What Home Renovation Savings pays for a heat pump in Hamilton
We re-read the program's heat pump page and its requirements document on October 3, 2026. No home energy assessment is needed for this stream, but a participating HVAC contractor and written pre-approval are.
Air-source, electric, oil, propane or wood heat
For a cold-climate air-source heat pump replacing electric resistance, oil, propane or wood as the main heat. A 3-ton system pays $3,750 and 6 tons or more reaches the cap.
Air-source, Enbridge gas heat
For homes primarily heated by an Enbridge gas furnace or boiler. The cap is reached at 4 tons.
Ground-source
For electric, oil, propane or wood homes. Gas homes get a flat $3,000. The system must be a full installation sized to the home's load.
Rented heat pump
Rentals are eligible for any primary heating fuel: $500 per ton for air-source, up to $2,000, or a flat $3,000 for ground-source.
More than one outdoor unit
If several outdoor units are needed to heat the whole home, their tons add up and one rebate is paid on the total, for example 3 + 3 tons for $7,500.
One rebate, pre-approved
One rebate per home. The contractor needs written pre-approval before installing, files the post-installation application within 30 days, and the cheque arrives within 60 days of approval.
Hamilton: Federal heat pump rebate coming in early 2027: up to $10,000 for households below the median income and $2,000 for other eligible homeowners. Home Renovation Savings pays now, and Ottawa says the federal rebate can be combined with provincial programs. Read what is confirmed or decide whether to wait.
Canada’s new heat pump rebate is worth up to $10,000. Get an email the day it opens
Ottawa says you can add it on top of provincial rebates like the ones on this page.
- Up to $10,000
- if your household earns below the median income
- $2,000
- for other homeowners who qualify
Stack it with the Ontario rebate open today
Ottawa says you can combine them. Each program has its own rules. Amounts are the most you can get.
Applications open early 2027
Join the launch alert
- Launch-day email, with what to do first
- Who qualifies for the $10,000, once Ottawa says
- A short hello now, so you know it worked
Know someone with old heating? Send them this.
Only emails about this rebate. No spam, no sales calls. Unsubscribe anytime.
How Ottawa says it will work (plans, not final rules)
- Apply online when your heating breaks or gets old
- Approved in 24 hours no home energy audit needed
- Payment approved in 5 days sent by direct deposit after you upload receipts
Read everything we know so far Official page: canada.ca
The requirements document lists no end date, but the program's other streams close in late 2026, so check the program page before you sign a contract. Pre-approval is mandatory: an installation done first earns nothing.
Hamilton homes and fuels
The 2021 Census counts 66,820 owner-occupied detached houses built before 1981 in Hamilton, 72% of households in an eligible house type and 66% owning. A house on baseboards, oil, propane or wood gets $1,250 per ton, up to $7,500. A gas house gets $500 per ton, up to $2,000.
Oil tanks
An oil-heated Hamilton home must move to an electric heat pump and work with a TSSA-registered contractor to maintain, empty or remove the storage tank and piping. The owner signs an oil and propane tank removal attestation form, which goes with the pre-installation application. The rebate is not paid if the tank is left in service.
Distributing heat to the basement
The system must be able to distribute heat throughout the whole conditioned space, including the basement if there is one. Older Hamilton houses with finished basements and no ducts need this addressed in the quote. Ask whether the plan uses ducted units, several indoor heads, or both.
Year-round operation
The installed system must be capable of heating and cooling year-round, so a heating-only model is not eligible. That excludes some older designs and affects air-to-water systems, which the program does not accept.
Pre-installation photos
Before approval the contractor submits photos of the existing heating system and its nameplate. For an electrically heated home that means the air handler or electric baseboards in at least three areas. For a wood-heated home it means the stove. Hamilton houses with several heating types should ask the contractor which system the program will treat as primary.
Rated capacity, not marketing size
The rebate is paid on rated heating capacity at 8.3°C, not on the nameplate size a salesperson quotes. Ask the Hamilton contractor for the NRCan-listed capacity and divide by 12,000 BTU/h to get tons, so you can check the rebate yourself before the pre-installation application is filed.
How to claim in Hamilton
- Decide whether you are replacing oil, gas, baseboards or wood.
- Confirm eligibility on the program's short form and get the list of participating HVAC contractors.
- Choose a contractor from that list. Ask for a load calculation and the NRCan sizing tool form for each outdoor unit.
- Wait for written pre-approval before any installation starts.
- After the install, check that the contractor files the post-installation application within 30 days, with the final itemized invoice and photos.
Common questions
Are air-to-water systems eligible?
No.
What happens with an oil tank?
It must be removed or emptied by a TSSA-registered contractor.
Does the system need to heat the basement?
Yes, if there is one.
What is the cap for electric homes?
$7,500.
What to do next
See Hamilton insulation rebates and the Ontario rebate calculator.
By Sam Menard. Sources, last read October 9, 2026: Home Renovation Savings: heat pumps, Heat Pump Program Stream requirements (PDF), Save on Energy: Home Renovation Savings, Statistics Canada 2021 Census, table 98-10-0233-01. All Hamilton rebates → Every Home Renovation Savings rebate →
