Paul Bickford
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (July 29/02) - Enterprise-based Polar Wall Canada has patented an insulated siding system that saves fuel while keeping homes warmer and mould-free.

"It's an actual breathing wall," says the company's Al Flamand.

The product goes on the outside of homes and is made of wood with a four-inch styrofoam bead board glued to the back.

A moisture management and drainage system designed into the board lets moisture -- but not warmth -- escape. That helps prevents problems like black mould, says Flamand.

Usually siding is put outside a home and insulation goes inside. With this product, you don't need interior insulation, says Flamand, and that leaves more room inside.

"We probably save 50 to 60 square feet per home on inside floor space," he says. "You insulate and side your home in a one-step process."

Flamand's brother, Robert Flamand, invented the system in Saskatchewan.

"He's been in the siding business all his life. He was trying to come up with a product that would, in a one-step process, solve some of the energy problems in retrofitting older homes and new homes," says Flamand.

Tests by the Saskatchewan Research Council found the siding reduces fuel costs by 26 per cent. And it reduces air movement around doors by 31 per cent.

That's without any caulking and sealing, says Flamand.

"With caulking and sealing, we're expecting to get a 30 per cent fuel savings," he says.

Housing authority tests

The Hay River local housing authority is testing the product on a 30-year-old house at 21 Woodland Dr.

The NWT Housing Corporation's Tom Makepeace says the local authority will monitor fuel use over the winter and compare it with records from previous years.

"It might be something that could be used right across the Arctic," says Makepeace.

"We spend a lot of money on fuel, so it would make sense to utilize it."

However, he says the product is best for homes lacking insulation upgrades.

"If somebody has already gone ahead and done a bunch of energy efficiency and put new siding on, it's not too cost effective to rip it off and put this on."

Northern jobs

Polar Wall Canada designed and made the equipment to manufacture the product. The company is now building a manufacturing plant in Enterprise that will employ six to 10 people.

Flamand is hoping to sell plants to other Northern communities.

His company would make and install the equipment for other regions and then sell the plant, much like a franchise.

"We're looking at Inuvik, we're looking at Iqaluit," says Flamand.

"Not only can we manufacture the product in the North, but we can transport the jobs to areas where they use the product."