Minister Fraser Announces Oil to Heat Pump Co-Delivery Program with Nova Scotia to Lower Heating Costs Français

News provided by

Natural Resources Canada

Feb 22, 2023, 13:33 ET

DARTMOUTH, NS, 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, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, the Honourable Sean Fraser, on behalf of the Minister of Natural Resources, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, announced that registration has opened for the Oil to Heat Pump Affordability OHPA Program in Nova Scotia. Eligible homeowners can receive up to $5,000 in federal support from this program in addition to up to $5,000 from the Canada Greener Homes Grant (CGHG) and further support from the Province of Nova Scotia. Registration for Nova Scotia is through the provincial program delivered by EfficiencyOne.

The program helps low-to-middle-income households that are currently heating their homes with oil to move to electric cold-climate 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.

Homeowners in Nova Scotia are invited to register through the EfficiencyOne website. Homeowners in Prince Edward Island are invited to register through the Free Heat Pump Program. All other eligible homeowners across Canada can pre-register through the CGHG Portal. Those who pre-register will be contacted once final program details are launched in the coming weeks. Introduced in November 2022, the OHPA program is delivering $250 million in investments for electric heat pumps as a new stream under the existing Canada Greener Homes Initiative.

Heat pumps are also an important climate adaptation solution, supporting Canadians in heating their homes in cold winters and cooling them in increasingly hot summers. The OHPA Program is yet another example 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. We are pleased to partner with the Government of Nova Scotia to co-deliver the Oil to Heat Pump Affordability Grant through EfficiencyOne — meaning Nova Scotians who make the switch can now access up to $10,000 in federal support on top of provincial programs."

The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson
Minister of Natural Resources, Canada

"Affordability is a top-of-mind issue for all Canadians, and today our government is ensuring there is up to an additional $5,000 above and beyond existing federal programs to support those who are installing heat pumps. Delivered in partnership with the Government of Nova Scotia through EfficiencyOne, this program will help Nova Scotians save money on their energy bills while reducing emissions. This is a win for affordability and a win for the environment."     

The Honourable Sean Fraser
Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship, Canada

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

"Nova Scotia is a national leader in fighting climate change with some of the most ambitious goals in the country. Helping Nova Scotians move away from oil heat and make their homes more energy-efficient is an important part of our climate plan. We recently invested $140 million to help all Nova Scotians — especially those in low- and middle-income households — to save money and reduce greenhouse gas emissions through our energy efficiency programs. We greatly appreciate the federal support that our investment is leveraging and Efficiency Nova Scotia's expertise in helping homeowners find the best solutions for their needs."

The Honourable Tory Rushton
Minister of Natural Resources and Renewables, Nova Scotia

"Energy efficiency is one of the most important tools in accelerating Nova Scotia's efforts to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions as we move to a low-carbon, net-zero future, and doing this comes with the important benefit of reducing energy bills. For most people, their energy bill is often their largest bill, and we know higher energy costs disproportionately impact households with lower incomes. Funding for energy efficiency incentives and programs like the Oil to Heat Pump Assistance Grant are critical and allow more people to make energy-efficient upgrades."

Stephen MacDonald
President and CEO, EfficiencyOne

Quick Facts

  • 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.
  • 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.

Related Information

Follow us on Twitter: @NRCan (http://twitter.com/nrcan)

SOURCE Natural Resources Canada

Contacts: 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]

Organization Profile

Natural Resources Canada