RC120 SeptOct 2025 - Magazine - Page 18
ENERGY
LEADING BY EXAMPLE
Kingston skates ahead with novel ice rink clean tech
N A PIONEERING MOVE that positions Kingston as a national
leader in sustainable municipal infrastructure, the city
has introduced Canada’s 昀椀rst-ever Liquid Desiccant
Dehumidi昀椀er (LDD) system for arena dehumidi昀椀cation, at the INVISTA Centre.
This energy-saving technology is set to reduce
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, lower operational costs
and showcase the impact of strong public-private-academic
collaboration.
Unlike traditional dehumidi昀椀cation systems, which rely
on natural gas heating, the LDD uses a liquid desiccant and
heat pump technology to dry the air.
“The system replaces the need for dehumidi昀椀cation
I
at the INVISTA Centre. This deliberate setup enables
a direct performance comparison with the Centre’s
existing dehumidi昀椀ers, which are powered by natural
gas. “The two sides of the facility are identical in layout
and equipment, making this the perfect environment to
test the new system side by side with the traditional one,”
says Horne.
To verify the system’s performance, the city is
partnering with St. Lawrence College (SLC), where
researchers will gather data and produce a white paper
on the e昀昀ectiveness of the technology. As a proud SLC
alumnus, Horne was instrumental in bringing the college
into the fold. “SLC is doing all of the measurement
and veri昀椀cation,” he notes. “It’s a
fantastic opportunity for students to
be involved in a real-world cleantech
project from the ground up.”
The idea for the project was born
through informal conversations
between Horne and senior leaders
at Modern Niagara. “We were
talking about some of the innovative
technologies they were developing,
and at the same time, we were dealing
with the aging dehumidi昀椀cation units that were nearing
end of life,” Horne recalls. “It all came together through
ongoing discussions, shared goals, and a commitment to
trying something new.”
That willingness to innovate also brought challenges—
especially around procurement and timelines. “The city
doesn’t typically engage in research partnerships like
this,” Horne admits. “It’s been slower than we expected,
and navigating the building approvals for a brand-new
system added extra time. But we’ve learned a lot, and it’s
opened the door for future collaborations.”
For users of the INVISTA Centre, the change may be
subtle but bene昀椀cial. The new system will provide more
e昀昀ective humidity control and improved air quality
without impacting ice maintenance or user operations.
“Ideally, if the system is working as intended, people
won’t even notice—except that it will feel less humid
inside,” Horne says.
Looking ahead, the city hopes to expand the LDD
by natural gas, which is the most commonly used
method,” explains Russell Horne, Manager of Facilities
Energy & Asset Management for the City of Kingston.
“Instead, it uses proprietary Blue Frontier desiccant
technology that absorbs moisture from the air. Once that
昀氀uid becomes saturated, it’s regenerated by heating it
through a heat pump. That process causes the moisture
to evaporate and be released as water vapour, and the
昀氀uid is reused.”
This not only eliminates the use of natural gas but also
signi昀椀cantly reduces environmental impact and utility
expenses. According to Horne, “The new unit has been
modelled to reduce operating costs by approximately
$7,000 per year and cut GHG emissions by up to 100
tonnes annually.” That is the equivalent of removing over
20 vehicles from the road—a meaningful step toward
Kingston’s broader climate goals.
Developed and manufactured by Modern Niagara, the
LDD system is currently installed on two of the four pads
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CITY OF KINGSTON
“Municipalities tend to be risk-averse, for good reason, but I hope
this shows that taking a calculated risk—especially through
strong partnerships—can lead to major benefits.”
