An independent registry of Northern Ontario funding Data updated Oct 1, 2026 · CC-BY-4.0
Northern Ontario Grants

Which Home Renovation Savings stream does your heating fuel put you in?

Updated Oct 1, 2026 · program facts link to dataset records

What is Home Renovation Savings?

A decision tree diagram on warm paper titled Primary Heating Fuel Determines Your Stream. A single question at the top reads how is your home heated, and a line branches downward into two groups. The left group holds four outlined icon tiles labelled Wood, Oil, Propane and Electricity, the four non gas fuels that share one stream. A separate branch on the right leads to a fifth tile labelled Natural Gas with the qualifier Active Enbridge Account. The diagram shows that the four non gas fuels route together while an active natural gas account routes to its own separate stream.

Home Renovation Savings is Ontario's main home energy rebate program, delivered by Save on Energy (the IESO) together with Enbridge Gas, and reported to have launched in January 2025. It pays rebates for heat pumps, insulation, and other efficiency upgrades. The stream you apply through, and the rebate amounts available to you, depend on one question: how is your home heated?

That question matters more in Northern Ontario than almost anywhere else in the province, because a large share of rural northern homes sit off the natural gas grid and heat with wood, oil, propane, or electricity. Those homes land in the program's richest rebate tier. With the federal Canada Greener Homes Grant closed to new applicants, this program is now the front door for home energy retrofit money in Ontario.

Heated with electricity, oil, propane or wood? You are in the top tier

An infographic titled The Non Gas Stream, Targeting Off Grid Heat. Four outlined fuel icons run down the left side representing wood, oil, propane and electricity, with dashed connector lines feeding into a line drawing of an outdoor cold climate air source heat pump at the centre. Above the unit a large figure reads seven thousand five hundred dollars, captioned Verified Maximum for Heat Pump. A boxed note on the right carries two instructions, first to verify the equipment is rated for below minus twenty five degrees Celsius, and second to apply via Save on Energy through a participating contractor.

If your home's primary heat is electricity, oil, propane, or wood, you qualify for the program's top rebate tier: up to $7,500 toward a cold-climate air source heat pump. That figure is verified. The stream is aimed squarely at homes without natural gas service, which describes much of rural and small-town Northern Ontario.

The economics tend to be strongest exactly here: replacing oil, propane, or electric baseboard heat with a cold-climate heat pump usually cuts operating costs meaningfully, and modern cold-climate units are rated for northern winters. Have a qualified contractor size the system, and choose equipment rated to perform well below minus 25.

Additional measures have been reported in this stream, and the program was reported to expand in 2026 to include rooftop solar and battery storage rebates. Verify the current eligible measures on the Save on Energy site before you plan a project. Details for this stream are on our electricity, oil, propane and wood page.

Heated with natural gas? You use the Enbridge assessment stream

A cutaway line drawing of a two storey house titled The Enbridge Stream, Assessment Based Insulation. Hatched shading marks the insulated zones at the attic, the exterior walls and the basement. A small callout pointing at a window reads one hundred dollars per opening. A larger callout box on the right reads seven thousand seven hundred dollars maximum, with the subcaption for comprehensive insulation. The drawing shows that in the natural gas stream insulation carries the seven thousand seven hundred dollar ceiling while each individual window or door opening is worth one hundred dollars.

Homes with an active Enbridge natural gas account go through the assessment-based Enbridge stream instead. The verified figures there: up to $7,700 for insulation and $100 per window or door opening. The stream starts with a home energy assessment, then the upgrades, then a follow-up assessment to confirm what was done.

Insulation is the headline money in this stream: attic, wall, and basement insulation in an older northern home can claim a substantial rebate while cutting gas bills every winter afterward. Heat pump support for gas-heated homes is reported to be structured differently and smaller than the non-gas tier; verify before assuming the $7,500 figure applies to you.

One caution that catches people: work completed before the initial assessment is typically ineligible. Book the assessment first, always. Details for this stream are on our natural gas stream page.

What happened to the Canada Greener Homes Grant?

