Two different projects, two different paths.
Homeowners and Renovators
EnerGuide evaluations, blower door testing, thermal imaging inspections, and advisory support for rebates and financing.
Builders, Developers and Building Owners
Step Code compliance modelling, airtightness testing, large building airtightness, commissioning and ASHRAE energy audits.
How Monolith Serves Kamloops and the Thompson Region
Monolith Housing Solutions is based in North Vancouver and travels to the Thompson region for scheduled project work. The firm does not subcontract Kamloops testing to third parties. The same technicians who run tests in the Lower Mainland run them in Kamloops.
Site visits are planned and consolidated. For a home evaluation, that means the full assessment and blower door test are completed in a single visit. For construction projects, testing scope is planned in advance so the building is ready when the crew arrives.
Travel is quoted as part of the project. Larger projects and multiple units on the same site carry the travel cost more efficiently than a single small test, so it is worth discussing scope early.
- Kamloops
- Thompson-Nicola
Home Energy Audits and EnerGuide Evaluations in Kamloops
An EnerGuide home evaluation is a whole-house assessment carried out by a Registered Energy Advisor licensed through Natural Resources Canada. The evaluation combines a full inspection of the building envelope and mechanical systems with a blower door test that measures how much air leaks through the enclosure.
The result is an EnerGuide rating, a modelled energy profile of the home, and a report identifying which upgrades will actually reduce energy use. For most Kamloops homeowners the evaluation is also the gateway to rebate programs, since most retrofit incentives require a pre-upgrade evaluation before work begins.
What the evaluation covers
- Blower door airtightness test with results in ACH50 and equivalent leakage area
- Insulation levels and thermal bridging across walls, attic and foundation
- Window and door performance
- Heating, cooling, ventilation and domestic hot water systems
- Optional infrared thermal imaging to locate insulation gaps and air leakage paths
- EnerGuide rating and modelled upgrade scenarios
Working alongside Retrofit Assist
The City of Kamloops offers Retrofit Assist, a free concierge service that guides homeowners through a retrofit from first interest to completion. It is delivered by the Community Energy Association in partnership with the City and SwitchPACE Community Investment Corporation, and it provides personalised guidance, support to maximise available rebates, connection to energy advisors and contractors, and access to competitive financing.
Retrofit Assist is a navigation service. The technical work it points toward, the evaluation, the modelling and the airtightness testing, is what an Energy Advisor delivers. Monolith works with Kamloops homeowners at that stage, whether they arrived through Retrofit Assist or came directly.
The City also offers rebate top-ups for households installing a heat pump or an EV charger, or removing or upgrading eligible fireplace appliances. These stack with provincial and utility programs, and the order in which work is done affects what a household can claim.
If you have borrowed a thermal camera
The City of Kamloops has run See the Heat, a program that lends thermal imaging cameras to library patrons so residents can see where their homes lose heat. It is a useful first look, and it often raises the right questions.
What a borrowed camera cannot do is quantify. A thermal image shows a temperature difference at a surface. It does not measure the air leakage rate of the house, does not produce an EnerGuide rating, and cannot be submitted for a rebate program. Diagnostic thermography under controlled pressure, combined with a blower door test, is what turns an observation into a measured result and a prioritised upgrade plan.
Kamloops homes and summer heat
Most energy advice written for British Columbia assumes a coastal climate. Kamloops does not have one. The city sits in a semi-arid valley with hot, dry summers, and cooling load is a real design factor here in a way it is not in Vancouver.
That changes retrofit sequencing. Envelope work that reduces winter heating demand also reduces summer cooling demand, and airtightness improvements affect how well a heat pump performs in cooling mode. An evaluation that models both seasons produces a different upgrade order than one that only looks at heating.
Airtightness also affects how much outdoor air, including wildfire smoke, enters a home uncontrolled. A leaky house cannot be filtered effectively, because the air is not coming through the filter. A tighter enclosure with properly designed mechanical ventilation gives the occupant control over what comes in.
Building Energy Consultant Services for Kamloops Projects
Monolith works as an independent building energy consultant on Part 9 and Part 3 projects: energy modelling for permit submission, airtightness testing at mid-construction and final stages, large building airtightness testing, commissioning, and ASHRAE energy audits on existing buildings.
The firm is led by Shahin Arvandi, a Registered Energy Advisor, Certified Air Tester, Level II Infrared Thermographer, Certified Passive House Designer and LEED AP BD+C.
