Energy Savings Program dual fuel ducted heat pump rebates
Space heating is the largest use of energy in homes. A properly installed dual fuel heating system is more efficient than other alternatives and can provide you with both heating and cooling for today’s cold winters and hot summers.
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A dual fuel ducted heat pump combines a heat pump and a gas or propane furnace for back up heating. It distributes heat and cooling through ductwork connected to vents in each room and switched to the backup furnace at a pre-set temperature. Based on your household income, you could receive up to $15,000 for a dual fuel ducted heat pump.
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Overview
Rebate amount
Up to $15,000Who can apply
B.C. citizens who live in an eligible home, meet income qualification requirements, and have a residential electric utility account with BC Hydro or FortisBC.
Deadline
The application and supporting documentation must be submitted by the program registered contractor within six (6) months of the invoice date
Funding provided by
The Province of British Columbia
Rebate amount
Learn more about the three income levels that are eligible for rebates.
For households with tank propane
Upgrade Type |
Income level 1 |
Income level 2 & 3 |
Dual fuel ducted heating system
Maximum one primary space heating system rebate per home, regardless of the number of systems installed |
100% of eligible upgrade costs, up to a maximum of $15,000 per home | 100% of eligible upgrade costs, up to a maximum of $10,000 per home |
Northern top-up* | $3,000 | $3,000 |
*To be eligible for the northern top-up, homes must be located north of and including the District of 100 Mile House (latitude 51.628°N) and must be connected to BC Hydro electric service.
For Pacific Northern Gas customers with piped propane or natural gas
Upgrade Type |
Income level 1 |
Income level 2 & 3 |
Dual fuel ducted heating system
Maximum one primary space heating system rebate per home, regardless of the number of systems installed |
100% of eligible upgrade costs, up to a maximum of $11,500 per home | 100% of eligible upgrade costs, up to a maximum of $6,500 per home |
Northern top-up* | $3,000 | $3,000 |
Pacific Northern Gas top-up** | $3,500 | $3,500 |
*To be eligible for the northern top-up, homes must be located north of and including the District of 100 Mile House (latitude 51.628°N) and must be connected to BC Hydro electric service.
** Pacific Northern Gas (PNG) offers up to $2,500 in rebates to customers who have received a Dual-Fuel Ducted Heat Pump Rebate from CleanBC. There is an additional incentive of $1,000 available to customers who replace their furnace with an ENERGY STAR® natural gas furnace and install a heat pump. Learn more about the PNG top-up.
Related rebates
Check out other available rebates for the Energy Savings Program at betterhomesbc.ca/energy-savings-program.
Eligibility requirements
In order to qualify for this rebate, all of the following requirements must be met. Please read them carefully. Contact an Energy Coach if you have questions.
Income qualification requirements
Rebate coverage is based on the combined income of all adults in your home and how many people live in your home, including adults and children.
Learn more about the three income levels that are eligible for rebates.
Requirements for the home
You must live in an eligible home:
- The property must be a year-round primary residence, that is at least 12 months old.
- For participants registering in the program as income levels 1 or 2, the property must have a total assessed value at or under $1,230,000 in the BC Assessment listing for the address of the applicant’s home in the year of program registration.
- If a household meets the income threshold of any of the levels in the table above, but the home is valued at or higher than the property value of $1,230,000, they will be approved as an income level 3 participant.
- You must have a residential electric utility account with FortisBC, BC Hydro, or a municipal utility.
- You must pay your own energy utility bills. Utility accounts must be in the name of the resident and/or homeowner; utility accounts in the name of a strata corporation or landlord are not eligible.
- The home must be one of the following types of residential buildings:
- Single-family home (detached dwelling).
- Secondary suite in a single-family home (detached dwelling), with its own separate utility meter.
- Mobile home that is permanently fixed, sits on a foundation and is structurally complete with installed and connected plumbing, heating, electrical, water and sewer services; towing apparatus and axle must be removed.
- Duplex, triplex, row home or townhome, where each unit has its own natural gas and/or electricity meter; utility accounts must be in the name of the resident and/or homeowner. Utility accounts in the name of a strata corporation are not eligible.
- If you currently rent your home, you will need a landlord consent form to accompany your application.
- You must pre-register and receive an eligibility code before completing the upgrade.
