Is the Home Renovation Savings Program still available in 2026?

Yes, as of 14 September 2026, but two parts of it have dates. On the assessment route, the programme's November 2025 terms require your follow-up assessment to be scheduled by November 30, 2026 and completed by December 31, 2026 or within 180 days of your first assessment, whichever comes first. The no-assessment attic insulation route requires installation by November 30, 2026. Smart thermostats must be bought and activated by December 31, 2026. The heat pump, solar and appliance documents state no end date, and the terms say rebates are paid until funding is allocated, modified, terminated or exhausted.

How much is the heat pump rebate in Ontario?

It depends on how the house is heated before the heat pump goes in. homerenovationsavings.ca publishes $1,250 per ton, up to $7,500, for a cold climate air source heat pump in a home heated by electricity, oil, propane or wood, and $2,000 per ton, up to $12,000, for a ground source heat pump in the same homes. An Enbridge Gas customer heating with a gas furnace or boiler gets $500 per ton, up to $2,000, for an air source unit and a flat $3,000 for ground source. Tonnage is the rated heating capacity at 8.3C.

Why does an Ottawa home on natural gas get less for a heat pump?

Because the programme pays by baseline heating fuel, and the gas rate is $500 per ton against $1,250 per ton for electric, oil, propane and wood heated homes. The programme's own worked example is a 3 ton system: $1,500 in an Enbridge gas-heated home and $3,750 in an electrically heated one. Gas-heated homes may keep a gas furnace as backup, but the furnace itself is not a rebated measure.

Do I need a home energy assessment?

Not for heat pumps, attic insulation on its own, solar and batteries, smart thermostats or appliances. You do need one, before any work starts, for wall, basement, crawlspace and exposed floor insulation, windows and doors, a heat pump water heater and air sealing, and you must complete at least two of those measures. You pay for both assessments yourself and get $600 back only if the two measures are completed.

Can I install first and apply for the rebate afterwards?

For a heat pump, no. The programme states that pre-approval is mandatory and installations done before approval are not eligible. Solar and battery systems also need written pre-approval, and assessment-route work done before the first assessment does not qualify. Smart thermostats and appliances are the exceptions: you can buy first and apply within 60 days of purchase.

Can I combine it with the Canada Greener Homes Grant?

No, because that grant is closed. Natural Resources Canada records December 1, 2025 as the last date for Ontario applicants to complete their post-retrofit evaluation, and the Canada Greener Homes Loan is also closed with its funding fully committed. The Home Renovation Savings terms separately bar a rebate on any measure already funded by another Enbridge, Save on Energy or Government of Ontario program.

Is there a rebate for a new gas furnace?

Not in this programme. Neither the no-assessment list nor the assessment list on homerenovationsavings.ca carries a furnace, and the heat pump rules state that a new or existing backup furnace does not qualify for a rebate. Our HVAC cost guide covers what a furnace replacement costs in Ottawa and what the City's loan will and will not fund.

Guide

The Home Renovation Savings Program in Ottawa: heat pump rebates, who qualifies, and the 2026 deadlines

Every amount read from the programme’s own pages and terms on 14 September 2026.

Ontario’s Home Renovation Savings Program is run by Enbridge Gas and Save on Energy, with support from the Ontario government, and it has paid rebates since January 28, 2025. For an Ottawa house it covers heat pumps, insulation, windows and doors, heat pump water heaters, air sealing, solar panels and batteries, smart thermostats and some appliances. The heat pump rebate depends on your current heating: up to $7,500 for a cold climate air source heat pump in a home heated by electricity, oil, propane or wood, and up to $2,000 in a home heated by Enbridge natural gas. The programme is open as of 14 September 2026, and the route that needs an energy assessment has a firm date: your follow-up assessment must be booked by November 30, 2026.

