New coating saves energy = more snow!

Killington Resort continues to partner with Efficiency Vermont on a number of projects to reduce our overall energy usage, especially when it comes to the World’s Most Extensive Snowmaking System.

Last summer during the re-build process on three of our seven snowmaking pumps at the Snowshed Pump House, we applied a new coating (pictured here inside the pump head) that reduces friction and overall energy consumption by five percent. Due to the resulting savings and partnership with EV, we have applied the coating to the other four pumps at Snowshed and all other pumps throughout the Resort, including pumps at Bear Mountain and the Mixing Bowl. By partnering with EV, we’ll also see an ROI of approximately one season on the new coating.

Considering snowmaking uses more energy than anything else here at the resort, the overall impact will

allow us to improve our snowmaking efficiency. Indeed, with each pump supplying 800 gallons per minute – enough to operate 20 Low Energy guns – we’re able to maximize our water resources and improved snowmaking production.

With snowmaking set to begin toward the latter part of October, we’ll see the full impact of this upgrade and the resulting energy savings pretty soon.