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Radon Mitigation and Testing in Red Deer
The towns and acreages around Red Deer tested higher than the city: a quarter of the area's homes in the 2024 Cross-Canada Survey of Radon were at or above Health Canada's radon guideline, against about 1 in 7 inside city limits. RadonCare's crews test and fix homes from Lacombe and Blackfalds down to Penhold and Innisfail, west to Sylvan Lake, and on the county acreages in between. Not sure what your number means? Give us a call.
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Our Radon Mitigation Work in Red Deer
Just a Few of Our Results From the Area
Our crews work across Red Deer and the towns and acreages around it. The five homes below run from a two-storey in north Red Deer to a bi-level in Lacombe, and every one finished under 30 Bq/m³.
Each system is designed for the house it goes in: a 1970s bungalow in central Red Deer with sand under the slab and a sump to seal needs a different system from a newer Lacombe bi-level with heat lines in the floor. Canada's national standard for radon mitigation, CAN/CGSB-149.12-2024 (section 1, p.1), says a system that is properly designed and installed by certified professionals can lower radon by about 90% or more. How well a system works comes down to who designs and installs it. We've lowered the radon in every home and commercial building we've ever worked on. Every system we install comes with guaranteed results.
Tricky homes are the ones our technicians enjoy most. Even after more than 3,000 homes, we still run into something new now and then, and when we do, the whole team works on it together, so every job has the experience of all our crews across Alberta and BC behind it.
The Five Homes Below
Before Mitigation
212 to 400Bq/m³
After
13 to 28Bq/m³
322→13Bq/m³
Two-storey, north Red Deer
2010s · finished basement · in-floor heat
A newer home with no builder's radon pipe. The after test ran for a full year.
400→18Bq/m³
Bungalow, central Red Deer
1970s · finished basement · sump pit · sand under the slab
A pressure test under the floor picked a high-suction fan, and the sump was sealed airtight.
212→<25Bq/m³
1970s home, south Red Deer
1970s · finished basement · sump with weeping tile
Two suction points, and a sump lid sealed flush with the floor, so the doorway stays clear.
377→28Bq/m³
Two-storey, Sylvan Lake
2010s · developed basement · in-floor heat
Tested the same way before and after: a winter lab test in the basement.
300→16Bq/m³
Bi-level, Lacombe
2010s · in-floor heat and a furnace · sump pit
Radiant heat in the slab, so we found the heat lines before cutting into the floor.
Readings in Bq/m³. After results are lab tests from our account; before results are the homeowners' own long-term tests, lab tests or digital monitors, as they told us. Home details are approximate to protect each owner's privacy. Photos are from our installs in the area.
Have a result over 200 Bq/m³, or not sure what yours means? Call us and we'll talk it through.
Radon Levels in Red Deer
What Local Tests Have Found
About 1 in 4 homes tested across the Red Deer area were at or above Health Canada's radon guideline of 200 Bq/m³. In the city itself, it was about 1 in 7.
Both figures are from the 2024 Cross-Canada Survey of Radon, led by Evict Radon at the University of Calgary. The Red Deer area is Statistics Canada's census division around the city: Sylvan Lake, Lacombe, Blackfalds, Innisfail, Penhold, Ponoka and the counties, with the city's own homes counted in it too. So the towns and the country around Red Deer, taken together, tested higher than the city.
The survey found the same pattern across Canada: about 1 in 6 homes in cities and large towns were at or above the guideline, against about 1 in 4 in smaller towns, villages and the country. None of these numbers can tell you about your own house: a long-term test is the only way to know. See how other parts of Alberta compare.
Homes Over the Guideline
Red Deer Area, Cross-Canada Survey
1 in 4
City of Red Deer, Same Survey
1 in 7
Red Deer area: 25.6% of 422 homes at or above 200 Bq/m³ (census division 8, p.70); City of Red Deer: 15.1% of a sample printed as 200 to 299 homes (p.44); both in the 2024 Cross-Canada Survey of Radon, which also gives the urban and rural figures (p.26). For Lacombe County and Innisfail, see Radon by Area Around Red Deer.
