04 / ENGINEERED DIFFERENCE

ALDO vs. others.

A side-by-side look at how ALDO’s engineering outperforms the industry standard across HVAC, cable reinforcement, insulation, fabric and expansion.

THE CHALLENGE

Air-supported structures demand precise control of both indoor climate and dome pressurisation. Traditional HVAC systems often force operators to choose between comfort, efficiency, reliability and pressure stability — leading to temperature fluctuations, excess humidity, higher operating costs and increased downtime risk.

ALDO APPROACH

Multiple smaller units, constant supply airflow

Outside air is sized for pressure. Supply air is sized for comfort. Multiple smaller units keep airflow constant and adjust temperature and humidity to suit the space, so heating, cooling and pressurisation never compete.

OTHERS' APPROACH

Single large variable air volume unit

Supply air is dictated by pressurisation requirements with heating as a secondary concern. In summer, units bring in hot humid unconditioned air to pressurise the dome.

24/7 REAL-TIME MONITORING

A cloud-based building management system collects real-time performance data to verify equipment operation, recognise potential problems, diagnose minor issues and analyse system efficiency — allowing remote adjustment and often eliminating an onsite service visit.

INDUSTRY-LEADING WARRANTY

HVAC comes standard with a 5-year parts warranty. An extended 10-year full unit warranty is included at no extra charge when units are maintained with a preventative maintenance subscription.

No compromises

Zero compromise on space conditioning, pressurisation or summer load.

Built-in redundancy

Multiple smaller units deliver greater reliability and peace of mind.

BMS with CasLink

Internal BMS with remote monitoring — saves controls and BACnet costs.

5/10 yr warranty

5 yr standard parts, 10 yr with a manufacturer maintenance contract.

Quieter performance

ALDO units are significantly quieter than competing dome HVAC.

Single source

One manufacturer covers HVAC and controls — no multi-vendor finger pointing.

THE CHALLENGE

The corners of a rectangular air-supported dome are its highest-stress zones. How the cable harness terminates there determines load distribution, membrane tension uniformity and long-term reliability under heavy wind and snow.

ALDO APPROACH

Full cable harness with reinforced corners

18 mm galvanized steel cable harness with reinforced corner construction at the highest-stress zones — improving load distribution, cable anchoring and uniform membrane tension for long-term durability.

OTHERS' APPROACH

Non-reinforced corners

Standard dome systems leave the corners without dedicated reinforcement — creating stress concentration points, weaker cable anchoring and reduced long-term reliability under heavy wind and snow loads.

DEMONSTRATION / BALLOON TEST

Same balloon. Add a harness. More than double the pressure.

A cable harness spreads load evenly across the whole membrane, so no single spot is overstressed. The simplest way to see it: inflate two identical balloons, one bare and one inside a net. Run the test yourself.

Pressure0.00 PSI

WITHOUT REINFORCEMENT

SimulationReady

0.00PSI0.0 kPa

Bare balloon. Every bit of pressure is carried by the rubber alone.

WITH ALDO REINFORCEMENT

SimulationReady

0.00PSI0.0 kPa

Same balloon inside a net. The net shares the load and stops the rubber from overstretching.

—

Run the test to compare.

Without reinforcement · 0.00 PSI

With ALDO reinforcement · 0.00 PSI

WHY THE BARE BALLOON FAILS

Stress finds the weak spot

Rubber stretches until its thinnest point gives way. All the load sits on the membrane, and the failure starts wherever it is weakest.

WHAT THE NET CHANGES

The load is shared

The net takes the tension and spreads it evenly. The membrane only spans the small gaps between cables, so it is never stretched to its limit.

FROM BALLOON TO DOME

Same principle, at full scale

On a dome, the 19 mm galvanized steel harness carries wind and snow load across the whole membrane and into the anchors, with reinforced corners where stress is highest.

Animated simulation of a physical demonstration of load sharing, not a structural test of a dome. Air domes operate at a few hundred pascals (well under 0.1 PSI), and their structural design is verified per site to CSA S367 and the National Building Code. Balloon test: unreinforced balloon burst at 2.84 PSI; reinforced balloon reached 6.70 PSI intact, when the test was stopped.

THE CHALLENGE

In a double-membrane dome, the seam between inner and outer layers is the weak point. A direct weld forms a cold bridge — visible in thermal imaging — that drives heat loss, higher energy cost and condensation risk regardless of how much insulation sits either side of it.