Energy modelling and Step Code compliance
Pre-construction and as-built compliance reports for Part 9 and Part 3 submissions, including TEDI, MEUI and GHGI metrics where required.
Mid-construction airtightness testing
Testing while the air barrier is still accessible, so deficiencies can be corrected before drywall.
Large building airtightness testing
Multi-fan and multi-zone testing for Part 3 buildings, including multi-unit residential, commercial and institutional projects.
Commissioning and recommissioning
New building commissioning and existing building recommissioning, verifying that systems perform as designed rather than as specified.
ASHRAE energy audits
Level I through Level III audits on existing buildings, producing prioritised measures with modelled savings.
Infrared thermography
ASTM E1186 diagnostic thermography for envelope defects, moisture and thermal bridging.
BC Energy Step Code Requirements in Kamloops
Kamloops applies the BC Energy Step Code close to the provincial baseline. Requirements change on municipal schedules, so confirm current rules with the City of Kamloops building department before applying for a permit.
What applies
Building permits applied for on or after January 1, 2022 must demonstrate compliance with the energy performance and administrative requirements of the Energy Step Code as adopted by the City of Kamloops. The requirements apply to new buildings.
| Building type | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Part 9 residential | Step 3, as defined in Subsection 9.36.6 of the BC Building Code |
| Part 3 | Step 2, or the established Step depending on occupancy classification (Subsection 10.2.3) |
Part 9 covers houses and small buildings of three storeys or less with a building area no greater than 600 square metres.
What the City requires with the application
In addition to standard permit requirements, Step Code projects require plan drawings whose layout, sizes and construction details match the information in the pre-construction compliance report. A mismatch between the drawings and the model is a common cause of resubmission.
Compliance requires working with a Licensed Energy Advisor or Registered Professional, and involves both energy modelling software and on-site blower door testing.
The EnerGuide label
Kamloops requires the final EnerGuide label issued by NRCan to be displayed on the property once received, typically in the electrical or mechanical room. The label arrives after the as-built evaluation is complete, so it is worth confirming with the Energy Advisor when it is expected rather than discovering the requirement at occupancy.
Planning ahead of Step 4
Step 3 requires 2.5 ACH50. Step 4 requires 1.5 ACH50. Builders working at the current minimum have limited margin if requirements tighten, and air sealing practice is not something a crew improves in a single project.
Mid-construction airtightness testing is the practical way to build that margin.
It gives the crew measured feedback while the air barrier is still accessible, and it de-risks the final compliance test before finishes conceal critical junctions.
Requirements reviewed for municipal baseline compliance. Confirm current requirements with the City of Kamloops building department before permit application.
Heat Loss and Heat Gain Calculations for Kamloops
CSA F280-12 is the Canadian standard for calculating residential heating and cooling loads. It is the basis for correctly sizing heating and cooling equipment, and it is required for many permit and rebate pathways.
Load calculations are climate dependent. A Kamloops calculation uses different design temperatures than a Vancouver calculation for an identical house. Using coastal climate data on a Thompson valley project produces equipment sizing that is wrong in both directions: oversized for heating and undersized for cooling.
Why sizing matters more under EL-4
Oversized heating and cooling equipment short cycles. It reaches setpoint quickly, shuts off, and restarts, which reduces efficiency, shortens equipment life, and produces uneven temperatures and poor humidity control. In a well-sealed home the effect is more pronounced, because the actual load is lower than rule of thumb sizing assumes.
What a CSA F280-12 calculation includes
- Room by room heat loss and heat gain
- Design temperatures specific to the Kamloops climate
- Building envelope assemblies with effective thermal resistance values
- Infiltration rates, informed by measured airtightness where testing data exists
- Window orientation and solar gain
- Equipment sizing recommendations for heating and cooling
In Kamloops, cooling capacity matters as much as heating capacity. A heat pump sized only against a heating load may struggle through a valley summer, and one sized only against a cooling load will cycle poorly through winter.
Working with Monolith on a Kamloops Project
Project scoping
Project type, timeline, and which compliance or rebate pathway applies. Travel scheduling is discussed at this stage.
Design stage modelling
Energy modelling before permit submission, so compliance is designed in rather than corrected later.
Permit documentation
Pre-construction compliance report for submission to the City of Kamloops.
Mid-construction testing
Airtightness testing while the air barrier is accessible, with a deficiency report if remediation is needed.
Final testing and as-built reporting
Compliance testing and as-built reporting for occupancy.
For existing homes, the sequence begins with an EnerGuide evaluation rather than design stage modelling.
