The Abbotsford Recreation Centre (ARC) operates year-round and includes three main areas: the aquatic facility, an arena, and community space. Originally, The City of Abbotsford built these areas in three phases over several decades from: 1972 to 2008 with separate heating and cooling systems.
Our Vancouver Special Services Group is upgrading the facility to help the City meet sustainability goals by creating a system integration which allows for localized heat recovery, which is estimated to reduce total greenhouse gas emission of the facility by 460 tonnes of CO2. Heat recovery and optimization will reduce energy use and pollution and improve comfort for everyone who uses the space.
Our team is retrofitting the mechanical system (HVAC, Domestic Hot Water system, Heating and Chilled Water system, etc.) to enable more efficient energy use. As part of the work, the team is installing new piping that links the aquatic facility, arena, fitness, and community space. The system will circulate heated water generated from waste energy in the aquatic and arena areas to other parts of the building. Once the heat is transferred, the cooler water will cycle back to be reheated, creating a loop that captures and reuses energy that would otherwise go to waste.
To support the system, the team is also adding a new mechanical room adjacent to the existing aquatic mechanical rooms as well as installing new digital controls in collaboration with project partners. These controls will allow building operators to monitor and adjust indoor temperatures in real time across the entire facility.
This complex mechanical retrofit includes seven phases, with both day and night shifts to keep the facility operational. The first three phases focus on pipework, while phase four and onward expand to include architectural, mechanical, and electrical work.