30%refundable federal credit on commercial solar, storage and heat pumps — what qualifies
Home  /  INCENTIVES

What Is Actually Available

Current as of September 2026. Programs open, close and change their rules mid-year, so every figure here is confirmed against the live rules before we issue a proposal.

Commercial and institutional

Commercial incentives by technology
TechnologyWhat is availableSource
Solar PV30% refundable credit on qualifying property including balance of system. Net metering credits against the commodity portion of the bill, to 500 kW.Federal ITC + O. Reg. 541/05
Battery storage30% refundable credit, claimable independently of any generation.Federal ITC
Air-source heat pumpsUp to $18,000 per unit prescriptive, or custom at $1,800/kW or $0.20/kWh — whichever is higher — to 50% of eligible project cost. Plus the 30% federal credit.Save on Energy + ITC
Packaged terminal heat pumpsUp to $1,100 per unit.Save on Energy Retrofit
Advanced rooftop controlsUp to $5,780.Save on Energy Retrofit
Demand-controlled ventilation$27 per ton of cooling, interior spaces.Save on Energy Retrofit
Ground-source heat pumps30% refundable credit on the full system, loop field included.Federal ITC
LightingMoved out of the Retrofit Program on 30 June 2026. Now delivered through Instant Discounts.Save on Energy Instant Discounts

The Retrofit Program publishes semi-annual updates each spring and autumn, adding and retiring measures. A proposal quoting figures from a previous cycle is not necessarily wrong, but it is worth asking when it was last checked.

The federal credit has a condition

The full 30% requires a written election covering prevailing wage and documented effort toward 10% of Red Seal trade hours by registered apprentices. Without it the rate is 20%.

It is decided at contract stage, not at filing. The detail is here.

Residential, and the honest position

The Ontario Home Renovation Savings Program runs to 30 November 2026. The constraint that catches people is not the date itself: the post-installation submission has to be filed before it. The work must be sold, installed and documented, not merely agreed.

Eligibility runs through registered participating contractors, and registration has been paused. We confirm the position project by project rather than promising a rebate we have not verified.

What replaces it in Ontario

As things stand, nothing general. The federal Canada Greener Homes Affordability Program — the direct-install successor to the Greener Homes Grant — is running in Manitoba, British Columbia, Quebec, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. There is no Ontario agreement, no named delivery organisation and no announced launch.

What remains for Ontario households is the income-tested Energy Affordability Program, and net metering for solar, which is not an incentive but a billing arrangement.

We would rather tell you that now than after you have signed something.

Where a residential project stands on its own economics — a failed system being replaced, a high-consumption home, a site with good solar exposure and daytime load — it still makes sense without a rebate. Financing is available on qualifying projects.

Outside Ontario

Several provinces run materially better residential programs than Ontario does, and the commercial federal credit is national. If your building is elsewhere in Canada, tell us where — we deliver through affiliated contractors in other provinces and will tell you honestly whether we are the right party for it.

Common questions

Can commercial projects claim both the utility incentive and the federal credit?

Generally yes — they are separate programs from different bodies. The utility incentive may reduce the cost base the credit is calculated on, so the two should be modelled together rather than simply added.

What happens to Ontario residential rebates after 30 November 2026?

The Home Renovation Savings Program ends. The federal replacement programme is not currently running in Ontario and no launch has been announced. Projects after that date should be evaluated on their own economics.

Do you handle the incentive paperwork?

For commercial projects we file the utility application and assemble the documentation package the federal credit requires. We do not file your corporate return — that is your accountant's work, and we give them what they need.

Related

Where to go next

Request a quote

Tell us what the building needs.

Send the building type, the approximate size and what prompted the project. You will get a scoped proposal with the incentive position set out line by line — not a number on a page.