Is it still open? The dates that matter in 2026

It is, but the parts of it run on different clocks, and the dates sit in the programme’s PDF terms rather than on its home page. The documents linked from its terms and conditions page, read on 14 September 2026, set these:

Assessment route (insulation, windows and doors, water heater, air sealing). The terms dated November 2025 require the follow-up assessment within 180 days of the first one or by December 31, 2026, whichever comes first, and it must be scheduled and entered in the programme’s system by November 30, 2026.
Attic insulation without an assessment. The requirements dated January 2026 say the insulation must be installed by November 30, 2026, and entered by your contractor by December 31, 2026.
Smart thermostats. Bought, installed and activated between January 28, 2025 and December 31, 2026, under terms dated January 2026.
Heat pumps, solar and batteries, and appliances. Their documents (dated May 2025 and October 2025) state no end date, so this guide states none either.

From 14 September to November 30 is 77 days, about eleven weeks, to get a first assessment, pick at least two upgrades, have them installed and get the follow-up booked. Anyone starting the assessment route now will hit December 31 before their 180 days run out, so the calendar date is the real limit. The assessment terms also say rebates are paid until programme funding is fully allocated, modified, terminated or exhausted, and that the terms in force at your follow-up assessment are the ones that apply to you, so a booked date does not lock in today’s amount.

Every rebate you can get without an energy assessment

These are single upgrades. No energy advisor visits, but heat pumps, attic insulation and solar still go through a contractor and, for heat pumps and solar, a written pre-approval before anything is installed.

Home Renovation Savings rebates that need no assessment, read 14 September 2026
Measure	Rebate	Who or what qualifies	Source
Cold climate air source heat pump, owned	$1,250 per ton, up to $7,500	Home heated by electricity, oil, propane or wood, on the Ontario grid	HRS heat pumps page
Cold climate air source heat pump, owned	$500 per ton, up to $2,000	Enbridge Gas customer heating with a gas furnace or boiler	HRS heat pumps page
Ground source heat pump, owned	$2,000 per ton, up to $12,000	Home heated by electricity, oil, propane or wood	HRS heat pumps page
Ground source heat pump, owned	$3,000 flat	Enbridge Gas customer heating with gas	HRS heat pumps page
Heat pump, rented	Air source $500 per ton, up to $2,000. Ground source $3,000	Any heating fuel	HRS heat pumps page
Attic insulation to R-50	$1,250 from R-12 or less, $1,000 from R-12 to R-25, $800 from R-25 to R-35	Gas or grid-connected home. Paid at 50% of after-tax cost, up to the maximum	HRS attic page
Cathedral ceiling or flat roof insulation	$750 to R-28 from R-25 or less, $650 to R-20 from R-12 or less	Same as attic	HRS attic page
Smart thermostat, one per home	$125 on the programme site. $100 in the January 2026 terms and on Save on Energy	Enbridge gas heat, or electric heat or cooling on the Ontario grid	HRS smart thermostat page
ENERGY STAR Most Efficient appliances	Heat pump dryer $200, induction cooktop or range $150, washer $75, fridge $50, freezer $50, dishwasher $25	Grid-connected home replacing an existing electric appliance	HRS appliances page
Rooftop solar panels	$1,000 per kW, up to $5,000 and 50% of total cost	Grid-connected owner who gives up net metering	HRS solar page
Battery storage, paired with new solar	$300 per kWh, up to $5,000 and 50% of total cost	Same as solar	HRS solar page

All amounts are rebates published by the programme administrators on homerenovationsavings.ca, not prices and not quotes. On heat pumps, the Save on Energy summary page lists only the higher electric-home ceilings, up to $7,500 and up to $12,000, and does not show the gas-home rates at all. The home page headline “heat pumps up to $12,000” is the ground source figure for a home that is not on gas.

The rebates that need an assessment, and the cap nobody puts in the headline

This route starts with a registered energy advisor licensed by Natural Resources Canada, working for a service organization the programme has approved. You then complete at least two of the measures below and book a follow-up assessment.

