Major League Soccer Club Efficiently Exceeds 55°F Goal with HTHV Technology

When Major League Soccer club the Real Salt Lake Monarchs embarked on building the largest pre-engineered, free-span facility in North America, a critical concern was efficiently heating the space during the cold Utah winter months.

This mammoth, 208,000-square-foot structure can make a person feel rather small. With a width of 525 feet, depth of 400 feet, and ridge height exceeding 70 feet, the Zions Bank Training Center (designed by Nucor Steel in Brigham City, Utah) houses two full-size soccer fields with unobstructed views.

For the Real Salt Lake Monarchs, providing excellent indoor air quality for the professional soccer players on the fields and the fans on the sidelines needed to be addressed. The goal for heating the building was to maintain an average temperature of 50°-55°F using the fewest number of energy-efficient heating units.

For a building of this magnitude, the design team chose Cambridge Engineering’s High Temperature Heating and Ventilation (HTHV) technology. Four 1.6 million Btu units would heat the facility to the required 50°-55° temperature. Two units were installed on opposite ends of the facility with thermostats placed at a height of 10 feet off the floor. All four through-wall units are vertically mounted, which maximizes air distribution throughout the facility. These four units provide efficient, draft-free heat to the facility’s entire 208,000 square footage.

The HTHV also:

Improved air temperature uniformity due to destratification without supplemental fans;
Improved indoor air quality due to the use of 100% outside air; and
92% ultra-high efficiency resulting in energy savings and better indoor comfort.

To ensure the fans in the stands and along the sidelines were comfortable, the team installed infrared heaters over the bleachers to spot heat those areas — just in case. To their surprise, they haven’t had to use those heaters once. With HTHV technology heating the facility, the soccer club has exceeded its initial goal of 55°. In fact, the team is able to easily heat the facility to a comfortable 68°, providing indoor air quality that players and fans enjoy.

To learn more about the energy efficiency and destratification of HTHV technology, visit www.cambridge-eng.com.