Energy Detective Measures Residential Energy in Nunavut

Last month, ACEP’s Robert Bensin, with staff from Kikitak Housing Association and residents of the Hamlet of Gjoa Haven, installed 25 home energy monitoring systems know as The Energy Detective.

Gjoa Haven, population 1,324, is an Inuit hamlet in Nunavut, Canada. It’s located above the Arctic Circle in the Kitikmeot Region, 656 miles northeast of Yellowknife.
The TED energy meters show the homeowner's real-time energy usage, accumulative usage and projected monthly cost. The energy meters are part of a pilot incentive program funded by the World Wildlife Fund, and the households were selected randomly to participate in the program by allowing access to historical energy usage data that will be compared to current monitored energy usage.

In Nunavut, many of the residents live in public housing, and the Nunavut Housing Corp. subsidizes a large majority of the energy costs in many of the region’s 25 communities.
Through this program, if homeowners reduce their household energy consumption, they may be rewarded with points or gift cards for fuel or hunting supplies. The initial installation in the 25 homes was a great success, and new interested participants are already looking to sign up.

The World Wildlife Fund is interested in helping the communities of Nunavut reduce their dependence on diesel and move toward renewable energy resources. WWF asked people in Gjoa Haven what kinds of energy projects they wanted to see in their community. With an initial list of 12 initiatives, the community decided to focus on three: energy efficiency, waste heat and solar energy. This project addresses the energy-efficiency initiative.

This project is one of the creative ways to encourage people in social housing to decrease their energy use. After the project in Gjoa Haven has been confirmed successfully, it may be duplicated in other communities throughout Nunavut, depending on funding.

For more information on the project, contact Robert Bensin at rbensin@alaska.edu.

 

A TED home energy monitor collects energy use and associated cost data from a household in Gjoa Haven, Nunavut. Photo by Martha Lenio, WWF-Canada.