Home Renovation Savings assessment-route rebates, read 14 September 2026
Measure	Rebate	Who or what qualifies	Source
Initial and follow-up home energy assessments	$600	Paid only after two or more measures are completed	HRS assessment page
Attic insulation to R-50	$1,500 from R-12 or less, $1,200 from R-12 to R-25, $900 from R-25 to R-35	Cathedral ceiling or flat roof: $780	HRS assessment page
Exterior wall insulation, 100% of wall area	$3,600 above R-20, $2,100 for R-12 to R-20, $1,200 for R-7.5 to R-12	Added insulation value	HRS assessment page
Basement wall insulation, 100% of wall area	$1,500 above R-22, $900 for R-10 to R-22	Slab $500 (50% of area, R-3.5). Foundation header $300, only with basement or crawlspace wall	HRS assessment page
Crawlspace insulation	Walls $1,200 above R-22 or $600 for R-10 to R-22. Ceiling $1,200 above R-24	100% of the wall or ceiling area	HRS assessment page
Exposed floor insulation	$300	At least R-20 over the whole exposed floor, minimum 120 sq ft	HRS assessment page
Windows and doors, ENERGY STAR certified	$100 per rough opening	Minimum three window openings, or one door, skylight or sliding door	HRS assessment page
Heat pump water heater, ENERGY STAR certified	$500	Replaces the gas water heater in a gas-heated home, or the oil, propane or electric one otherwise	HRS assessment page
Air sealing	$250 at 10% better than target, $200 at target	Target set in your Renovation Upgrade Report	HRS assessment page
A third qualifying measure	$500 extra	Published on the website. Not in the November 2025 terms	HRS assessment page

The programme’s home page advertises insulation “up to $7,700”, which is the four insulation maximums added together: $1,500 attic, $3,600 walls, $2,300 foundation and $300 floor. The assessment terms, dated November 2025, cap the total rebate for a home heated by Enbridge natural gas at $5,000, and for a home heated by electricity, oil, propane or wood at $10,000, in both cases including the $600 for the assessments. So a gas-heated Ottawa house cannot collect the $7,700 headline, and no home can receive more than it actually spent on the assessments and the work.

Two smaller conditions trip people up. A window rebate needs at least three window openings, or one door, skylight or sliding door, so replacing one or two windows earns nothing. And the $500 for a third measure appears on the website’s assessment page but not in either November 2025 assessment document we read, so confirm it with your energy advisor before you count it.

Gas or electric: why the same heat pump earns $1,500 or $3,750

The heat pump rebate is set by what heats the house beforeinstallation, and it is paid per ton of rated heating capacity at 8.3C. The programme’s heat pump requirements, dated May 2025, give their own worked example: two outdoor units of 1 ton and 2 tons, 3 tons in total. In a home heated by Enbridge gas that system earns $1,500. In an electrically heated home the identical equipment earns $3,750.

An Ottawa house on gas sits in the lower column, and the rules come with conditions on both sides:

A gas-heated or propane-heated home may choose any of Natural Resources Canada’s four sizing options, including a heat pump sized mainly for cooling, and may keep a new or existing furnace as backup. The furnace earns nothing.
An oil, wood or electrically heated home must size the heat pump to carry most or all of the heating (options C or D). An oil-heated home must switch to the electric heat pump and have a TSSA-registered contractor empty or remove the oil tank.
A house that already heats with a heat pump cannot claim a replacement, and a new build occupied for six months or less does not qualify.
One heat pump rebate per home, and the unit must be an active model on Natural Resources Canada’s qualified products list.

In Ottawa the eligibility question is usually simple. If your gas bill comes from Enbridge Gas and a gas furnace or boiler is the main heat, you are a gas customer for this programme. If you heat with electric baseboards, an oil tank or propane, the programme’s own form lists both Hydro Ottawa Limited and Hydro One Networks among the eligible utilities, so city and rural Ottawa homes on either grid are in the higher column. A house with a hybrid system, where a heat pump already works alongside the furnace, counts as electrically heated on the assessment route.

