Thermal imaging (thermographic) inspections in Gatineau

Gatineau gets about 4,354 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 −24.3°C. Those figures come from the climate data for Ottawa International in HOT2000, the home-energy software Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) gives energy advisors. That gives Gatineau a long window, roughly late fall to early spring, when the inside-outside difference comfortably exceeds the 10°C an infrared scan needs.

Of Gatineau's 80,110 houses (single-detached, semi-detached, row houses and duplexes), 14% were built before 1961 and 58% before 1991, according to the 2021 Census. Older houses are where the camera earns its keep: empty or settled wall cavities, gaps at the top of walls, and cold corners where framing bridges the insulation. Run it with the blower door test depressurizing the house and every leak shows up as a cold streak.

Most EnerGuide advisors include an infrared scan with the evaluation, but it isn't required, so confirm when you book. In Quebec, EnerGuide evaluations are booked through the provincial Rénoclimat program: the pre-retrofit evaluation costs $150 plus taxes, reimbursed when you receive financial assistance under the program, and the first post-retrofit evaluation is free.