- The home must be primarily heated by tanked propane or natural gas provided by Pacific Northern Gas (PNG)
Requirements for your contractor
New heat pumps must be installed:
- By a program registered contractor who is approved to install home upgrades for the CleanBC Energy Savings Program, and for the trade applicable to the upgrade being installed (e.g. Heat pumps must be installed by a licensed residential heating and cooling contractor), and
- In accordance with the Heat Pump Best Practices Guide for Existing Homes.
Requirements for the upgrade
The new heat pump must:
- Be capable of distributing heat throughout all the conditioned space in the house served previously by the primary heating system.
- Meet or exceed SEER ≥ 16.0, HSPF ≥ 10.0 (Region IV) or SEER2 ≥ 15.2, HSPF2 ≥ 8.5 (Region IV)*.
- Be integrated with a propane or natural gas heating system and all propane or natural gas heating equipment (piping, appliances, fuel containers, vents and associated infrastructure) must be modified in accordance with all applicable laws.
- Have the thermostat, outdoor temperature switch-over control or equipment control board set to the following region-specific temperatures for the duration of the product lifetime:
- Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island regions: 5°C
- Southern Interior and Northern B.C. regions: 2°C
- Have a minimum capacity of 12,000 BTU (1 ton).
- Be sized to ensure it has the capacity to meet the home’s heat demand at or below the region-specific outdoor set-point (i.e. the application balance point must be lower than the region-specific outdoor thermostat set-point).
- Be listed as an eligible system on the Qualified Heat Pump Product List.
- Have an AHRI certified reference number that references the outdoor unit and the indoor unit(s) of the heat pump, and the furnace model number.
- Be installed in accordance with the Heat Pump Best Practices Installation Guide for Existing Homes.
- A heat load calculation is required and must be submitted to access the rebate, see What are the load calculation requirements for heat pumps?
- Emergency replacement of broken fossil fuel space heating systems is eligible.
- Homes in Non-Integrated Areas of the electricity grid must contact EnergySavingsProgram@betterhomesbc.ca for pre-approval prior to installation.
- Meet these additional design and capacity requirements.
*The CleanBC Energy Savings Program will accept either the HSPF/SEER or HSPF2/SEER2 testing standard data from AHRI. The new HSPF2/SEER2 testing standard tests heat pumps to a higher standard that better represents homes in Canada, resulting in different efficiency data. An eligible heat pump that meets either the HSPF/SEER requirements or the HSPF2/SEER2 requirements and is on our qualified product list will qualify for a rebate.
- Your home must have had natural gas or propane as the primary heating system for at least 12 consecutive months. This may be confirmed by reviewing your utility billing history.
- Dual fuel rebates are not available for replacing an electrical or wood heating system.
- Dual fuel rebates are not available for homes primarily heated with a boiler
See below for sample invoices
Deadlines
The application and supporting documentation must be submitted by the program registered contractor within six (6) months of the invoice date.
How to apply
Before you begin
- Confirm eligibility by reviewing the Rebate Eligibility Requirements, Participant Terms and Conditions, and Contractor Terms and Conditions.
- Complete the program’s pre-screen and pre-registration to determine your eligibility through the CleanBC Energy Savings Program participant portal. Once confirmed you will receive an eligibility code and opportunities report, outlining your suggested upgrades. You can also make an appointment with an Energy Savings Program coach or schedule a virtual assessment for pre-registration assistance or support to identify the best upgrades for your home.
- Customer must choose an program registered contractor to complete the upgrade.
- Contractors interested in becoming registered in the Energy Savings Program can contact ESPcontractorsupport@clearesult.com or visit the contractor portal.
- After completing the upgrade, contractor will submit the rebate application and deduct the rebate from the final cost of the upgrade.
I am… |
Apply here |
A Pacific Northern Gas residential customer or tank propane customer | Energy Savings Program participant portal |
Who to contact
Questions about the rebate?
Contact an Energy Coach to get clarification or help with understanding this rebate.
Questions about your application?
- CleanBC Energy Savings Program
FAQs and more
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Learn about heat pumps
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Rebate FAQs
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Get help from professionals
Finding the right contractor is key to having a successful home energy retrofit.
Energy Savings Program Registered Contractors