Our Workplace
Yukon Energy has offices in Whitehorse, Mayo, Dawson and Faro. In Whitehorse, a disastrous fire in 1997 knocked out three of the four Whitehorse hydroelectric turbines and the entire office complex.
As stressful as this was, it gave Yukon Energy an opportunity build anew, with results that we are all proud of. In fact, our new technical services and corporate offices building was the 1999 National Winner of the Canada Energy Efficiency Award for Commercial/Industrial Building Projects.
The complex certified in the CANMET/NRCan C-2000 Program for advanced commercial buildings. C-2000 sets exacting performance standards for commercial buildings and is referred to as the commercial equivalent to the R-2000 program for residential energy efficiency. The Yukon Energy building was only one of six in 1999 built to C-2000 standards, and the first north of 60.
The office complex uses about 50 per cent less energy than conventional office buildings. It contains no chemical coolant or linoleum flooring and no plastics. As well, the building pays a great deal of attention to lighting. The narrow wings allow natural light to penetrate as far as possible into the building, and sensors turn the overhead lights off when there is sufficient natural light inside each office.
A simple device called a sunshade keeps down the amount of glare inside the building and reduces the need for air conditioning. The horizontal shelf is installed about two-thirds of the way up each window. In summer when the sun is high, most of the light bounces off the top of the sunshade and is directed through the window to the ceiling of the room, producing a more diffuse natural light. In winter, when the sun is low and doesn't provide as much heat or light, the sunshades are designed to let in the maximum amount of light possible.- Yukon Energy Building (719 KB)