How is Artificial Snow Made?

From the early to the middle of the 20th century, skiing quickly became popular. As more people become passionate about this sport and make it an annual tradition, ski runs have grown into extremely profitable businesses. As a result, someone invented a device called a snow gun. This kind of equipment is really useful, even when there is abundant natural snowfall, because it allows the resort operator to better control the smoothness of the top layer of snow, thereby creating better ski conditions.

Snow machine

From the early to the middle of the 20th century, skiing quickly became popular. As more people become passionate about this sport and make it an annual tradition, ski runs have grown into extremely profitable businesses. As a result, someone invented a device called a snow gun. This kind of equipment is really useful, even when there is abundant natural snowfall, because it allows the resort operator to better control the smoothness of the top layer of snow, thereby creating better ski conditions.

Chinese name

Snow machine

Development period

Early to mid 20th century

Application

Ski sport

Alias

Snow gun

There is a general view of snow making by machines, and it is considered that such snow is not enough

We see that water vapor condenses (usually around the nucleating agent) when the temperature reaches a certain level, and turns into ice crystals, forming snow. Therefore, the main conditions for snowmaking are water and low temperature.

The main task of the snow machine is to complete the work of snow-forming clouds in the atmosphere. These machines are not capable of making snow under any conditions. They need suitable ground weather, just as snow in nature needs suitable ground weather to fall to the ground and pile up. In order to determine the timing of snowmaking and to ensure that the type of snow is correct, ski resorts need to rely on experienced snowmaker operators, often referred to as snow workers.

The basic principle of a snow gun is quite simple. However, the actual snowmaking process is a bit more complicated. The wet bulb temperature needs to be low to a certain degree, and the snowmaker must carefully balance the water and air levels to get the desired result.

The most widely used market for snow machines is the ski industry. But artificial snow has many other uses. For example, snow machines are used in many

For ski resorts, the cost of water is not a huge expense, and the environmental impact of pumping so much water is not great. Most ski resorts pump water from one or more cisterns located low. The water flowing down the ramp returns to these reservoirs, so the ski resort is actually using the same water over and over again. However, the flow of snow-making water everywhere will have some adverse effects on the flora and fauna, so ski resorts must work to ensure that the water level is relatively balanced.

Power consumption is an important environmental consideration and one of the biggest expenses for ski resorts. If the snow gun making snow for the ramp is using compressed air, a large amount of energy must be provided to drive a large air compression pump. In addition, a pump system is needed to supply water to the snowmaker. These pumps are usually driven by diesel engines, which can cause significant air pollution.

Ski resorts using compressed air snow guns also require a large amount of power to drive the machine's fans. Although this type of snow gun consumes far less energy for every 0.3 meter of snow, they are still the main energy-consuming machine. For most ski resorts, power consumption ranks second among all expenses, behind labor costs (snowmaking alone requires a lot of labor). Regardless of the technology used at the ski resort, the proportion of snow energy consumption is quite high.

Due to the high cost of snowmaking, ski resorts must develop a reasonable strategy for determining when and where to use these machines. The bulk of the work involved in the snowmaking process is to strike a balance between the cost of running the machine and the benefits of an extended ski season. Efficient snowmaking ensures that the machine does not waste electricity to make snow without bringing any benefits, and only makes snow when it can be retained.