What Your Radon Level Means
From Fresh Air to Canada's Guideline
Radon is measured in becquerels per cubic metre (Bq/m³). Here is where a long-term result sits next to the levels that matter in Canada, drawn to scale up to 300.
radoncare.ca
5 to 30
85
97.1
100
148 US
200
300
How Homes Here Tested
Share of Homes Tested in Each Range of Radon Levels (Bq/m³)
City of Red Deer
52.7%
32.2%
15.1%
Under 100
100 to 199
200+
About 5 to 30Bq/m³
Fresh outdoor air. Radon from the ground gets diluted in open air, and the level changes from day to day and from region to region.
85Bq/m³
The average Canadian home.
97.1Bq/m³
The average home tested in the City of Red Deer (2024 survey, weighted, p.44).
100Bq/m³
The reference level the World Health Organization suggests for countries.
148Bq/m³
The level where the US Environmental Protection Agency says to fix a home. A US number, shown for reference: Canada uses Health Canada's guideline.
200Bq/m³ (5.4 pCi/L)
Health Canada's guideline. Above it, Health Canada recommends lowering your level within a year, and sooner the higher it is.
300Bq/m³
The upper limit the World Health Organization and European rules set for a country's reference level.
200 is not the goal. Health Canada says no level of radon is risk free, and 200 is not a recommended stopping point if your home can reasonably go lower.
Above 300: How High Radon Can Go
Not Drawn to Scale
800Bq/m³
Canada's guideline from 1988 to 2007, before it was lowered to 200.
673Bq/m³
The highest home tested in the City of Red Deer in the 2024 survey (p.44).
32,321Bq/m³
The highest Canadian home tested in the 2024 survey.
All levels are long-term averages, which is how Health Canada compares a home with its guideline. Sources: Health Canada (200; lowering it within a year is in its guide for homes) and its 2012 survey report (800 until 2007), the BC Centre for Disease Control (fresh air, which it puts at about 5 to 15; outdoor levels change from day to day and region to region, so we show a wider band), the World Health Organization and the US EPA (148, for reference), EU Directive 2013/59/Euratom (100 and 300, for reference), and the 2024 Cross-Canada Survey of Radon (85; 97.1 and 673, City of Red Deer, p.44; 32,321, and how homes here tested).
Radon by Area Around Red Deer
Nearby Test Results
Two of Red Deer's neighbours ran their own long-term tests in the winter of 2023/24. In Lacombe County, 38% of the homes came back over the guideline. In Innisfail, it was 15%.
Both took part in Take Action on Radon's 100 Radon Test Kit Challenge, where local households run a 91-day test and the results are shared as a community report (Lacombe County, Innisfail). These are small groups of volunteers, not a survey, but they point the same way: radon around Red Deer changes a lot from one place to the next.
Blackfalds took part in the 2025/26 challenge; its results had not been posted when we wrote this, in October 2026. Levels vary from house to house, even on the same street, so test your own home.
Red Deer area: 422 homes (p.70). City of Red Deer: a sample printed as a range, 200 to 299 homes (p.44). Both from the 2024 Cross-Canada Survey of Radon, at or above 200 Bq/m³. Lacombe County (76 homes) and Innisfail (27 homes, a small group): Take Action on Radon community reports, 91-day tests in the winter of 2023/24 (over 200 Bq/m³). Every figure is for homes that were tested, not every home.
- Lacombe County: 38% over 200 (Take Action on Radon, winter 2023/24)
- Red Deer area: 25.6% (2024 survey)
- City of Red Deer: 15.1% (2024 survey)
- Innisfail: 15% (Take Action on Radon, winter 2023/24)
Radon Testing in Red Deer
Test Through the Heating Season
In a Red Deer house, the time to test is when the furnace is running. Health Canada asks for at least 91 days of a long-term test to be in the heating season, when windows and doors stay shut and radon levels are typically higher. Our long-term test kit is that kind of test: set it on the lowest floor where someone spends a lot of time, leave it for three months or more, then mail it to the lab in the prepaid envelope. The lab result is one you can act on, and if it comes back high, we'll go through it with you on the phone.
Long-Term Radon Test Kit
Lab analysis and a prepaid return envelope included. Free shipping in Alberta and BC.
$54.99
Order a Test KitPrefer to watch your levels on a screen? We also sell digital monitors, like the Airthings Corentium Home. It passed C-NRPP's testing of home radon monitors.
