Canadians Can Now Pre-Register for the Oil to Heat Pump Affordability Program to Lower Heating Costs and Reduce Pollution (National) Français

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Natural Resources Canada

Feb 22, 2023, 15:05 ET

VANCOUVER, BC, Feb. 22, 2023 /CNW/ - Heat pumps not only help families save money on their monthly bills: they also help cut pollution and fight climate change. That's why the Government of Canada is taking another step forward to help families make the switch from expensive home heating oil to efficient electricity heat pumps.

Today, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Canada's Minister of Natural Resources, provided an update on the Oil to Heat Pump Affordability (OHPA) Program, introduced in November 2022. Starting today, eligible homeowners across Canada can pre-register through the Canada Greener Homes Initiative to begin their applications to access up to $5,000 in additional federal support for replacing home-heating oil with electric-heat pumps. Those who pre-register will be contacted once final program details are launched in the coming weeks. Currently, full registration is available through delivery partners in Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.

The OPHA program helps low-to-middle-income households that are currently heating their homes with oil to move to electric heat pumps. By switching, homeowners can receive up to $5,000 toward the purchase and installation of a new, cold-climate heat pump, save thousands of dollars annually on heating bills and help cut pollution.

This support is in addition to up to $5,000 in federal support from the $2.6-billion Canada Greener Homes Grant (CGHG), which is already supporting eligible homeowners to retrofit their home to reduce energy use and save money. With the OHPA Program, low-to-medium-income homeowners may qualify to receive a total up-front payment of up to $10,000. They could further benefit by combining additional financial assistance from other existing provincial, territorial, federal and utility programs, such as those already available in PEI and Nova Scotia.

As of February 13, 2023, a total of over 288,000 CGHG applications have been received through the national portal and provincial and territorial delivery partners. The CGHG has issued $178 million in grants to 46,000 homeowners. These grants are supporting home-efficiency upgrades across Canada, including heat-pump installation, window-sealing and more.

Heat pumps are also an important climate adaptation solution, supporting Canadians to heat their homes in cold winters and to cool them in increasingly hot summers. Delivering the OHPA Program is part of the government's commitment to making life more affordable for Canadians while fighting climate change from coast to coast to coast.

Quotes

"Replacing home heating oil with electric heat pumps is an effective way for families to save money while reducing pollution. Today, the Government of Canada opened pre-registrations for Canadians to access the Oil to Heat Pump Affordability Grant. When stacked with the Canada Greener Homes Grant, this means up to $10,000 in federal support for heat pumps."

The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson
Minister of Natural Resources

"By helping Canadians switch from the roller-coaster prices of home heating oil toward more affordable, Canadian-made electrical home heating, we're saving households thousands of dollars on energy bills while fighting climate change. Cheaper home heating, less pollution. It's a win-win."

The Honourable Steven Guilbeault
Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Canada

Quick Facts

  • Homeowners in PEI are invited to register through the provincial Free Heat Pump Program.
  • Homeowners in Nova Scotia are invited to register through the EffiencyOne website.
  • Heat pumps are a proven and reliable technology in Canada, capable of providing year-round comfort control for a home by:
    • heating it in the winter;
    • cooling it in the summer (heat pumps, despite their name, can also act as air conditioners); and
    • in some cases, heating water.
  • Heat pumps are one of the best ways for homeowners to save money on energy bills and fight climate change. When compared with other electric home heating sources, they are also two to three times more efficient, meaning greater savings for homeowners and reduced energy intake for utilities and grids.
    • On average, homeowners who switch from oil to cold-climate heat pumps to heat their homes would save between $1,500 and $4,700 per year on home energy bills.
  • The heat pump can also provide cooling by transferring warm indoor air to the outside. The energy provided by the outside air is free: consumers only pay for the electricity used by the compressor.
  • Cold climate air source heat pumps have been designed to work in lower temperatures well below freezing and can now work down to –30°C temperatures. This is possible because there is thermal energy available in the air, even in very low temperatures. For example, air at –18°C still has 85 percent of the thermal energy as air at 21°C. These systems are also capable of switching to a cooling mode.
  • Since the Canada Greener Homes Loan launched on June 17, 2022, more than 20,000 homeowners have applied for a loan, and more than $225 million in loan commitments have been made.
  • Further assistance will be made available through the Low Carbon Economy Fund (LCEF), announced by Minister Guilbeault in September 2022. The LCEF Home Heating Oil Transition funding will provide up to $250 million to interested provinces and territories to expand existing programs or create new initiatives that support low-income households in their transition from home heating oil to low-emitting heating sources. Approximately $120 million of the overall funding will go to people in Atlantic Canada, where the use of oil for home heating is much more common. Agreements on the specific programs to distribute funding in each jurisdiction are currently being finalized, aiming for funding to begin in 2023–2024.

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SOURCE Natural Resources Canada

Natural Resources Canada, Media Relations, 343-292-6100, [email protected]; Keean Nembhard, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Natural Resources, 613-323-7892, [email protected]

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