Nunavut Arctic College is a public community college with several campuses and learning centres located throughout the territory of Nunavut, Canada. Originally founded in 1995, the College offers an exquisite blend of classes immersed in science, professional development and traditional Inuit practice and knowledge. The College is firmly committed to providing opportunities to its students in leadership and innovation with an infusion of traditional language and culture.
Williams Engineering (WE) is currently providing sustainability, mechanical and electrical consulting engineering services for a deep energy retrofit at the Nunavut Arctic College Student Residence in the capital city of Iqaluit. The project is part of Natural Resources Canada’s Green Infrastructure Phase II Energy Efficient Buildings RD&D Program that leads with the goal to reduce energy costs by 15-40% by retrofitting existing infrastructure with energy-efficient building systems.
Previously a full-service hotel, the Nunavut Arctic College Student Residence features a dining hall, classrooms and administrative offices. Originally constructed in 2006, the facility is 43,491 gross square feet and has four storeys that include 56 student rooms. Qikiqtaaluk Properties Inc. (QPI) has initiated minor energy retrofits including the replacement of the lighting system with LEDs. In addition, QPI is looking to advance a deep energy retrofit of the facility to include improvements to the building envelope, advanced windows, improved HVAC system, combined wind and solar building-mounted technologies, and various other energy efficiency improvements identified as the project progresses.
Our sustainability team conducted a detailed energy assessment of the existing building. Our team proposed retrofit measures to quantify the energy savings with the overall impact of up to 62% energy savings and 352 tonnes of reduced CO2 emissions. The mechanical and electrical teams completed energy-efficient designs which included selecting a heat recovery system from sewer line to domestic hot water, selecting appropriate systems for air curtains at the main door and cogeneration systems providing a means to tie heat recovery into an existing heating plant. In addition, the design also included lower heating water temperatures to promote the use of cogeneration heat recovery, a complete re-design of the existing hotel modules with far infrared systems and the re-design of the current lighting for a new system using low voltage LED.
These residences serve as a place for students to relax outside of their educational pursuits. WE’s sustainable designs for Nunavut Arctic College support the student community with functional spaces to collaborate, connect and reside without the burden of significant energy costs and emissions.