Free Ways to Test in Red Deer
Borrow a detector from the library. The Red Deer Public Library lends a radon screening kit with a digital detector, from Alberta Lung's screening program, free with a library card. The kits are often all out, with people waiting, so place a hold online and see where you are in the queue before you plan around one.
Around Red Deer, the Parkland Regional Library System lends the same kind of detector at its member libraries for three weeks at a time; none go out between May 1 and September 30. Ask at the front desk, or look up "radon" in the catalogue:
Know a library or community centre that could use a radon detector? RadonCare may be able to donate one for your community to borrow. Contact us to ask.
What a Library Reading Tells You
A library detector is a screening test. Parkland asks you to run it for at least seven days, on the lowest floor you spend a lot of time on. When the kits first came to central Alberta libraries, the Red Deer Advocate reported they are for a first look only, with a three-month test to follow.
So if a library reading comes back high, don't panic, and don't stop there. Start a long-term test, and give us a call: we'll tell you what the number means for your home and what to do next.
The Parkland libraries don't lend their detectors in the summer. If you only use a home or a cabin then, a mailed long-term kit makes more sense.
Free Tests From Companies
Free detectors from your library are a good first look. Be careful with a free test from a company that also sells radon systems: a test of only a few days, or a detector in the wrong spot, can show a problem a proper test would not. More on what a short test can and cannot tell you.
Child care. Alberta has no radon testing rule for child care: a 2017 law that would have required it was repealed at the end of 2023 without coming into force (Alberta King's Printer). More on child care and schools.
Red Deer and the Country Around It
Radon comes from uranium breaking down in the soil and rock, and the 2024 survey notes that every region of Canada has some of the rock and soil that produce it (p.15). It doesn't say why the Red Deer area tested higher than the city.
What the survey does show is that the gap is common: homes in smaller towns, villages and the country tested higher on average than homes in cities, across the country (p.26). So if you live in Sylvan Lake, Blackfalds or Penhold, or on an acreage in Red Deer County or Lacombe County, don't take the city's figure as yours. Test.
Health Canada says radon is the number one cause of lung cancer in people who don't smoke. Radon has no symptoms, so a test is the only way to know. For questions about radon and your health, talk to your doctor or call Health Link at 811. More on radon and your health.
“1 in 4 Rural community properties are at or above 200 Bq/m³”
2024 Cross-Canada Survey of Radon, p.26, on homes in communities under 30,000 people
Red Deer Homes and What They Mean for Radon
Older Neighbourhoods, Newer Towns
About 1 in 3 Red Deer homes were built before 1981 (Statistics Canada, 2021 census). The towns around it lean newer: about 4 in 10 Blackfalds homes, and about 1 in 3 in Penhold, were built from 2011 to 2021, while more than 4 in 10 Innisfail homes are from before 1981. Newer doesn't mean lower. Across Alberta, the 2024 survey found radon rising with the year a home was built, from 1971 to 2024, and homes tested within a few years of being finished averaged about 132 Bq/m³, a record high (p.51-52). Old or new, test.
Acreages in the Counties
About 1 in 3 of the homes we've fixed around Red Deer are acreages in Red Deer County and Lacombe County (our job records). Out there, most homes are houses on their own lot: about 8 in 10 in Red Deer County and close to 9 in 10 in Lacombe County are single detached (Statistics Canada, 2021 census).
The 2024 survey points to research finding higher radon in rural communities on wells (p.15). The water itself isn't the main way in: a University of Calgary study of Alberta wells found well water is not a significant pathway. Test the air in your home.
Lake Cabins on Sylvan Lake and Gull Lake
More than half of the homes in the summer villages on Sylvan Lake and Gull Lake were not anyone's main home on census day in 2021 (Statistics Canada, 2021 census). If you have a cabin, test it while you're using it, not while it's closed up: radon matters when you're in the house, and a lived-in house behaves differently.
Sump Pits and In-Floor Heat
About 3 in 4 of the homes in the job reports we checked around Red Deer had a sump pit, and we seal every one. An open pit is an easy way in for radon, and Alberta's building code requires sump pit covers to be airtight. The lid also has to stay easy to take off, because the pump needs a check every year. Learn more about sealing a sump pit for radon. In-floor heat is common in the newer homes we see here: we find the heat lines before we cut into the floor, so the system goes in without touching them.