ALDO APPROACH

Thermal Bridge Elimination Assembly

An insulated seam eliminates cold bridging between inner and outer membranes, paired with a heavy-duty 100 mm CNC-cut fibreglass matt with aluminium film on both sides — delivering R20–R22 effective insulation and dramatically reduced heating demand.

OTHERS' APPROACH

Single weld, non-insulated seam

Standard single-weld seams leave a direct path between inner and outer membranes, forming a cold bridge that drives heat loss, higher energy costs and condensation risk. Thin double-bubble foil provides only marginal thermal resistance.

THE CHALLENGE

Membrane specification is where most dome quotes quietly diverge. Tensile strength, coating, thickness and weight class determine tear resistance, vibration in high wind and how many years the structure actually lasts in an extreme climate.

ALDO APPROACH

PVDF architectural membrane + suspended insulated liner

Heavy-duty architectural PVDF building membrane with a TiO₂ UV-resistant exterior coating, enhanced thickness above standard North American dome systems, and a suspended insulated inner liner for thermal performance and acoustics.

8,500 N per 5 cm tensile — 866 kg of pull per 5 cm strip
TiO₂ UV-resistant exterior coating
Weight 1.35 kg/m², heavy-duty industrial class
Fire-retardant certified, CAN/ULC-S109
Suspended insulated liner improves acoustics and climate stability

OTHERS' APPROACH

Standard architectural fabric

Lower tensile strength, limited or no UV-protective coating, thinner and lighter weight class — and a single-layer membrane with no suspended liner.

Lower tensile strength than ALDO membranes
Limited or no UV-protective coating
Thinner, lighter, less durable weight class
No suspended liner: poorer thermal and acoustic performance
Shorter operational lifespan in extreme climates

THE CHALLENGE

Communities outgrow facilities. A dome built to one fixed size means the next phase is a new structure, a new foundation and a new capital request — not an extension.

ALDO APPROACH

Expansion-ready cable and membrane system

Add length without starting over. Cable harness and membrane connection point built in from day one lets the dome open, extend with a new section and reconnect, with the new seam sealed and insulated to match.

OTHERS' APPROACH

Fixed-size dome structure

Limited expansion flexibility — growth generally means a second, separate structure.

06 / ENVIRONMENTAL & FINANCIAL IMPACT

Built for today. Sustainable for tomorrow.

An R-20 insulated envelope and heat-recovery ventilation cut heating energy by 74% and block most summer heat gain. For a full-size soccer dome in Edmonton, that is about $165,000 saved every year.

Indoor soccer dome: annual energy cost

76 × 130 m (250 × 428 ft) · 9,940 m² (107,000 sf) · 30 m (100 ft) high · Edmonton, AB · year-round

Conventional double-membrane dome, R-3.6

$220,000

per year, heating and cooling

Winter heating · 24,300 GJ$194,600
Summer cooling · 157 MWh$25,000

ALDO dome, R-20 insulated envelope

$54,200

per year, heating and cooling

Winter heating · 6,350 GJ$50,800
Summer cooling · 21 MWh$3,400

$165,000 / yr

Saved on heating and cooling

$3.3–4.4M

Saved over 20 years

~2 years

Payback on added capital cost

74%

less heating energy

18,000 GJ

heating energy saved per year

~18,000 t

CO₂e avoided over 20 years

~195 cars

off the road, every year for 20 years

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

R-20 envelope, about 5× a conventional dome

Thermal Bridge Elimination Assembly at every seam

Heat-recovery ventilation

Foil-faced insulation blocks summer solar gain

Automated pressure and climate control

INDOOR ENVIRONMENT

Warmer inner surface, less condensation

Practical air conditioning for summer play

CO₂-controlled fresh air

Even, glare-free LED lighting

RESILIENCE

Engineered for 160 km/h winds, verified per site

Snow-shedding geometry with automatic storm mode

Year-round play with minimal disruption

How we calculated this. Estimated by ALDO DOMES from envelope heat loss and heat gain; to be confirmed by [firm / engineer] energy model. Edmonton, 5,100 heating degree days. Membrane area ~17,700 m². Ventilation 0.25 air changes/hr; ALDO with 60%-effective heat recovery, conventional baseline without. Heating equipment 81% efficient. Natural gas $8/GJ delivered, electricity $0.16/kWh, cooling COP 3.0. 20-year range: prices flat to 3%/yr escalation. Cooling assumes the conventional dome is air-conditioned; savings are lower if it is not. Both cases use identical lighting and airflow. CO₂e from heating at 0.05 t/GJ (natural gas); cooling electricity savings not included. Cars at 4.6 t CO₂e per car per year.