The Home Renovation Savings Program (HRS) is Ontario’s main energy-retrofit rebate program, delivered by Save on Energy (IESO) together with Enbridge Gas — covering heat pumps, insulation, windows, air sealing and more. The heat pump rebates run up to $7,500 for non-gas homes and up to $12,000 for geothermal. But there is one sequencing mistake that disqualifies homeowners every week, and one thing the rebate never checks that your building permit does.
This guide covers what the rebates actually pay by heating fuel, the pre-approval trap, the reported November 2026 window, and the right order of operations — starting with the CSA F280 heat loss calculation that your permit requires and that protects your rebate from being spent on the wrong-sized machine. Program details change: always confirm current rules at saveonenergy.ca before you buy equipment.
The amounts depend on how your home is heated today — and the split surprises people: homes heating with expensive fuels get the big rebates.
Up to $2,000 for a cold-climate air source heat pump ($500 per ton), and $3,000 for ground source (geothermal). Gas homes get the smaller tier because gas remains the cheapest heat in Ontario — the hybrid setup is the usual play here.
Up to $7,500 for a cold-climate air source heat pump ($1,250 per ton), and up to $12,000 for ground source ($2,000 per ton). Rural Simcoe County, Grey County and cottage-country homes on propane are among the strongest financial cases in the province — propane is expensive heat.
Insulation up to $7,700 · attic-only up to $1,250 · windows and doors $100 per rough opening · heat pump water heaters $500 · smart thermostats $100 · air sealing up to $250. Heat pumps, unlike insulation and windows, do not require a home energy assessment first.
The program requires pre-approval before installation, and the equipment must appear on NRCan’s qualified products list. Homeowners who sign a contract or install first and apply after are routinely refused. If a contractor tells you to “install now, apply later” — get the pre-approval confirmation in writing before any equipment goes in.
The program was originally scheduled to end November 30, 2025, and has been extended into November 2026. Fall is the busiest season for installers and pre-approval takes time — if you want a heat pump running before winter with the rebate secured, the realistic window to start is September and October.
Here is what most rebate guides won’t tell you: the rebate program does not verify that your heat pump is sized correctly. It checks the model against a list. It does not check whether that unit can actually heat your house at your design temperature — which in most of Ontario is between -18°C and -26°C.
Every heat pump heating installation in Ontario needs a building permit, and that permit requires a CSA F280 heat loss calculation — a room-by-room measurement of what your house loses on the coldest design day. The rebate never asks for it. The Building Code does.
Ontario field data suggests more than half of installed heat pumps are undersized — they run flat out, lean on electric backup all winter, and cost more to run than the rebate ever paid back. Oversized units short-cycle and die young. Either way, the $7,500 went into a machine that doesn’t fit the house.
1. F280 calculation first — the capacity your home actually needs. 2. Quote against the number — make installers size to it. 3. HRS pre-approval with an NRCan-listed model. 4. Building permit with the BCIN-stamped package. 5. Install, inspect, submit rebate documents.
No. The rebate’s published requirements are an eligible NRCan-listed model and pre-approval before installation. The F280 requirement comes from the Ontario Building Code, through your municipal building permit — which every heat pump heating installation in Ontario needs regardless of the rebate.
The Canada Greener Homes Grant is closed. The federal Oil to Heat Pump Affordability program closed to new applicants on July 31, 2026. The federal Greener Homes Affordability Program runs in several provinces but, as of this writing, Ontario is not one of them. For Ontario homeowners in 2026, HRS is the main game.
Propane counts as the non-gas tier — up to $7,500 for a cold-climate air source heat pump. Sizing matters even more in propane country, because these are typically rural homes at colder design temperatures. See our guide to cold climate heat pumps in Ontario.
Not for heat pumps. Insulation, air sealing and window rebates require a home energy assessment; the heat pump stream does not — it requires pre-approval and an NRCan-listed model. That makes heat pumps the fastest measure to act on before the window closes.
Yes — that is exactly what we do. Upload your floor plans and we deliver a BCIN-stamped CSA F280 heat loss report from $395, or the complete heat pump permit package from $695, in 48 hours, accepted by every Ontario municipality.
Planning a heat pump before the window closes? Get the F280 sizing first — it protects the rebate, satisfies the permit, and makes every installer quote comparable.
Get Free Quote →Upload your floor plans and tell us your municipality and current heating fuel. We’ll run the room-by-room CSA F280 calculation at your local design temperature, confirm the capacity your home actually needs, and deliver the BCIN-stamped report your building permit requires — before you commit to equipment or lock in your pre-approval.