Where the Radon Fan Is Installed
Canada's radon mitigation standard allows a radon fan outdoors only where winters are mild, at 3,999 heating degree days or fewer (CAN/CGSB-149.12-2024, section 5.8.1.1). The building code's climate table puts Red Deer at 5,550 (National Building Code 2020, Appendix C). In the US, radon fans are often mounted outside, but the standard doesn't allow that anywhere as cold as Red Deer, so here the fan is installed in a heated space, usually a basement, a utility room or a heated garage. We use fans designed for radon mitigation, so they're sealed properly and won't leak.
What We Find Under Red Deer Floors
In the job reports we checked from around Red Deer, more than half had sand, clay or dirt under the basement floor rather than gravel, and about 1 in 4 of the homes needed a high-suction fan (our job records). Air moves more slowly through sand and clay than through gravel, so we run a pressure field test before deciding where the pipe goes and which fan your home needs. Why it matters: how a radon system works.
Radon and the Building Code in Red Deer
What New Homes Need, and Since When
Homes built in Red Deer under the Alberta Building Code 2014 or later have a radon rough-in, a capped pipe through the basement floor, if the builder applied to build after November 1, 2015. It is not a radon system: there is no fan, and the home still needs a test.
Radon Rough-In Required
New Homes in Alberta, Since
2015
Fan Required
Never
Code Dates for Red Deer
- May 1, 2015: The Alberta Building Code 2014 adds a radon rough-in, a capped pipe through the basement floor. Either code could be used until November 1, 2015, so the rough-in is certain for homes the builder applied to build after that date (Government of Alberta).
- December 1, 2019: A new edition of the code keeps the rough-in, with the pipe clearly labelled near the cap so the next owner knows what it is (Government of Alberta).
- May 1, 2024: The current code. Still no fan required (Government of Alberta).
Builder's Pipes We've Found
When we find a builder's pipe, we test it before we use it. In one newer north Red Deer home, the pipe barely pulled air from under the floor, and a new suction point worked far better, so we took the old one out and sealed the floor. In a newer Red Deer County home, the builder's pipe became part of the system.
What It Means for Your Home
A rough-in is a head start, not a radon system: there is no fan, so a newer home still needs a test, and we test the pipe before using it. More on radon in the Alberta Building Code.
How Many Red Deer-Area Homes Have One
Not many. Only about 1 in 20 Red Deer homes were built from 2016 to 2021, the first years new Alberta homes came with a rough-in, so most of the city has no radon pipe at all (Statistics Canada, 2021 census). The towns around it are newer: about 1 in 7 Blackfalds homes and about 1 in 9 in Sylvan Lake were built in those years. To know for sure, look for a labelled pipe through the basement floor, or ask your builder.
Radon in Alberta: The Bigger Picture
What your number means, how a system works, the price, grants and the rules for buying or selling a home are the same across Alberta, so they're on one page: What your level means · Radon and your health · How mitigation works · What changes the price · Grants and help paying · Alberta code history · Buying or selling · More radon questions
Red Deer Radon Questions
Is Radon a Problem in Red Deer?
Yes. In the 2024 Cross-Canada Survey of Radon, about 1 in 4 homes tested across the Red Deer area, and about 1 in 7 in the city itself, were at or above Health Canada's 200 Bq/m³ guideline. Only a long-term test tells you where your own house sits.
Do the Towns Around Red Deer Have More Radon?
As a whole, yes: the Red Deer area tested higher than the city in the 2024 survey. The survey reports the area together, not town by town. Where towns ran their own tests, Lacombe County came in at 38% of homes over the guideline and Innisfail at 15%. See Radon by Area Around Red Deer.
Is Radon Higher on Acreages Around Red Deer?
On average, yes. In the 2024 survey, homes in smaller communities and the country tested higher than homes in cities, and the survey points to research showing the same for rural communities on groundwater wells. About 1 in 3 of the homes we've fixed around Red Deer are acreages in the counties (our job records). An average is not your house, though: some acreages test low and some city homes test high, so test yours.
Can I Borrow a Radon Detector in Red Deer?
Yes, free with a library card. The Red Deer Public Library has radon screening kits, and the Parkland libraries in Sylvan Lake, Lacombe, Blackfalds, Innisfail and Penhold lend theirs from October to April. They're popular, so place a hold early. A library detector is a first look: follow a high reading with a long-term test, and call us if you'd like to talk it through.
