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Heat & energy
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Your city, read like an auditor
70 Canadian cities, each with its climate, housing age and 16 local audit and testing services.
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Provincial guide · program status verified per item
Efficiency Nova Scotia (EfficiencyOne) runs one of Canada's most complete program sets: assessment-based rebates for everyone, a moderate-income tier, and HomeWarming's free upgrades for income-qualified households. The federal oil-to-heat-pump money is spent out here and the new federal heat pump rebate won't open until early 2027, so for now the provincial stack is what remains, and it's substantial.
Canada's oldest housing stock by share in many communities: wood-frame homes that have seen two centuries of Atlantic weather, plus post-war Halifax suburbs. Oil heat's share was long the country's highest — which is why conversion programs hit Nova Scotia first and hardest.
Assessment $199 · rebates up to $5,000
The assessment costs $199 (waived for households under Efficiency Nova Scotia's income threshold) and opens rebates of up to $5,000, including $300–$600 per ton for heat pumps. Finish the work within 12 months of the first assessment.
Moderate Income Rebate up to $5,000 more · HomeWarming free
The Moderate Income Rebate adds up to $5,000 on top of the standard $5,000 (up to $10,000 in all) for homes not heated mainly by electricity; Efficiency Nova Scotia cut its maximum from $10,000 after the federal oil-to-heat-pump funding ended. HomeWarming installs free upgrades for income-qualified homeowners; renters aren't eligible. NS also delivers the federal Affordability Program through HomeWarming and the African Nova Scotian Communities Retrofit program.
Closed to new applicants July 2, 2026
Efficiency Nova Scotia allocated its federal oil-to-heat-pump funding and stopped taking applications on July 2, 2026; the national program closed July 31. If a contractor is still selling it, walk.
announced National Heat Pump Rebate (new): Announced October 8, 2026 and expected to open early 2027: $2,000 toward an eligible cold-climate air-source heat pump, or up to $10,000 for households below the median income. Apply online, approval within 24 hours, no EnerGuide evaluation, and it can be combined with provincial rebates. Not open yet. What we know → ↗
closed Canada Greener Homes Grant & Loan: The grant closed to new applicants in February 2024; the interest-free loan (up to $40,000) stopped taking applications October 1, 2025 and its funding is fully committed. Approved applicants keep their funding — new ones can't join. ↗
live Greener Homes Affordability Program: Free direct-install retrofits (insulation, heat pumps) for low-to-median-income owners and tenants, expanded June 29, 2026 with over $500 million, delivered through provincial partners in BC, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, PEI and Quebec (Quebec's 2026–27 registration has ended), with more to be listed. You apply through your province's program, never through cold-callers. ↗
closed Oil to Heat Pump Affordability (OHPA): Closed to new applications July 31, 2026 (approved participants have until January 31, 2027 to submit receipts). It paid up to $15,000 (plus a one-time $250 payment) toward oil-to-heat-pump conversions for income-qualified households. Efficiency Nova Scotia stopped taking applications even earlier, on July 2, 2026. ↗
Each city page covers 16 audit and testing services with that city's own climate, housing age and service organizations. The bar shows its houses by construction era, oldest first.
Local geology, water sources, and climate set the home-health checklist. Each item links to its full guide; the 30-second screener personalizes it to your exact house.
Nova Scotia's granite and slate geologies produce real radon variation — community results have run high in parts of the mainland. Test over winter, whatever your neighbour's number was.
Bacteria seasonally, chemistry periodically — with arsenic and uranium on the panel; both show up in NS bedrock wells often enough to test for by default.
Two-century-old envelopes plus Atlantic storms: diagnose moisture paths before any insulation project, and treat musty basements as a cause hunt, not a cleaning job.
The remaining oil fleet needs annual servicing and in-date alarms — and every conversion quote should start from a real heat-loss calculation.
Other provinces: British Columbia · Alberta · Saskatchewan · Manitoba · Ontario · Quebec · New Brunswick · Prince Edward Island · Newfoundland & Labrador · The North (YT · NT · NU)
NRCan-registered service organizations work in every province. Tell us where you are and what you're planning — we'll point you at the right door, with your province's programs flagged.