Software created by Port Moody, B.C.-based Properate is designed to simplify the path to a more energy-efficient, low-carbon home, helping homeowners meet climate and indoor health targets, and easing the work of professionals in the sector.

Founded in 2018, the company’s major services include Properate Homes and Stride.

Properate Homes assesses the energy efficiency of a home and outputs retrofit recommendations such as improved windows and insulation. Stride produces a digital twin of a home to assist professionals with installing heating and cooling systems such as heat pumps.

“We focus on the most overlooked part of the construction sector, which is retrofitting homes as a main vehicle for economic development, health and carbon emission reduction,” Arman Mottaghi, Properate’s CEO and co-founder, said in an interview with Sustainable Biz Canada.

A word that combines property and rating, Properate also means to hurry in Latin. Mottaghi, who worked as a building envelope consultant before founding Properate, said the company’s name reflects his mission of accelerating Canada to more sustainable housing.

Buildings are the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases by sector in Canada, the federal government says. There are approximately 16 million homes in Canada and most are expected to still be standing in 2050, according to the Canada Green Buildings Strategy published in 2024, making retrofits crucial to reduce carbon emissions in line with Canada’s climate goals.

Stride and Properate Homes

Stride, a smartphone-based app, allows an HVAC contractor or energy advisor to go room by room to generate a virtual copy of the home using LiDAR technology. The data can be used to draw up a plan to upgrade the home’s heating and cooling system.

“If you want to get a heat pump or a furnace, if it’s undersized of course it’s not going to heat your home enough,” Mottaghi said. “If it’s oversized, it’s gonna short cycle and it’s not gonna really do its job. So it’s really important to get the right size.”

As a more general solution, the company offers Properate Homes. A self-service website, it allows homeowners, utilities and governments to create a picture of a home’s energy efficiency and previews possible upgrades. It suggests government rebates and technologies that can help homeowners save money and lower carbon emissions.

The company’s services prioritize single-family homes, townhomes and small apartments. Stride does not carry an upfront fee, but does demand a per-project fee for reports. Properate Homes is licensed to utilities, governments and banks, with the company including customization and support services.

Properate’s offerings, Mottaghi said, can help overcome what it sees as Canada’s increasingly outdated energy ratings software for homes. The company does not “mean to disrupt the old ways” or bring in a new rating method, but “create systems that are auditable and understandable for everybody.”

Properate Homes, for example, is structured to be intuitive enough for non-technical users. Stride is designed to eliminate the time-intensive, expensive steps of measuring homes and inputting data, which are traditionally done by HVAC and energy professionals, Mottaghi said, while producing transparent data.

“We are adding the tooling that we need for this industry to scale up our orders of magnitude,” he said, “and get us the climate targets and the human health and development targets that we want to have in the next few decades.”

How Properate plans to grow

Properate’s technologies are used by the British Columbia government and municipalities in the province such as the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen. Local companies such as Thrive Energy are also among its clients.

The company operates Canada-wide, and Properate plans to expand its service to the U.S.

Properate’s revenue has grown rapidly over the years, Mottaghi said. He believes a tailwind for the company is the realization by many that “energy rating is one of the big missing pieces” to meet carbon reduction targets.

To further the company’s growth, Mottaghi plans for Properate to better explain the wide range of benefits a retrofit provides. For example, if a homeowner replaces a cracked single-pane window, he aims for Properate to outline the health and comfort improvements of a new triple-glazed window, not just the energy efficiency boost.

Other goals are to expand into climate resilience so Properate can help guard homes against extreme weather events, service highrise buildings and add other retrofit options to Stride.