is effective and capable of producing reliable results when comparing refrigeration systems in ice rinks. The LCC model is developed to automatically perform economic analysis based on simulated energy performance together with investment and service cost data gathered from the field. Different tools are included in the model to critically evaluate the input data. The model is applied to real cases in Sweden, where the LCC analysis often concludes that installing a CO2-based system with a heat export function would yield the best financial results. This paper further discusses the potential reasons behind these recurring findings. Results indicate that the sensitivity and scenario analyses play a crucial role when evaluating the quality of input data. The reliability and robustness of calculated results can therefore be assessed, which demonstrates the applicability of the developed model in comparative LCC analysis of refrigeration systems in ice rinks.