What the program is
The Home Renovation Savings Program is delivered by Enbridge Gas and Save on Energy, the conservation brand of Ontario's Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO). It officially launched on January 28, 2025, and pays rebates on upgrades that cut energy use in existing homes.
There are two routes. One starts with a home energy assessment and pays for a combination of upgrades. The other skips the assessment and pays for single upgrades: a heat pump, solar panels and batteries, attic insulation, a smart thermostat or an efficient appliance.
Kitchens, bathrooms, basement finishing and additions are not on the eligible list. What it can pay for is the energy work that often happens inside those projects: the insulation, the windows and doors, and the heating.
The 2026 deadlines
Rebates are paid only until the funding is allocated, and the program's terms set firm dates for two streams:
- The assessment route: the follow-up assessment after your upgrades must be scheduled and entered by November 30, 2026, and completed within 180 days of the first assessment or by December 31, 2026, whichever comes first.
- Attic insulation without an assessment: the insulation must be installed by November 30, 2026.
The heat pump, solar, smart thermostat and appliance pages publish no end date, but funding can run out and terms can change. With the assessment deadlines weeks away as of mid-October 2026, starting that route from scratch is tight. If you already had your first assessment, book the upgrades and the follow-up now, and check the program site before you count on any rebate.
Route 1: with a home energy assessment
You need at least two eligible upgrades. A registered energy advisor assesses the house before any work starts and again afterwards, and the same advisor must do both visits. You pay the advisor up front; the program reimburses $600 of it.
| Upgrade | Rebate |
|---|---|
| Home energy assessment (both visits) | $600 |
| Attic insulation to R-50 | $900, $1,200 or $1,500, depending on the starting R-value |
| Cathedral ceiling or flat roof | $780 |
| Exterior wall insulation | $1,200, $2,100 or $3,600 |
| Basement wall insulation | $900 or $1,500 |
| Basement slab, header, exposed floor | $500, $300 and $300 |
| Crawlspace | $600 or $1,200 |
| ENERGY STAR windows and doors | $100 per rough opening, with at least three window openings, or one door, skylight or sliding door |
| Air sealing | $200 for meeting the target, $250 for beating it by 10% |
| Heat pump water heater | $500 |
| Bonus for three qualifying upgrades | $500, for follow-up assessments on or after January 5, 2026 |
Insulation rebates add up to a maximum of $7,700. The overall maximum, including the $600 assessment rebate, is $5,000 for a home heated by Enbridge natural gas and $10,000 for a home heated by electricity, oil, propane or wood, and never more than what you actually spent.
Windows, insulation and water heaters must be installed by a professional contractor of your choice. Replacing only the glass, a sash or a door slab does not qualify, and neither does a single window.
Route 2: single upgrades, no assessment
| Upgrade | Rebate |
|---|---|
| Cold-climate air-source heat pump | $1,250 per ton, up to $7,500, in homes heated by electricity, oil, propane or wood. $500 per ton, up to $2,000, in homes heated by Enbridge gas and in rented-out homes. |
| Ground-source heat pump | $2,000 per ton, up to $12,000, in homes heated by electricity, oil, propane or wood. $3,000 flat for gas-heated or rented-out homes. |
| Rooftop solar | $1,000 per kW, up to 50% of the cost, to a maximum of $5,000 |
| Battery storage, paired with new solar | $300 per kWh, up to 50% of the cost, to a maximum of $5,000 |
| Attic insulation | $800, $1,000 or $1,250; cathedral ceiling or flat roof $650 or $750; up to 50% of the after-tax cost |
| Smart thermostat | $125 on the program site (Save on Energy's own page still showed $100 when we checked) |
| ENERGY STAR Most Efficient appliances replacing an electric one | Heat pump dryer $200, induction cooktop or range $150, washer $75, fridge $50, freezer $50, dishwasher $25 |
- Heat pumps need a participating contractor and pre-approval before you buy. The unit must be on Natural Resources Canada's qualified product list, and the home cannot already have a heat pump for space heating.
- Solar needs written pre-approval from the IESO and your local electricity utility and a licensed electrician, must be installed within 12 months of pre-approval, and cannot be combined with a net-metering agreement.
