Originally built in 1976 by Yellowknife’s largest not-for-profit housing provider, N.W.T. Community Services Corporation, Northern United Place provides affordable residential and commercial space to its tenants. After a building assessment and energy audit was completed in 2023, it was decided that an energy retrofit would be the best approach for this building. This approach included major building envelope, mechanical and electrical system upgrades to reduce GHG emissions by 86% and provide overall energy savings of 70%.
Williams Engineering (WE) provided the electrical engineering and lighting design required on this project. Through the Canada Greener Housing (CGAH) program, Northern United Place was able to secure $18.5 million dollars in funding for the retrofit. The electrical design included a robust lighting upgrade to LED fixtures with additional controls in addition to the replacement of the main power distribution system, designs to support power to the new mechanical equipment, exit lighting upgrade, fire alarm system upgrade and electrical coordination for the addition of pellet boilers and heat pumps.
This combination of retrofit measures, along with the exterior cladding replacement, will result in significant energy reduction and ultimately, significant cost savings to the building owner. Williams Engineering is proud to be partnered with Reimagine Architects to make this project a huge success.
