Home energy audits in Kelowna

Of Kelowna's 41,965 houses (single-detached, semi-detached, row houses and duplexes), 8% were built before 1961 and 50% before 1991, according to the 2021 Census. The typical Kelowna house dates from 1981–1990, and an evaluation is how you find out what that means for yours: the blower door measures air leakage, the advisor inspects the attic, walls, basement, windows and heating system, and the report ranks upgrades by what they'd save.

Kelowna gets about 3,715 heating degree-days a year, a measure of how much heating its climate needs, and its winter design temperature, the cold day heating systems are sized for, is −16.1°C. Those figures come from the climate data for Kelowna in HOT2000, the home-energy software Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) gives energy advisors. That's about 6% less heating demand than the middle of the 70 cities we cover. A moderate heating season with warm summers: fixes should cut heating bills and keep the house cool.

Kelowna summers are hot, so the air sealing and insulation that cut heating bills also keep the house cooler, and a heat pump can do the cooling more efficiently than an old air conditioner. Wildfire smoke reaches Kelowna in some summers. The Government of Canada's advice is to keep windows and doors closed, limit exhaust fans and use the best filter your system can handle, so ask the advisor what your furnace or HRV can take.

In the Kelowna area, 72% of households heat mainly with a forced-air furnace; natural gas is the main heating energy for 63% of households (Statistics Canada, 2023). The heating system on the report shapes the recommendations: a forced-air furnace invites a ducted heat pump, electric baseboards a ductless one.

There's no provincial price list; the City of Nanaimo quotes $400–$500 as typical for an existing home. Several B.C. municipalities subsidize evaluations for their residents (see local programs below).

• Kelowna EnerGuide Subsidy Offer (Home Energy Navigator): Limited-time City of Kelowna offer through the Home Energy Navigator: free pre- and post-retrofit EnerGuide evaluations plus free extras (heat pump sizing, duct flow measurement, electrical panel assessment). Eligibility: a Kelowna single-family home, townhouse, duplex or mobile home with fossil-fuel primary heating, planning a ducted central or dual-fuel heat pump, upgrades done after registering, and the post-retrofit evaluation done within 12 months. The offer page says 'Accepting Requests'. Details

Most providers quote the initial (pre-upgrade) and follow-up (post-upgrade) visits separately. Rebate programs that pay on measured improvement need both, so ask for the combined price.

• Initial evaluation, about 2–3 hours. The advisor measures and inspects the house and runs the blower door test.
• Report and EnerGuide rating. You get the home's energy rating in gigajoules per year and a list of recommended upgrades with estimated savings.
• Do the work. Most rebate programs only count upgrades done after the initial evaluation.
• Follow-up evaluation. A second visit measures the improvement, which is what most rebates pay on.

Read the full guide to home energy audits.