Dane Gibson
Northern News Services

NNSL (Apr 09/99) - Mike Buchanan is one-part businessman and two-parts hound dog.

The owner and sole proprietor of Joule-Tech is hired by businesses to investigate where they can save energy.

"Energy management is a process. You can go through a building and leave with everything fixed, but the technology you put in will need to be replaced with something more efficient down the road," Buchanan said.

"My clients usually aren't coming to me because they're overly concerned about the environment, they're coming to me because they're concerned with controlling their energy costs."

Buchanan moved to Yellowknife 15 years ago and worked with the GNWT as an energy management officer. In 1996, he left the GNWT to co-ordinate an energy management program for Giant Mine. Last year, he started Joule-Tech.

"I reviewed my situation and felt there was a need for a specialized service in the North," he said.

"Historically, government has provided public awareness and information campaigns on energy conservation, but they haven't had the resources to actually go through a client's facility and make detailed recommendations."

When Buchanan starts an energy audit, he turns investigator. First, he pores over a company's energy bills looking for patterns in the way a company expends energy. He can then make recommendations for cost- effective improvements to the building.

Long-term solutions to high energy bills would mean upgrading insulation, windows and doors. Medium- term solutions may include looking at heat-recovery solutions where heat off motors can be recovered and reused. Short-term changes are the ones that can be implemented immediately.

"In some cases, it's just a matter of being aware of what's operating uselessly and shutting it off. A quick walk around a building can tell you what types of technologies are being used and where improvements can be made," Buchanan said.

"For example, one industrial fan that's powered by a five horse-power motor could cost as much as $6,500 a year if it runs continuously."

Buchanan has done energy audits on everything from the Yellowknife airport terminal building to the Racquetball Club in Iqaluit. Last week, he was in Rankin Inlet, working on a project for the Arctic Energy Alliance.

He also develops training-awareness programs for company senior managers and maintenance staff, so they can be aware of how best to save energy. Although Yellowknife's energy is supplied by hydro power, everything North of Yellowknife is powered by diesel generators. That's why it's especially important to conserve energy in the North.

"The hidden cost of energy use is the impact it has on the environment, particularly in the North where the majority of our power is generated with diesel generators. The less power those engines have to produce, the less emissions there are being released into the atmosphere," Buchanan said.

"The fact that every kilowatt hour I help a company save means less of an impact on the environment is the icing on the cake for me."