Richard Gleeson
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (July 18/01) - Already established as a world leader in housing manufacturing and construction in the Arctic the Northwest Territories is about to take a step up to the next level.

A small multi-disciplinary team is designing the world's most Northern Healthy House, an ultra-efficient home tailored to the extreme Northern climate.

Ultimately, the aim is to reduce energy, water consumption and reduce the amount of both solid and airborne waste.

A search is currently under way in Yellowknife for a site on which to build the house. Depending on when a property is secured, construction will commence next building season or the one after.

The Northern Healthy Home will be an adaptation of a concept proven in the south. Healthy Homes are designed and built for a dual purpose -- to serve as homes for families or individuals and as demonstrations of cutting-edge housing technology.

"We know what can be done on the construction side -- we've done it to death -- so we looked at the utility side," said Aleta Fowler of the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation's Yellowknife office.

Eye on the big picture

The project began three years ago when environmentalist Chris O'Brien approached CMHC with the idea. O'Brien said he wanted to build a home that was more environmentally-friendly than the conventional house he lives in on School Draw Avenue.

"I'm just an environmentally conscious guy who wants to do the right thing," O'Brien said. "This is the future, it has to be done."

A $25,000 feasibility study of the house, due to be released this month, was funded in part by the Arctic Energy Alliance and CMHC.

CMHC is contributing $30,000 toward construction of the home, the approximate difference in cost between the healthy house and a conventional house.

Developing the project are architects Gino Pin and Stephen Fancott, building design consultant, Bill Fandrick, and environmental consultant, Bob Bromley.

Though the configuration will depend on the site selection, the most energy-efficient design would involve multiple residential units. One design being considered is mixed use -- offices on the ground floor and apartments above.

Underpinning the healthy house concept is a belief that the future health of the planet hinges on reduced energy consumption, particularly consumption of fossil fuels.

Fancott cautioned that smarter technology alone will not be enough: "There is no technological super pill people can take that will make everything better."

A change in lifestyle choices is also required -- choices such as driving less, turning down the heat, composting and living in smaller homes.

Cutting down on water wastage

"You would think that heating would be the most expensive part of operating a home in the North, but it's not," Fowler said.

Though the costs to consumers are offset by government subsidies, water is the most expensive home utility.

City hall is aware of one of the water-saving technologies that will be incorporated into the Northern Healthy House.

Two years ago, using a $10,000 grant it obtained from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, it commissioned a study of on-site waste water treatment systems for the North.

UMA Engineering Ltd produced some startling results in its study. It concluded that the cost of building a subdivision would drop from $80,000 to $47,000 per lot if homes were linked in clusters to on-site waste water recycling units instead of using conventional buried sewer and water pipes.

Lower lot prices are the tip of the cost-saving iceberg. Microsystems recycle everything that goes down the drain and toilet into clear odour-free water that can be reused for laundry and toilet flushing.

Those uses accounted for 57 per cent of the water used in a Ndilo house in which a microsystem was installed in 1998.

The house is home to two adults and three teenagers.

Monitoring of water use in the home revealed the system would result in $510 in savings over trucked water each month, based on the true cost of 5.5 cents per litre.

The $18,000 system would pay for itself in less than three years and result in $135,000 in savings over its 25-year life.

Microsystems are of particular interest to government, which subsidizes trucked water to NWT communities to the tune of $6.5 million annually.

The Ndilo microsystem is one of five installed in that community and Dettah in 1998 as part of a demonstration project.

Powering up

Solar energy will be another key part of the Northern Healthy House.

Site selection is critical to maximizing solar energy generation for both electricity and to heat the home and the water it uses.

Ideally, the house would use power from the electrical grid only as a back-up.

O'Brien would like to see a hydrogen-fuel cell incorporated into the home. Though hydrogen-fuelled generators are being tested in homes and vehicles around the world, fuel cells are not yet commercially available.

"Depending on who you talk to, it's close to being next year's technology or it's still five years off," said Fandrick.

Financing the biggest challenge

Fowler figures the biggest battle in making the Northern Healthy House happen will have little to do with construction or new technology.

"It's not just a demonstration of energy and space usage, it's how do we work with regulatory process to make this happen?

How do we work with lending institutions to make this happen?" Fowler said. "I think the biggest battle will happen before we hit the ground."

Banks are not in the habit of taking lower utility costs into account when determining how big a mortgage a person can carry.

That policy undermines one of the realities of more efficient homes. The long-term reduction in operating expenses requires a larger initial investment.

Financing is one of the many challenges currently being faced in developing the Northern Healthy House.

For those holding firm the belief that a more sustainable world begins with more sustainable homes, the challenges are well worth tackling.