The steps, in the order the programme requires them

Heat pump, no assessment

Fill in the eligibility form on the programme site. It emails you a list of participating HVAC contractors, and only those contractors can offer the rebate.
Your contractor files the pre-installation application: an itemised work order, photos of the existing furnace, boiler or baseboards and their nameplates (baseboards in at least three areas of the house), a signed participant agreement, and Natural Resources Canada’s sizing tool for each outdoor unit. Oil and propane homes add a tank removal attestation.
Wait for written approval. The programme states plainly that installations done before approval are not eligible.
After installation the contractor has 30 days to submit the final invoice and photos of the equipment and thermostat. The programme says the cheque should arrive by mail within 60 days of approval.

Insulation, windows and the rest, with an assessment

Book the first assessment before any work begins. Anything done before it does not qualify.
Get the advisor’s report and choose at least two recommended upgrades.
Have them installed. The terms require a professional contractor for insulation and a licensed professional for a heat pump water heater, but not one from a programme list.
Book the follow-up with the same advisor, which the programme strongly recommends, and hand over your invoices and property tax bill.
The programme publishes 60 days for a cheque or 30 days for an Interac e-Transfer after your advisor submits everything.

You pay both assessments yourself. The $600 comes back only once two measures are done, which is worth knowing if the report recommends work you do not plan to do.

Contractors: the list is closed to new firms

The heat pump page carries a notice, present on 14 September 2026, that contractor registrations are paused and no new applications are being accepted. In practice that means the company that serviced your furnace for years may not be able to file your rebate, however good it is. Ask a quote-giver first whether they are on the participating list, before they size anything.

The same requirements document sets the minimum a participating firm has to hold: an Ontario business licence, two consecutive years of heat pump business in Ontario, a residential air conditioning systems mechanic licence (313A or 313D) for air source installs, TSSA registration, an ozone depletion prevention certificate, and IGSHPA certification for ground source work. Our ranked list of Ottawa HVAC companies sets out the two licences the trade needs and why a firm can hold one without the other. It does not record which companies are on the programme’s participating list, and neither does this directory.

What stacks with it, and what has closed

The federal money that several rebate articles still describe is gone. Natural Resources Canada lists the Greener Homes Grant for Ontario as closed, with December 1, 2025 as the last date to complete a post-retrofit evaluation. The Canada Greener Homes Loan is also closed, its funding fully committed, and new applications cannot be approved. The Canada Greener Homes Affordability Program did not list Ontario among the provinces taking applications on its page modified August 31, 2026.

Inside Ontario there is no double-dipping. The assessment terms and the heat pump requirements both refuse a rebate on a measure already funded by another Enbridge, Save on Energy or Government of Ontario program, including the old Home Efficiency Rebate Plus. Different measures are a different matter: the programme’s own assessment page points you to the heat pump, solar and thermostat rebates alongside it.

Two Ottawa-specific options sit next to it. The City’s Better Homes Ottawa Loan Program adds a heat pump incentive of $700 per ton for cold climate air source and $1,000 per ton for ground source, and offers a $600 loan reduction only to applicants who are not also receiving the $600 assessment rebate from Home Renovation Savings. The heat pump requirements allow funding from sources outside the Enbridge, Save on Energy and Ontario group, as long as the combined total does not exceed 100% of the supply and install cost, so ask both programmes before you count both. The loan’s rate and terms are covered in our furnace and heat pump cost guide.

If your household income is lower, look at Save on Energy’s Energy Affordability Program before any of this. Its upgrades are free, its published income limits start at $48,220 before tax for one person and $96,439 for a household of four, and it now installs cold climate heat pumps at no cost in eligible oil-heated homes using federal funding. Natural Resources Canada describes that Ontario delivery as a heat pump system valued at up to $25,000.

Which trades do the work, and where to find them here

A heat pump is HVAC work, and the Ottawa HVAC directory lists companies with sourced ratings. Windows and doors are a separate trade, listed under windows and doors, and our window replacement cost guide covers what they cost and the ENERGY STAR threshold the rebate depends on. A heat pump water heater that replaces a gas tank also removes gas equipment, which under Ontario Regulation 212/01 needs someone holding a TSSA gas certificate, so ask whoever quotes it who does that part.