Do You Work in Sylvan Lake, Lacombe and Blackfalds?
Yes. We work across Red Deer and the towns around it: Sylvan Lake, Lacombe, Blackfalds, Penhold and Innisfail, along with Gasoline Alley, Springbrook and the acreages in Red Deer County and Lacombe County, and further north in Ponoka. See the map below, or call us if you're not sure.
My Newer Red Deer Home Has a Radon Pipe. Do I Still Need to Test?
Yes. A builder's pipe is capped, with no fan on it, so on its own it does nothing about radon. Test first. If the result is high, we check how well the pipe pulls air from under the floor: in one north Red Deer home it barely did, and a new suction point did the job; in a Red Deer County home the builder's pipe became part of the system.
Should I Test My Cabin at Sylvan Lake or Gull Lake?
Yes, while you're using it. Radon matters when people are in the house, and a lived-in house behaves differently from one that's closed up. The Parkland libraries don't lend detectors from May to September, so for a summer cabin, a long-term test kit is the simpler route.
How Much Does Radon Mitigation Cost in Red Deer?
A radon system costs a fraction of the price of air conditioning. What yours costs comes down to the house. In the job reports we checked around Red Deer, most basements had a sump to seal and more than half had sand, clay or dirt under the floor, and both change the work. Call with a few details, like whether the basement is finished, and we can usually give you a price on that call. See what changes the price.
Why Doesn't RadonCare Offer Free Radon Tests?
Because we want the test done right. A proper test runs for at least three months in the lowest lived-in level of your home, and we only recommend a system when a test shows your home needs one. For a free first look in and around Red Deer, borrow a detector from the Red Deer Public Library, or from a Parkland library outside the summer, then follow it with a long-term test.
Is There a Grant for Radon Mitigation in Red Deer?
At the time of writing (October 2026), there is no Alberta, regional or city grant for radon mitigation. Anything we missed? Let us know. Two charities can help: the Canadian Lung Association's Lungs Matter program, if you have been diagnosed with lung cancer, or your household has a low to moderate income, and Alberta Lung, in radon season, if you have been affected by lung cancer. See grants and help paying.
Areas We Serve Around Red Deer
We work in Red Deer, from Downtown, Waskasoo and Woodlea to Anders Park, Clearview, Johnstone Park, Kentwood, Timberlands and Vanier Woods, and in Sylvan Lake, Lacombe, Blackfalds, Penhold, Innisfail, Gasoline Alley, Springbrook and the acreages of Red Deer County and Lacombe County.
Nearby Areas We Serve
Outside This Map? We Work Across Alberta and the BC Interior.
Our crews also work in Airdrie, Cochrane, Okotoks, St. Albert, Sherwood Park and Leduc, and across the BC Interior. Not sure about your town? Call 1‑844‑723‑6622.
Radon in the Local News
Red Deer Advocate, November 7, 2024Radon: An unseen home riskHealth Canada's advice on testing your home, and where to borrow a detector in central Alberta.
LacombeOnline, July 31, 2024Innisfail radon gas tests complete: 15% of homes above accepted levelThe Innisfail results in the table above, from the town's own long-term tests.
Red Deer Advocate, October 30, 2023Lacombe County offers free radon test kitsThe program behind the Lacombe County results above. It has since closed.
Red Deer Advocate, January 6, 2020Central Alberta library users will have access to radon screening kit for freeWhen the Parkland libraries around Red Deer started lending radon detectors.
Get a Free Quote or Ask a Question
Fill out the form and a radon expert will get in touch to answer your questions. Prefer to talk? Call 1‑844‑723‑6622.
About RadonCare
We've lowered the radon in every building we've ever worked on: more than 3,000 homes across Alberta and British Columbia, plus schools, apartment buildings and government buildings. We started out in heating and ventilation, so our team of C-NRPP certified professionals designs every system from how air actually moves through your house, and we aim for the lowest level your home can reasonably reach, not just under the guideline. From your first test to a system built for your home, the results are guaranteed. RadonCare is a five-time Consumer Choice Award winner, and we're involved in Canada's radon industry, with seats on the CARST board of directors and the C-NRPP advisory board.
Updated October 2026