These northern Ontario homeowners are turning to heat pumps for energy savings

Alasdair MacLeod didn't think much about his home heating when he lived in Vancouver, or the oil furnace in the lakeside home in Sudbury he bought a decade ago.

But then during the pandemic, his oil bill doubled.

Last winter, MacLeod put in a heat pump and now figures he saves about $100 per month off his energy bill. 

"So basically we're breaking even. Like the energy savings completely covers the cost," he said. 

"It's basically just an air conditioner, except it can run both directions. It's way cheaper than oil."

That heat pump cost over $10,000 and some run as much as $25,000, but MacLeod got help from the federal government's Greener Homes program, with a $5,000 grant and interest-free loan. 

"I think it's a great idea, but it's still quite a bit of initial outlay of money," he said. 

"They probably should have started acting on this 10 or 15 years ago."

There are a range of different heat pump incentives available right now, including $4,500 for Enbridge Gas customers to install one and $15,000 for low income Canadians switching off heating oil.

The Ontario NDP has gone as far to call for heat pumps to be free for anyone who wants one.

Brendan Haley, an associate professor at Carleton University in Ottawa and a policy expert with Efficiency Canada, says that's a step in the right direction, especially when most low income families heat with natural gas.

"If we're going to make the transition to a net-zero economy, energy efficiency needs to be easy and affordable for everyone," Haley said.

Nick Huizing from Superior Home Comfort in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. says they are installing a heat pump just about every day.

He says most are people with a natural gas furnace are trying to supplement with a heat pump and save money during the "shoulder seasons" in the fall and spring. 

Huizing says this rush to heat pumps reminds him of the early 1980s when governments were offering cash incentives for people to move from furnace oil to natural gas.

"I think the program is really good that they have out there right now, the biggest concern I would have and I've seen it with the oil grants they had 40 years back, that there's going to be a point where the money runs out," he said.

Greener Homes program set to end

Almost on cue, the federal government announced Wednesday that the Greener Homes program will stop taking applications in March 2024, anticipating that the $2.6 billion fund will have been exhausted by then, but likely falling short of the target of retrofitting 700,000 homes. 

Mark Robinson, of Elliot Lake, is hoping he gets a grant before the program ends.

He built a lakefront home a decade ago with in-floor water heating connected with to a propane hot water tank, but has watched his annual bill climb by $1,000 over the past few years.

A retired environmental science teacher, he's "really impressed" with heat pumps and how efficient they've become, but he's been told he isn't eligible for the grant because he needs an Energy Star-rated water-to-air pump, which he can't find. 

"So I would really like to go to this heat pump," said Robinson, who says he has written to politicians and government bureaucrats, but not received any response. 

"I don't mind paying the carbon tax. The point of the carbon tax is to get me away from burning carbon, so that's what I'm trying to do."