Home Energy Upgrades in BC: The Rebates, and How to Pay Before They Arrive

The Short Answer

BC still pays homeowners to make their homes more efficient. Through the Home Renovation Rebate program run by FortisBC, BC Hydro and CleanBC, a heat pump that replaces electric heat can bring back up to $4,000, a FortisBC dual fuel system $4,000, new windows and doors up to $2,000 and insulation up to $1,200 per area, with one bonus of up to $2,000 on top. Income-qualified households can get considerably more.

The catch is timing. Every one of those rebates is paid after the work is finished and the invoice is paid in full. The federal interest-free Greener Homes Loan closed on October 1, 2025, so most homeowners now carry the whole cost up front and wait months for money to come back.

That makes it a mortgage question as much as a rebate question. Folding the work into a refinance at renewal, buying with purchase plus improvements, or using FortisBC’s 1.9% heat pump loan can all cover the gap, and CMHC will even refund 25% of your mortgage insurance premium on qualifying work after you buy. The best time to plan the money is before you sign the contractor’s quote.

Rebates Pay You Back. They Don’t Pay the Contractor.

The program rules are built around a paid invoice. That one detail drives everything else on this page.

• Paid in full first. Every rebate claim needs an itemized invoice showing a $0 balance owing.
• Six months to apply. Applications are due within six months of the invoice date.
• Then you wait. FortisBC says its income-qualified rebate cheques can take up to 90 days after it has every document. CMHC quotes about 8 to 10 weeks for its premium refund.
• Some steps come before the work. The biggest bonus needs an EnerGuide home evaluation before anything is installed, heat pumps and insulation need a Home Performance Contractor Network member, and converting from oil or propane to gas needs a FortisBC pre-qualification code first.
• Financing has to end in ownership. The program accepts financed equipment only if the agreement leaves you owning it. Watch for rental or lease plans that never transfer ownership.

So the real question is not just “how much will I get back?” It’s “where does the money come from for the three to six months in between?”

Step One: Check Whose Name Is on Your Power Bill

Your utility decides which program you apply through and which options you have. Neighbours a bridge apart can have different answers.

• Natural gas comes from FortisBC across most of the province.
• BC Hydro supplies electricity to most of BC, including the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island, West Kelowna, Westbank First Nation, Peachland and Lake Country.
• FortisBC electricity serves Kelowna and parts of the Okanagan, Boundary and Kootenays. The City of Kelowna sold its electric utility to FortisBC in 2013.
• Municipal utilities in Penticton, Summerland, Grand Forks, Nelson and New Westminster are also eligible for the program.

The rebate amounts are the same whichever utility you’re with. What changes is where you apply, whether you can use FortisBC’s heat pump loan, and which local top-ups exist.

What the Main Rebates Pay

These are the standard amounts for invoices dated on or after October 15, 2026, from the joint program terms. Northern BC (100 Mile House and north) has separate, larger fossil-fuel conversion rebates.

Only one primary heating rebate is allowed per home. Eligible homes include detached houses, separately metered suites, permanently fixed mobile homes, and individually metered duplexes, triplexes, row homes and townhomes. Condos and apartments are excluded, as are homes less than 12 months old, additions and homes that have been substantially reconstructed. Program amounts change often, so confirm them on the BetterHomesBC program requirements page before you book work. FortisBC lists its full set of offers in its rebates and offers finder, and BC Hydro customers can start at BC Hydro’s home renovation rebates.

The Catch for Gas-Heated Homes

Many BC homes heat with natural gas, and this is where people get surprised.

• No rebate for going all-electric in southern BC under the regular program. The $4,000 heat pump rebate requires electric heat today, and the heat pump water heater rebate requires an electric water heater today.
• Dual fuel is the any-income route. A heat pump does most of the work and a new gas furnace takes over in the cold. In the Southern Interior the system has to switch to gas at 2°C or lower (5°C on the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island).
• No rebate for a furnace-for-furnace swap. Replacing a gas furnace with another gas furnace doesn’t qualify.
• Oil or propane heat? FortisBC pays up to $3,800 to connect to natural gas, but the code has to be issued before installation.

One more timing note: the federal government announced a new heat pump rebate in October 2026 that is expected to open in early 2027. The details weren’t final at the time of writing. If your project isn’t urgent, ask us what’s changed before you sign.

If Your Household Is Income-Qualified

FortisBC’s income-qualified offers pay considerably more. To be eligible, combined household income from all sources has to be below these limits:

Among the larger offers: $8,000 for dual fuel, up to $12,000 for a heat pump replacing electric heat, up to $7,500 for windows and doors, up to $3,000 for a high-efficiency gas water heater and $2,500 for a heat pump water heater, plus a free home energy evaluation and upgrades for eligible homes. The dual fuel offer also requires that you own only one property in BC, that the home is at least 10 years old and no larger than 3,500 square feet, and that its assessed value is below $1.2 million.