This directory has no insulation or solar category yet, so this guide links to no company for either. For attic insulation without an assessment the programme sends its own participating contractor list after the eligibility form. One last caution from the programme itself: it warns of fake rebate websites and people impersonating participating contractors. Start from homerenovationsavings.ca or saveonenergy.ca, not from a link in an unsolicited message.

Where the official sources disagree

We found three, and we have not picked a winner on any of them. The smart thermostat rebate reads $125 on homerenovationsavings.ca (with $100 struck through), $100 in the programme’s January 2026 terms, and $100 on saveonenergy.ca (with $75 struck through). The $500 bonus for a third assessment-route measure is on the website and not in the November 2025 terms. And the $7,700 insulation headline is capped at $5,000 for gas-heated homes by those same terms. Where a figure matters to your budget, get the amount in writing from the programme or your energy advisor before you sign.

Common questions

Is the Home Renovation Savings Program still available in 2026?: Yes, as of 14 September 2026, but two parts of it have dates. On the assessment route, the programme's November 2025 terms require your follow-up assessment to be scheduled by November 30, 2026 and completed by December 31, 2026 or within 180 days of your first assessment, whichever comes first. The no-assessment attic insulation route requires installation by November 30, 2026. Smart thermostats must be bought and activated by December 31, 2026. The heat pump, solar and appliance documents state no end date, and the terms say rebates are paid until funding is allocated, modified, terminated or exhausted.
How much is the heat pump rebate in Ontario?: It depends on how the house is heated before the heat pump goes in. homerenovationsavings.ca publishes $1,250 per ton, up to $7,500, for a cold climate air source heat pump in a home heated by electricity, oil, propane or wood, and $2,000 per ton, up to $12,000, for a ground source heat pump in the same homes. An Enbridge Gas customer heating with a gas furnace or boiler gets $500 per ton, up to $2,000, for an air source unit and a flat $3,000 for ground source. Tonnage is the rated heating capacity at 8.3C.
Why does an Ottawa home on natural gas get less for a heat pump?: Because the programme pays by baseline heating fuel, and the gas rate is $500 per ton against $1,250 per ton for electric, oil, propane and wood heated homes. The programme's own worked example is a 3 ton system: $1,500 in an Enbridge gas-heated home and $3,750 in an electrically heated one. Gas-heated homes may keep a gas furnace as backup, but the furnace itself is not a rebated measure.
Do I need a home energy assessment?: Not for heat pumps, attic insulation on its own, solar and batteries, smart thermostats or appliances. You do need one, before any work starts, for wall, basement, crawlspace and exposed floor insulation, windows and doors, a heat pump water heater and air sealing, and you must complete at least two of those measures. You pay for both assessments yourself and get $600 back only if the two measures are completed.
Can I install first and apply for the rebate afterwards?: For a heat pump, no. The programme states that pre-approval is mandatory and installations done before approval are not eligible. Solar and battery systems also need written pre-approval, and assessment-route work done before the first assessment does not qualify. Smart thermostats and appliances are the exceptions: you can buy first and apply within 60 days of purchase.
Can I combine it with the Canada Greener Homes Grant?: No, because that grant is closed. Natural Resources Canada records December 1, 2025 as the last date for Ontario applicants to complete their post-retrofit evaluation, and the Canada Greener Homes Loan is also closed with its funding fully committed. The Home Renovation Savings terms separately bar a rebate on any measure already funded by another Enbridge, Save on Energy or Government of Ontario program.
Is there a rebate for a new gas furnace?: Not in this programme. Neither the no-assessment list nor the assessment list on homerenovationsavings.ca carries a furnace, and the heat pump rules state that a new or existing backup furnace does not qualify for a rebate. Our HVAC cost guide covers what a furnace replacement costs in Ottawa and what the City's loan will and will not fund.

Compare Ottawa HVAC companies with sourced ratings, then ask each one whether it can file the rebate.

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