BC Place, British Columbia, CAN

Heating BC Place with the advanced and efficient supraSchwank

About the facility

BC Place is a year-round, open-air multifunctional facility ( 247,000 square-foot multi­functional stadium) for various events such as concerts, sporting events, and consumer shows. It is the largest sports, exhibition and enter­tainment venue of its kind in British Columbia, Canada.
BC Place is home to the Vancouver Whitecaps FC MLS franchise, the BC Lions Football Club and the BC Sports Hall of Fame and was the host venue for the Opening and Closing Ceremo­nies of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. BC Place prides itself as being one of the most technologi­cally advanced stadiums in the world.

The issue

BC Place had numerous problems with their previous roof and heating system. The roof being inflated by air blowers was nearing the end of its life span and was very costly to heat. In 2007, accidental over-inflation caused a large rip in the roof and the air-supported fabric dome collapsed. The forced air system heated the entire volume and was unable to effectively heat the ground level. This increased costs as BC Place was forced to increase heat output in order to force the warmed air to the field level.
In 2008, the B.C. Government announced it would perform a major overhaul of the stadium to be completed by September of 2011. The new stadium required 247,000 sq. ft. at field level to be heated effectively to provide excep­tional comfort to guests and performers.

Implementation

A total of 74 supraSchwank heaters were installed 170 feet above the field increasing the comfort temperature by approximately 10 degrees F with an input of 6.5 million Btuh. The intelli­gent ThermoControl Plus system was installed to allow temperature control in four zones to easily achieve comfort for a wider variety of events. supraSchwank, the world’s most energy-efficient outdoor infrared heater, is the only heater capable of providing sensi­ble comfort to venues at the field level 170 feet below.

The equipment

■ supraSchwank
■ ThermoControl Plus

Results

With the advanced technology of the supraSchwank radiant heaters, BC Place was able to isolate heat to the floor for specific types of events and avoid unnecessarily heating the entire volume of air in the stadium. The ThermoControl Plus system provides the ability to optimize the performance of the supraSchwank heating system by adjusting heat delivery according to outside tempera­ture and desired comfort level. These features make any stadium a truly year-round venue by providing climate control, comfort, and efficiency with the advanced and powerful supra­Schwank radiant heater.