A few rules to know before you apply:

• Proof of income is required for every adult in the home. The preferred proof is a CRA Notice of Assessment, which you can download from CRA My Account.
• No stacking. Income-qualified rebates can’t be combined with the regular rebates or with other provincial or federal programs.
• Paid by cheque, up to 90 days after FortisBC has every document. FortisBC can also inspect the work for up to a year.

The current amounts and limits are on FortisBC’s income-qualified offers page. BC Hydro customers can also look at the CleanBC Energy Savings Program, which covers all-electric conversions for eligible incomes.

Five Ways to Pay for the Work

These are real HomeHappy files. We’ve left out anything that would identify them.

1. Fold it into your renewal

At renewal there’s no prepayment penalty, so it’s the cheapest moment to borrow against what you own. A refinance can go up to 80% of your home’s value.

A real file. A couple came up for renewal with three jobs on their list: new windows, a new heating system and more insulation. We refinanced at renewal and built the cost of all three into the new mortgage, so the money for the work was there from day one without a separate line of credit. The goal was a far more efficient home, with one payment to manage.

When the rebates arrive, they come back to you. Put them on the mortgage as a prepayment, or keep them as a cushion. Either way, the decision is yours rather than a credit card’s. Our BC renewal strategy explains how to use a renewal this way, and equity take-out in BC shows how much you can access.

2. Buying? Use purchase plus improvements

If the home you’re buying needs work, the lender can advance the purchase price plus the cost of agreed improvements, based on a written estimate. The improvement money is held back and released once the work is done, so you’ll need a way to float the contractor until then.

Two real files. One couple bought with purchase plus improvements and replaced the roof. The new roof helped their heating bill afterward as well. A Kelowna purchase we just closed is doing the same thing right now, with the new roof going on as we write this.

First-time buyers: an older home that needs work is often the more affordable way in, and purchase plus improvements lets you finance the fixes with the mortgage instead of saving for them after you move in. Pair it with the first-time buyer programs available in BC and our BC first-time home buyer guide.

Moving up: if the next home needs a new furnace, windows or a roof, build the work into the purchase rather than adding a line of credit after you move. Our BC move-up buyer strategy covers the rest of the move.

More on how it works: when the standard mortgage doesn’t fit.

3. Get 25% of your CMHC premium back

This is the one almost nobody claims. If your purchase was insured by CMHC and you complete at least $20,000 of qualifying work within two years of buying, CMHC Eco Improvement refunds 25% of your mortgage insurance premium. Qualifying work includes the building envelope (insulation, windows, doors, roofing, air sealing), heating and ventilation systems including heat pumps, and renewables such as solar. No EnerGuide evaluation is needed. First-time buyers with less than 20% down are almost always insured, which is exactly when this refund is worth knowing about.

• The money can be real. For example, a $600,000 insured mortgage at 95% of the price carries a $24,000 premium, so a 25% refund would be about $6,000.
• Keep every paid invoice. Lenders don’t ask for receipts on purchase plus improvements, but CMHC does.
• The insurer matters. Since July 2025, Sagen and Canada Guaranty refund premiums only on new energy-efficient homes. If you’re planning upgrades after you buy a resale home, tell us up front so the file goes to the right insurer.

4. FortisBC’s 1.9% heat pump loan

For homes heated by electric baseboards or an electric furnace, FortisBC lends up to $6,500 at 1.9% over 10 years, instead of the heat pump rebate. You’ll need to be a FortisBC electricity customer, or a municipal customer in Grand Forks, Penticton, Summerland or Nelson. That covers Kelowna and Penticton, but not West Kelowna, Peachland or Lake Country, which are on BC Hydro. Details are on FortisBC’s heat pump loan page.

5. Adding a suite at the same time

An insured refinance is now allowed for one purpose only: adding a secondary suite. It can go up to 90% of the home’s value once the suite is finished (to a maximum of $2 million), with up to a 30-year amortization, and the money has to go to the suite project. Energy work that serves the new suite may count. A whole-house retrofit on its own does not.

What about a line of credit?

A line of credit can carry a few months until a rebate lands, if it gets paid back the day the cheque arrives. Left open as a standing pot, it tends to become what we call the never-never plan: the balance never goes down. We’d rather build the cost into a plan you can see the end of.

