The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Kelly Carrington Staff Writer The City of Flin Flon could be looking at saving anywhere from $30,000 to $50,000 a year at the Whitney Forum just by reusing the heat. The Whitney will be upgrading to a heat recovery system, this summer. The system takes "existing waste heat, heat that we're providing but not using, and utilizes it to heat, for instance, the lobby and other areas of the arena," said Flin Flon Recreation Manager Mike Dubreuil. The project, running at roughly $230,000, is expected to be underway in July and completed by the time the ice is put back in the arena. The city recently received $50,000 from the Community Places Grant, an annual grant provided by the Manitoba government. The heat recovery system will save the City roughly 30 per cent in heating fuel. "We're looking at significant savings," said Dubreuil. The push is on the long-term savings, said the recreation manager. Environmental benefit Along with the financial savings, Dubreuil says there is an environmental benefit. "You're utilizing heat you're generating and not blowing it back [outside]," he said. The Whitney Forum will be up to date, in the heating sense, come this fall. Through the heat recovery system, prices at the arena will remain completive on things like ice rentals. Channa Senyk, the Town of Creighton's recreation director, says they have seen a substantial difference in the cost of operating the Sportex, as it received a heat recovery system a year ago. "I'm glad they're going with [the system]," said Senyk. "What a savings." Comparing 2008 and 2010, the Sportex saw savings of $47,161. As the heat recovery system was put in part way through 2009, the number above shows the savings in 2010 after being compared to 2008, when there was no recovery system.
