INUVIK - The new duplex with solar panels on the corner of Bonnetplume and Reliance is an experiment being done by the NWT Housing Corporation.

This new energy efficient duplex, built by the NWT Housing Corporation, has an EnerGuide for houses rating of 88 out of 100. Construction is complete and occupants will move in within the next one to two months. - Samantha Stokell/NNSL photo

The homes, completed and just waiting for the OK by engineers, are a project started by the housing corporation and its federal equivalent, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC). With energy efficient homes already built in Yukon and Nunavut, the NWT was the logical next step.

"Inuvik was chosen because it's above the Arctic Circle and uses natural gas, which is more efficient," said Scott Reid, director of infrastructure services for the NWT Housing Corp. "It also had the capacity in contractors and maintenance and staff to work on the project."

While designing the building, the housing corporation had two goals: ensure the homes met cultural needs and exceeded EnerGuide standard for housing. The acknowledged standard for new homes now sits at 80 and the housing corporation wanted to reach at least 85.

"Typically the houses we manage are at 66. They're old houses, about 30 or 40 years old," Reid said. "We came in at 88."

Over the next year, the housing corporation will monitor all the energy savings and then decide whether to build more of these energy efficient homes across the North. It cost $900,000 for the duplex, or $450,000 per unit. The energy efficient duplex cost $320 per square foot to build while it costs $250 per square foot under regular standards. The CMHC contributed $75,000 to the construction of one home and will fund another $75,000 for monitoring.

"This is the first one, it's an experiment," Reid said. "If the (energy) savings continue down the road, if it makes economic sense, this could be the new design for the housing corp."

The original design called for an 86 rating, with the hopes of adding solar panels for electricity and hot water. Those additions helped raise it to the 88 rating. The design passed 80 by increasing insulation values in the walls, roof and floor; used quad-pane windows on the northern and coldest side of the house and triple-pane on other sides; and included a high-efficiency heating system, with a boiler that uses natural gas.

Despite having more than 30 days of darkness in the winter, Reid says the solar panels will still increase efficiency, especially during the spring and fall, when heating is still needed.

"Right until November the sun is still up," Reid said. "The numbers look good. Using solar panels will work in Inuvik. Let's try it at least."

An additional attraction to the house is that designers included more easily accessible features, with wider hallways and doors, a first-floor washroom and no steps into the building. While it's not fully accessible to people with disabilities, it is designed for increased ease.

"If someone has a friend in a wheelchair, they will more easily be able to visit," Reid said. "It's not designed for a handicapped resident. It's designed for everybody."

The home will be public housing, so while rental costs won't change, the utility costs that the corporation pays should decrease. With an 88 rating, the housing corp. expects a 25 to 30 per cent energy savings.

In addition to possibly saving the housing corporation money, the duplex will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions for the territory.

"We really believe this is the future of building in the North," Reid said. "It costs a lot up front, but we will save a lot of money in the long run."

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