The Order That Saves You Money

1. Check your utility and your heating type. That tells you which rebates you can actually get.
2. Book the EnerGuide evaluation first if you’re doing three or more upgrades and want the bonus. Kelowna residents may be able to get a free one through the Home Energy Navigator while they last.
3. Choose the right contractor. A Home Performance Contractor Network member for heat pumps and insulation, and a licensed gas contractor for dual fuel.
4. Line up the money before you sign. If your renewal is within a year, the timing may decide the whole plan.
5. Pay the invoice in full and keep it. Itemized, with equipment and labour shown separately.
6. Apply within six months, and within two years of closing for CMHC.
7. Decide where the money goes when it comes back.

Program details last checked November 5, 2026, against BetterHomesBC, FortisBC, BC Hydro and CMHC. Programs change often; confirm current amounts before you book work.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does FortisBC give home renovation rebates in Kelowna?

Yes. Kelowna homes are FortisBC customers for both natural gas and electricity, so they apply through FortisBC for the Home Renovation Rebate: up to $4,000 for a heat pump that replaces electric heat or for a FortisBC dual fuel system, $1,000 for a heat pump water heater that replaces an electric one, up to $2,000 for windows and doors, insulation by area, and one bonus of up to $2,000. Electrically heated Kelowna homes can also choose FortisBC’s 1.9% heat pump loan instead of the heat pump rebate.

I live in West Kelowna. Do I apply through FortisBC or BC Hydro?

Usually both, for different things. West Kelowna, Westbank First Nation and Peachland get their electricity from BC Hydro, while natural gas comes from FortisBC. Gas-side rebates such as dual fuel go through FortisBC, and electric-side rebates such as a heat pump replacing baseboards go through BC Hydro. The rebate amounts are the same; the FortisBC heat pump loan is not available to BC Hydro customers. Check the name on your power bill.

Is there a rebate for replacing my gas furnace with a heat pump in BC?

Outside northern BC, the regular program does not pay a rebate for switching a gas-heated home to an all-electric heat pump. The any-income option is FortisBC’s dual fuel rebate of $4,000: a new heat pump paired with a new high-efficiency gas furnace, replacing a gas furnace at least 15 years old. Income-qualified households can get $8,000 for dual fuel, and the provincial Energy Savings Program covers all-electric conversions for eligible incomes. There is no rebate for replacing a gas furnace with another gas furnace.

Is there still an interest-free loan for home energy upgrades in Canada?

No. The federal Canada Greener Homes Loan closed to new applications on October 1, 2025. The one low-interest option we know of in BC is FortisBC’s heat pump loan: up to $6,500 at 1.9% over 10 years, taken instead of the heat pump rebate, for electrically heated homes on FortisBC or certain municipal electricity. For larger projects, most homeowners fund the work through their mortgage.

Can I add the cost of energy upgrades to my mortgage?

Often, yes. At renewal you can refinance with no prepayment penalty and borrow up to 80% of your home’s value, folding the upgrade into one payment. If you’re buying, purchase plus improvements lets the lender advance the cost of agreed improvements with the mortgage, released once the work is done. Whether a file should qualify depends on your income, credit and the home’s value, so we run the numbers before you sign a contractor’s quote.

Does CMHC refund mortgage insurance for energy-efficient renovations?

Yes. CMHC Eco Improvement refunds 25% of your CMHC mortgage insurance premium if you complete at least $20,000 of qualifying work, such as insulation, windows, doors, roofing, heating or heat pumps, within two years of buying. You apply directly to CMHC with paid invoices, and refunds take about 8 to 10 weeks. Sagen and Canada Guaranty now refund premiums only on new energy-efficient homes, so the insurer on your file matters.

How long do BC home energy rebates take to arrive?

Plan for months, not weeks. You can only apply once the invoice is paid in full, applications are due within six months of the invoice date, and FortisBC says its income-qualified cheques can take up to 90 days after it has every document. CMHC’s Eco Improvement refund takes about 8 to 10 weeks. Line up the money for the contractor before the work starts.

Do condos qualify for the Home Renovation Rebate?

Generally no. Condos, apartments and other multi-unit buildings are excluded, apart from strata owners installing a FortisBC rebate-eligible gas fireplace. Detached homes, separately metered suites, permanently fixed mobile homes, and individually metered duplexes, triplexes, row homes and townhomes are eligible, along with small individually metered multiplexes. Homes less than 12 months old, additions and substantially reconstructed homes are not.

Planning an Upgrade?

Talk to us before you sign the contractor’s quote. We’ll look at your renewal date, what you own in your home and the rebates that fit, and show you how to pay for the work without leaning on credit cards.

Call or text 604-833-4663 (HOME) or book a free, zero-pressure strategy session. If you’re weighing a bigger restructure, our guide to choosing a broker for renewals and refinancing is a good place to start.