Former Inuvik mayor builds Arctic-friendly energy efficient home

A new home on the Inuvik Real Estate market is breaking ground in energy efficiency in the North and was open to the public for viewing Oct. 24-25.

Located at 23 Carmichael Drive, Project EDNA, named for Edna Shattler and standing for Energy Decreased Northern Accommodation, was a pet project of former Inuvik mayor Peter Clarkson which was built over the summer. The Three-bedroom, two bathroom 1,500 square foot home was inspired by Shattler's late husband, who wanted to build her something similar.

"It was about proving it could be done, but also the challenge of doing something different," said Clarkson. "If we can spread the word on how to build energy efficient homes in the north, it would be great.""

Featuring extra thick walls up to 20 inches thick, the building has a number of features that set it apart from the average Inuvik home. For one, the house does not have a boiler system, instead relying on insulation and careful window placement to regulate heat produced from a natural gas fireplace.

Larger southern-facing windows to capture more sunlight, coupled with a Heat Recovery Ventilation system to keep airflow moving confortable, the passive-heated home also has electronic baseboard heaters in the bedrooms and bathrooms for those extra cold nights.

Clarkson said not having to maintain a boiler system would result in a lot of cost savings for the owner. The house is also furnished with energy efficient appliances, LED lights and an induction stove to save electricity costs.

All material was source locally and work on the building started July 22. A crew of four was able to finish construction by Oct. 14, though Clarkson noted the crew could have had it done within two months but had to stop work to finish another construction project.

However, the house won't be going for cheap. Noting he still needed to add up all the bills to figure out what the house would cost, Clarkson estimated the market value of the home to be between $600,000 and $700,000.

Further expansion of the house can also include placing up to 24 solar panels on a storage shed at the property, once the Northwest Territories Power Corporation gives the green light for more solar panels to be added to the grid.

But for Clarkson, figuring out how to do it was the main challenge.

"This was the learning project," he said. "But I would build one for myself as a retirement home."