- Attic insulation in this route must be done by a participating contractor, and contractor registration has closed.
- Paperwork windows: heat pump and solar applications within 30 days of installation; thermostat and appliance receipts within 60 days of purchase.
Who qualifies
- Eligible homes: detached, semi-detached, row and townhouses (not stacked townhouses), and mobile homes on a permanent foundation. Owners apply; landlords can apply for homes they rent out.
- Not eligible: duplexes, triplexes, low-rise apartments, stacked townhouses, and new homes occupied for less than six months.
- Gas-heated homes need an active Enbridge Gas account. Homes heated another way must be connected to Ontario's electricity grid.
If your gas bill comes from Kitchener Utilities
Kitchener Utilities, not Enbridge, is the gas supplier for many Kitchener homes. A City of Kitchener staff report in August 2025 said Kitchener Utilities customers were not eligible at first and were expected to become eligible later in 2025, once a service agreement with Enbridge was signed. The program pages still ask gas-heated homes for an Enbridge account, so confirm your eligibility with the program at 1-866-449-8510 before you plan around a rebate. Kitchener Utilities also runs its own offers, including a $75 smart thermostat bill credit and a $500 condensing water heater credit.
Electricity in Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge
Enova Power, the electricity utility for Kitchener and Waterloo, does not run separate rebates; it points customers to Save on Energy. In Cambridge and North Dumfries, the Region of Waterloo's RetrofitWR program offers low-interest loans and heat pump incentives to GrandBridge Energy customers. Ask whether it can be combined with the provincial rebates before you apply to both.
How to apply
Route 1, with an assessment
- Submit the program form and book the first assessment, before any work starts.
- Choose at least two upgrades from the energy advisor's report.
- Have the work done by your contractor.
- Book the follow-up assessment with the same advisor.
- The rebate arrives in about 60 days by cheque, or about 30 days by e-Transfer.
Route 2, single upgrades
- Complete the eligibility form.
- Choose a participating contractor where the stream requires one (heat pumps and attic insulation).
- Get pre-approval for heat pumps and solar before you buy.
- Install, then submit the paperwork within the stream's deadline. For contractor streams, the contractor submits it.
Other programs in 2026
- No double-dipping: an upgrade already funded by another Enbridge, Save on Energy or Ontario program does not qualify, and for heat pumps and solar, all funding combined cannot exceed 100% of the cost.
- Enbridge Home Efficiency Rebate Plus closed to new applicants on February 5, 2024, and its final applications were due December 31, 2025.
- The federal Canada Greener Homes Grant and Canada Greener Homes Loan are closed. You will still see them mentioned online.
- Oil-heated homes on lower incomes may qualify for a free heat pump installation through Save on Energy's Energy Affordability Program, which combines federal Oil to Heat Pump Affordability funding of up to $15,000 with up to $10,000 from the province. Check current intake with Save on Energy.
Planning rebates into a renovation
The rule that catches people out: work done before the first assessment does not qualify, and neither does a heat pump or solar system bought before pre-approval. If a renovation is coming, sort out the rebate paperwork before demolition, not after.
- Basement finishing. The walls get insulated anyway when a basement is framed. On the assessment route, basement wall insulation pays $900 or $1,500 and header insulation $300, so the first assessment has to happen before the insulation goes in. See our basement renovations.
- Whole-home renovations. With walls open, exterior wall insulation (up to $3,600) and air sealing are far easier to do, and new ENERGY STAR windows pay $100 per opening. See our whole-home renovations.
- Additions. A new addition is built to the current Building Code anyway, so the rebate opportunity is usually in the existing house: topping up the attic or replacing old windows while the crew is there. See our home additions and our guide to planning an addition.
- Heating. If the furnace or air conditioner is near the end of its life, a cold-climate heat pump can be planned into the renovation, with pre-approval first. Gas-heated homes get much less for a cold-climate air-source heat pump ($2,000 at most) than homes heated by electricity, oil, propane or wood ($7,500).
Planning a renovation with us? Mention the program at the site visit, and we will factor the energy upgrades and their timing into the plan.
