Living in Kamloops means dealing with a climate personality split. We enjoy scorching semi-arid summers that rival anywhere in Canada, but we also endure winters where the temperature can plummet to -25°C or lower when a cold snap settles into the valley.

This means for homeowners in neighbourhoods like Sahali, Aberdeen, or the North Shore, choosing a new heating system is a major financial decision. The wrong choice can leave you shivering during a valley inversion or sweating over high utility bills.

The Hybrid Solution: Why Dual Fuel is Winning in the Thompson Valley

For years, the standard advice was simple: buy a gas furnace. However, the game has changed. The most strategic move for many Kamloops homes today is a dual-fuel system. This setup pairs an electric heat pump with a high-efficiency natural gas furnace. It is essentially the "hybrid car" of home heating.

In our region, a heat pump is incredibly efficient for about 80% of the year. It handles the "shoulder seasons", those crisp fall evenings and mild spring days, using affordable BC Hydro electricity.

However, heat pumps can struggle when the mercury drops deep below freezing. This is where the "dual" part kicks in. When the temperature hits a specific set point (usually around -5°C or -10°C), the system automatically switches over to the gas furnace. This gives you the powerful, instant heat you need to combat a deep freeze, without forcing an electric unit to work overtime.

Having that gas backup provides a critical safety net. You get the lower operating costs of electricity for most of the winter, with the raw power of gas for the coldest nights.

Navigating the "Kamloops Special" Retrofit: High-Efficiency Gas Options

Not every home is ready for a heat pump, and for many, a dedicated high-efficiency gas furnace remains the most practical and budget-friendly choice. This is particularly true for older homes in Westsyde or downtown Kamloops, often affectionately called "Kamloops Specials." These homes may have older ductwork or electrical panels (like 100-amp service) that make upgrading to a heat pump expensive or technically difficult.

If you are sticking with gas, the metric you need to watch is AFUE (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency). Older furnaces operating in our city might be running at 60% or 70% efficiency. That means for every dollar you spend on FortisBC gas, 30 to 40 cents is literally going up the chimney.

Modern condensing furnaces effectively capture that wasted heat. By upgrading to a unit with a 96% to 98% AFUE rating, you are keeping nearly every cent of your energy dollar inside your home. These units use a secondary heat exchanger to squeeze the last bit of warmth out of the exhaust gases before venting them safely outdoors.

The Elevation Factor: Sizing Your System for Inversions and Exposure

One of the biggest mistakes homeowners make is assuming that a 2,000-square-foot house in Dallas needs the exact same furnace as a 2,000-square-foot house in Brocklehurst. In Kamloops, elevation and exposure matter just as much as square footage.

Our unique topography creates "inversion" events in the winter, where cold air gets trapped in the valley floor, creating a fog that locks in the chill. Meanwhile, homes up the hill in Juniper Ridge might be sitting in sunshine but battling high winds that strip heat away from walls and windows.

A "rule of thumb" sizing calculation doesn't account for these micro-climates. If your furnace is oversized, it will "short cycle." It blasts the house with heat for ten minutes, shuts off, and then turns back on twenty minutes later. This puts massive wear and tear on the components and creates uncomfortable temperature swings.

If it is undersized, it will run continuously on those -20°C days and never actually reach your thermostat setting.

Securing Your Comfort and Capitalizing on Rebates

The landscape of home heating has never been more complex, but it has also never been more rewarding for those who plan ahead. With aggressive rebates currently available from CleanBC and FortisBC, the cost difference between a standard replacement and a high-performance upgrade has narrowed significantly. You can often get a top-tier system for the price of a mid-range one if you navigate the paperwork correctly.

Your furnace is a 15-to-20-year commitment. It is the lungs of your home, tasked with keeping your family safe through the diverse and demanding weather of the BC Interior. Whether you choose the versatility of a dual-fuel system or the reliability of a high-efficiency gas furnace, the key is matching the technology to your specific home and budget.

If you are unsure which system qualifies for the best rebates or fits your home's unique layout, we are here to help you crunch the numbers and clear the air.

If you are experiencing plumbing or heating issues in Kamloops, Merritt, Chase, Barriere, Salmon Arm, Sicamous, or Logan Lake, Hilltop Plumbing & Heating is here to solve them.

Our team provides comprehensive plumbing, heating and cooling solutions for residential and commercial businesses in Kamloops and across the Thompson Okanagan.