Window Replacement, Windows & Doors in Ottawa

ENERGY STAR certification is the eligibility test

Ontario's Home Renovation Savings Program offers rebates on energy efficiency upgrades including windows and doors, insulation, air sealing, smart thermostats and heat pumps. For windows and doors the requirement is explicit: the model has to be ENERGY STAR certified.

That is a product decision, not a paperwork decision, and it is irreversible once the order is placed. Ask for the certification on the specific model and configuration being quoted, because a product line can be certified in some sizes and glazings and not others.

What ENERGY STAR means for a replacement window in Ottawa

Natural Resources Canada's ENERGY STAR specification for windows, doors and skylights, Version 5.0, in force since January 1, 2020, sets one test for residential windows and doors: a U-factor no higher than 1.22 W/m2K, or an Energy Rating of at least 34. U-factor measures heat loss, so lower is better. The Energy Rating folds heat loss, air leakage and solar gain into one number, so higher is better.

The specification draws no climate zones. If a quote describes a window by zone rather than by those two numbers, ask for the U-factor or the Energy Rating of the exact model and size, because those are what the current specification tests.

Window replacement and the 2026 rebate dates

Windows and doors sit on the Home Renovation Savings Program's assessment route. A registered energy advisor assesses the house before any work is planned, you complete at least two of the upgrades on that route, and the same advisor returns for a follow-up assessment. The window measure needs at least three window rough openings, or one door, skylight or sliding door, with ENERGY STAR certified models.

The program's assessment terms, version dated November 2025, put two dates on that route: the follow-up assessment has to be scheduled by November 30, 2026, and completed within 180 days of the first assessment or by December 31, 2026, whichever comes first. A window replacement planned for this year's rebate is planned around those two dates as much as around the weather.

When the City gets involved, and when it does not

Replacing a window in its existing opening is generally not what triggers a City permit. Changing the opening is. The City's threshold is an installation, erection, extension, or material alteration or repair, and cutting a larger opening in a wall, or adding one, sits inside that.

Where a permit is required, the City states that the owner and the builder are responsible for the process and equally liable under the Ontario Building Code Act, that the permit is posted visibly for the duration of the work, and that construction must seriously commence within six months of issue or the permit can be revoked.

This is the single question to put to an installer quoting a basement window enlargement, which is the most common case in Ottawa where the opening actually changes.

Can you replace windows yourself?

As far as a permit goes, yes. Replacing doors or windows in the same size opening is on the City of Ottawa's list of projects that need no building permit. The work still has to meet the Ontario Building Code, and a designated heritage building, or any building in a Heritage District Overlay, gets no exemption.

The rebate is another matter. The Home Renovation Savings Program's eligibility requirements for its assessment stream, version dated November 2025, say windows and doors must be installed by a professional contractor. They also rule out replacing only the glass, the sash or a door without its frame, though a complete new window or door with its frame can be set into the old frame.

If a rebate is part of the plan, keep the ENERGY STAR labels on the new units until the follow-up assessment, and keep the installer's invoice: the program asks for the invoices for each upgrade to complete that assessment.

On a pre-1990 house, the frames are the hazard

Health Canada's thresholds apply to window frames and trim like any other painted surface. A home built before 1960 probably contains lead-based paint; one built between 1960 and 1990 may contain it on the exterior, and interior surfaces may hold smaller but still harmful amounts. Health Canada names paint on windows specifically among the surfaces where normal wear and tear creates exposure.

Removal work is where it becomes airborne. Do not use sanders, heat guns or blowlamps on lead-based paint. Keep children and anyone pregnant away from the work area, isolate it, and put scrapings and chips into a sealed container marked Hazardous Waste, disposed of according to the municipality's instructions. In Ottawa that means the household hazardous waste service, which refuses containers larger than 20 litres and loads over 100 litres.

What to settle before the order

1. If a rebate is part of the plan, the date of the first home energy assessment. The program asks for it before any work is planned.
2. The ENERGY STAR certification of the exact model and size, in writing, if a rebate is part of the plan.
3. Whether any opening is changing size, and who is applying for the permit if so.
4. How the old units are removed and disposed of, and what the plan is if the house predates 1990.
5. The estimate, in the contract. The final price cannot be more than ten per cent above a written estimate in the contract unless you agree to a change and sign it, and a contract signed in your home carries a ten-day cooling-off period from the day you receive the written copy.