How Stride Helped Thrive Energy Cut Field Time in Half

Using Properate Stride and Studio, Thrive Energy could achieve:

• 50% reduction in time on site

• Faster turnaround to contractors and homeowners

• Accurate heat loss and gain calculations

Before adopting Stride, Brett Tracy and the Thrive Energy team were fully reliant on manual data collection to perform their heat loss and heat gain calculations. This meant:

• Sketching the floorplans on graph paper or Sketchup

• Manually measuring building geometry details, windows & doors, and rooms

• Collecting insulation and construction details

• Running blower-door tests

• Entering all data into HeatCAD back at the office

The process was time-consuming. On-site visits typically took 1.5 hours and up to 3 hours for large projects, followed by additional office work. “I kept thinking, there has to be a better way or a tool to streamline this process,” said Brett.

Brett knew the team needed a solution that could reduce manual effort, streamline data collection, and produce clear, reliable floorplans, without sacrificing accuracy.

The team initially adopted another LiDAR-based tool, but when incentive programs tightened requirements and stopped accepting Manual J outputs, they needed a Canadian-certified CSA F280-12 solution. That’s when they discovered Stride.

Several factors made Stride the clear next step:

1. CSA F280 Compliance

As incentive programs changed, they increasingly required the use of Canadian-certified CSA calculations, and Stride is CSA F280 certified. “With everything going on in the world, it’s nice to have a Canadian product and support a Canadian business.”

2. Familiar LiDAR Process

The LiDAR scanning process made measurements fast and easy. Having experience with another LiDar-based tool, Stride aligned closely with what the team already knew, reducing adoption friction. “The hardest part was transitioning to a new UI, but now we’ve got it figured out we’re running about the exact same time it took before.”

3. Responsive Support

Early onboarding involved close collaboration with Stride’s team, including fast fixes even outside business hours. “Anytime I had a question, I got help immediately. The support has been unreal.”

4. Ease of Use: 

Having already used LiDAR-based technology, Brett and his team found that the move to Stride was easy and user-friendly. “Once you learn the controls, how to manipulate the model, and how to add elements, it’s quite user-friendly. Our team uses it a lot and picked it up quickly.”

After adopting Stride, Thrive Energy cut site visit times nearly in half, reducing on-site work from 1.5 hours to roughly 45 minutes per home. Office time was also reduced thanks to automated CSA F280 reporting.

The time savings come from:

• LiDAR to capture measurements and build 3D models

• Automated surface and feature detection

• Ability to handle complex buildings, such as log homes

• Easy data collection for insulation and construction details. 

The team is now able to complete more site visits in a day, while still managing to finish off-site work quickly. This allows them to get accurate results to contractors and homeowners quicker than before. “We always perform blower door testing with our load calculations to get an accurate infiltration number and run duct flow testing if we are concerned about duct capacity,” says Brett. “Stride allows us more time to do our job well.”

It also allows for more time to be spent with the client or homeowner to discuss the home and its specific needs, and run testing and diagnostics if needed. Because of the visual elements of Stride, such as the 3D modelling, Brett can educate customers on the home and how elements impact each other. “Homeowners are usually interested in the software and looking at the 3D model of their homes. I’m able to test what happens when we change different components in the house, such as adding insulation or newer windows. By running these simulations, you can easily see and share what changes will impact the home.”

In addition to faster results, Thrive Energy has been able to maintain the quality of their work. “I’ve compared my heat loss heat gain from our energy model to Stride’s outputs and they’re very accurate.” 

Brett recommends all Energy Advisors to adopt Stride. “It’s a tool that will save you tons of time and minimize any friction with homeowners.” 

He also values Stride’s ability to perform both room-by-room and whole-home calculations without added effort. “Stride is a tool we can rely on. Efficient, user-friendly, and it makes us faster. And it’s only going to keep getting better.”