HRSP (with assessment)
ActiveGet $600 back on your energy assessments — then up to $7,700 for insulation
Audit required
Regional guide · updated August 23, 2026
The Kingston & Eastern Ontario home energy guide
Kingston's limestone heritage is beautiful and thermally brutal: solid stone walls can't be cavity-filled, which makes measurement — not guesswork — the difference between a transformed old home and an expensive disappointment.
The housing stock, read like an auditor
The historic core runs to limestone and early brick — solid walls, stone foundations, heritage constraints on exterior changes. Around it: post-war bungalows toward the west end, 1970s splits, a large student-rental stock near Queen's with famously leaky envelopes, and rural properties on oil east and north of the city. Lake Ontario wind exposure makes air sealing punch above its weight.
What audits find in Kingston & Eastern Ontario
- Solid limestone walls where interior insulation strategy and moisture care must be designed, not improvised
- Stone foundations needing moisture management before any basement insulation
- Student rentals with the city's worst leakage numbers and cheapest fixes
- Rural oil-heated homes with province-leading conversion paybacks
- Heritage-district homes where invisible fixes (attic, basement, sealing) do the heavy lifting
Tests to ask for by name
- Blower door test — the leakage number that reorders your plan
- Infrared scan — finds the empty walls without opening them
- CSA F280 heat-loss calculation — before any heat pump quote
- Radon test — Health Canada recommends it for every home
Run the planner for the full test list matched to your house — it carries into your audit request automatically.
The rebate angle
Home Renovation Savings applies normally, and heritage owners should note the rebate stack favours exactly the work heritage rules allow: air sealing, attic insulation, basement work, and mechanical upgrades — all invisible from the street. The audit documents pre-retrofit conditions, which some heritage processes ask for anyway.
HRSP (no assessment)
ActiveHeat pump and single-upgrade rebates without an assessment
No audit required
CMHC Eco Improvement
Active25% back on your CMHC mortgage insurance premium after energy renovations
No audit required
Registered advisors serving Kingston & Eastern Ontario
All 3 are NRCan-licensed service organizations — with direct links to their Google, HomeStars, and BBB reviews. Full directory view →
REAL (Rideau Environmental Action League)
Non-profitNRCan-licensed service organization
Lanark and Leeds–Grenville counties, between Ottawa and Kingston
Nadeau Home Inspections
CompanyNRCan-licensed service organization
Kingston and Prince Edward County
The Energuy
CompanyNRCan-registered service organization
Province-wide Ontario coverage; also active in BC, AB, SK, MB and several US states
Common Kingston & Eastern Ontario problems, diagnosed
Drafts and cold rooms →Heating bills feel too high →Ice dams and icicles →Thinking about a heat pump →
Local questions
Can anything be done about solid limestone walls?
Yes, but carefully: interior insulation on stone must manage moisture or it creates problems. That's why Kingston homes start with the audit — usually the attic, basement, and airtightness work delivers most of the win without touching the stone at all.
I own a student rental — is an audit worth it?
The leakage findings in Kingston's rental stock are routinely dramatic, the fixes cheap, and the assessment path rebates apply to landlords' properties. Lower bills also show up directly in utility-included rent margins.
Plan it properly in Kingston & Eastern Ontario
Tell us about your home and we'll match you with a registered service organization — with the right tests flagged for your situation.
Email us what you’re planning and your postal code — we’ll reply with registered service organizations for your area and which rebates apply.
Email hello@audityourhome.com