The federal Canada Greener Homes Grant closed to new applicants in early 2024. Homeowners already in the queue were processed, but there is no new federal grant intake and no announced replacement grant as of August 2026. In Ontario, Home Renovation Savings has effectively taken its place as the program to start with.

If you had been waiting for a federal grant to reopen before renovating, stop waiting: the provincial program is the live money. Federal financing arrangements for retrofits have changed over time, so check Natural Resources Canada directly for the current status of any loan offering before counting on one.

Which stream are you in?

A two circle Venn diagram titled Navigating Mixed Heating Setups. The left circle is labelled Primary Wood Heat and the right circle is labelled Active Gas Account with the example of a water heater. The overlapping lens between the two circles is outlined in amber and filled with fine diagonal hatching, marking the ambiguous mixed fuel case where a home burns wood as its main heat but still holds a live gas account. A leader line drops from the overlap to a boxed caption reading, confirm your exact stream with program support before applying, guessing changes your maximum rebate.

Your primary heating fuel decides the stream. Work down this list:

  • Wood stove, oil furnace, propane furnace, electric baseboard, or electric furnace as your main heat, with no gas account: you are in the electricity, oil, propane and wood stream, including the verified $7,500 heat pump tier.
  • Active Enbridge gas account heating the home: you are in the assessment-based Enbridge stream, with the verified $7,700 insulation maximum.
  • Mixed setups, such as a gas furnace plus a wood stove, or gas service used only for a water heater: the dividing line is reported to hinge on the active gas account and primary heating. Confirm your stream with program support before applying, because it changes your maximums.

How do you apply?

A vertical timeline infographic titled Anticipated Two Thousand Twenty Six Program Expansion. A single marked node on the timeline is labelled two thousand twenty six and connects rightward to a bordered panel holding two line drawn icons with labels, a tilted rooftop solar panel array labelled Rooftop Solar and a wall mounted battery unit labelled Battery Storage. A footer line reads, verify current eligible measures on the Save on Energy site before planning a project. The slide names the two reported new measure categories and states no dollar figures.

The two streams apply differently. For the Enbridge stream, book the home energy assessment first through the program's registered energy advisor network, and only start work after it. For the non-gas stream, apply through Save on Energy and use a participating contractor; confirm any pre-approval requirement before you sign a contract or install equipment.

Practical steps either way: get quotes from two or three contractors and ask each whether they have completed rebate jobs under this program; confirm the specific equipment model is on the eligible list before ordering; and keep every invoice and model number. Rebates are paid after completion and paperwork, not up front, so budget the full cost and treat the rebate as recovery.

Does this stack with other property money?

Home Renovation Savings targets energy efficiency in your existing home. Several northern municipal programs pay for something different: creating new housing units. If your renovation plan includes adding a rental suite, look separately at Thunder Bay's Housing CIP, Sault Ste. Marie's Per Door Grant, or North Bay's Growth CIP housing incentive, depending on where you live. Stacking rules vary by program, so declare all funding sources on each application and confirm compatibility with each funder.

Programs in this guide

Common questions

Do I need an energy assessment to get the heat pump rebate?

In the natural gas stream, yes: the whole stream is assessment-based, and work done before the initial assessment is typically ineligible. The non-gas stream is reported to have a simpler path without a mandatory pre-assessment for the heat pump rebate. Verify before booking anything.

I heat mainly with wood but the house has a gas account. Which stream am I in?

The dividing line is reported to hinge on the active gas account and your primary heating fuel. Because the answer changes your maximum rebates, confirm your stream with program support before applying rather than guessing.

Is rooftop solar covered?

An expansion covering rooftop solar and battery storage was reported for 2026. Verify the current list of eligible measures on the Save on Energy site before planning around it.

Are rental properties or camps eligible?

Rules on ownership, principal residences, and rental or seasonal properties vary by measure and stream. Verify your specific situation with the program before spending money.

Is the Canada Greener Homes Grant coming back?

No replacement federal grant had been announced as of August 2026. The grant closed to new applicants in early 2024, and Home Renovation Savings is the active program for Ontario homeowners.

Official sources used