Rink Costs

Is your monthly utility bill more than $8,000?
This is quite substantial. A simple calculation means that if you prorated $8,000 per hour, based on a 24-hour period, it costs you more than $11 per hour for electricity.

Are you paying for ice that's not being used?
Of course you are. If you have a year round facility with this average weekday schedule, then you're paying more than $32,000 per year for those daily 8 hours of unrented ice time.

What are your facility's variable costs?
Lighting is the most obvious variable cost. Remember that a variable cost is an expense that is directly dependent on the number of hours rented. Other easily recognizable variable utility costs are water, resurfacer fuel, and to some extent, labor.

Can variable costs help an ice rink's bottom line?
Since a variable cost is directly dependent on the amount of hours rented, then a fixed cost converted to a variable cost is extremely beneficial. As the number of hours rented increases so does: the amount of electricity needed for operating the lights, and the water and fuel used in the ice resurfacer. If ice is unrented for some reason, then you can shut the lights out and not operate the ice resurfacer, saving electricity, water, and fuel costs.

But can refrigeration be a variable cost?
At first thought, you may say, "no, refrigeration is a fixed cost." That is, no matter how many hours are rented, you must still pay for the electricity used for refrigeration. But, when considering a simple refrigeration system in the home, a freezer for example, refrigeration is a variable cost. The electricity usage is directly dependent upon the amount of time that the freezer door is open. When the door is open, the fan turns on and the compressor turns on. If the door is shut then the fan and the compressor operations become intermittent, saving electricity.

Granted that an ice rink uses a secondary refrigerant and that most home freezers do not, a "door" or insulated cover for the ice rink will save much on refrigeration costs. Compressors will operate more intermittently, variable or two-speed brine pumps will operate at lower speeds, and condenser pumps and fans will turn off.

How does Demand, a fee charged by electric utilities, affect variable costs?
Demand accounts for a portion of an ice rinks electric bill. Unfortunately, Demand is a fixed cost and cannot be affected by reducing variable costs. In other words, no matter how many variable costs are reduced, you will still have to pay Demand. Demand usually accounts for about a third of an ice rink's monthly bill.