Which BC heat pump rebate you actually qualify for
It comes down to how your house is heated today, and the amounts move, so every figure here carries the official page it came from.
Start with how your house is heated
Fuel decides which program you are in. Income and postal address decide the rest.
| How the house is heated now | What is on the table | Where to look |
|---|---|---|
| Electricity: baseboards, radiant, or an electric furnace | $4,000 for a whole-home heat pump or $1,500 for a partial one, through the Home Renovation Rebate, at any income. A bonus of up to $1,000 runs on work paid for by October 31, 2026, with the application in by November 30, 2026. | The electric-heat rebate |
| Natural gas, propane or oil, standard income | Nothing provincial on this part of the Island. $2,000 from the Regional District of Nanaimo if the address sits in an Electoral Area rather than a town. | The RDN rebate |
| Any fuel, income-qualified household | The CleanBC Energy Savings Program, up to $16,500 for a combined space and water heat pump replacing fossil heat and $13,000 for space heating alone, or free upgrades through the Energy Conservation Assistance Program. Both need a contractor registered for that program. | CleanBC Better Homes |
Two of those rows are mostly a no, and you should hear that from a contractor rather than after a sales visit. Nobody is allowed to sell you a heat pump at your door in BC anymore either, which is worth knowing before the next knock.
Heated by electricity: the money that is here now
This is the Home Renovation Rebate, funded by BC Hydro, and it is open at any income.
Those are BC Hydro's maximums. The catch is in the rules rather than the number. The house has to be heated by electricity now, the heat pump has to replace hard-wired electric heat with electric backup, homes over 1,200 sq. ft. need a multi-split or central system, and an emergency replacement of a broken electric system is not eligible at all.
Whole-home also means a heat load calculation to CSA F280-12, done by the contractor, on a form that goes in with your application. If a quote does not mention it, the rebate is not really in the quote.
Gas, propane or oil: the plain answer
If the household is not income-qualified, the province has nothing for this switch down here.
In Parksville, Qualicum Beach, Nanaimo or Lantzville
No provincial rebate for coming off gas, propane or oil, and no municipal one we could find. The Home Renovation Rebate does run a fossil-to-heat-pump stream, but its own terms limit it to homes at or north of 100 Mile House, connected to BC Hydro. That is the whole reason this page exists: most pages quoting a big fossil-switch number are quoting the northern one.
Checked against the Home Renovation Rebate requirements.
In an RDN Electoral Area
$2,000 from the Regional District of Nanaimo. Area E is Nanoose Bay, F covers Coombs and Errington, G covers French Creek and Dashwood, H covers Bowser, Qualicum Bay and Deep Bay. The house has to be heated mainly by gas, oil or propane, the old system has to come out and show on the invoice, and a broken system replaced in a hurry does not qualify.
If another page quotes you a bigger number for coming off fossil heat, check which part of the province it is for and what day it was checked. That applies to this page as much as to anyone else's, which is why the date is on it.
Income-qualified: the Energy Savings Program
This is the only provincial money on the Island for moving a house off fossil heat.
The CleanBC Energy Savings Program pays by household income level and by the system installed. At income Level 1, a central ducted or three-head system replacing gas, propane or oil tops out at $13,000 per home, and that is the space-heating figure rather than the top of the program. The highest maximum in it is $16,500, for a combined space and water heat pump replacing fossil heat at the same income level. An electric-heated home at income Level 1 is $5,000 for space heating and $8,500 for a combined space and water heat pump. Your registered contractor claims it and shows it as a deduction on the invoice, so you are not waiting on a cheque.
There is also the Energy Conservation Assistance Program, which is free rather than a rebate. A program representative visits, and the program picks the products and the contractor. If money is tight, start there rather than with a quote.
You cannot take both this and the Home Renovation Rebate. The Home Renovation Rebate terms say its rebates cannot be combined with Energy Savings Program funding, so the household picks one lane.
What changed on July 6, 2026
All three changes are on the income-qualified side. The electric-heat rebate above was not touched.
- The amounts The fossil-fuel maximums came down. A central ducted or three-head system replacing gas, propane or oil at income Level 1 was $16,000 under the requirements effective June 1, 2026 and is $13,000 now. The program's highest figure, a combined space and water heat pump at the same income level, went from $19,500 to $16,500. Anything quoting the older CleanBC numbers for that work is out of date.
- The tiers The income Level 2 electric stream was discontinued. Converting from electric was an income Level 1 or Level 2 item under the June 1, 2026 requirements, at $5,000 and $4,000. The current summary shows Level 2 as wood only, so electric-heated homes are a Level 1 item now.
- The codes The eligibility code window halved. Codes for applications received on or after June 18, 2024 were valid for upgrades completed within six months of the approval date. Codes for applications received on or after July 6, 2026 are valid for three months, which is a short window for a job that needs an electrical permit.
What closed federally, and what we will not claim
The Canada Greener Homes Loan is closed. Natural Resources Canada says its funding is fully committed and new loan applications cannot be approved, and that homeowners with an approved loan keep their funding. The Canada Greener Homes Grant is closed too: December 31, 2025 was the last day to submit documents.
The federal Oil to Heat Pump Affordability program is the one to be careful about. Its page names Alberta, Manitoba, the Northwest Territories, Quebec and Saskatchewan, where July 31, 2026 was the last day to apply, and sends British Columbia residents to the provincial program instead. We are not going to tell you it is closed here, because that page does not say so.
What people ask us about rebates
Is the heat pump rebate still available?
Are there heat pump rebates available in BC in 2026?
Does BC Hydro offer free heat pumps?
Does FortisBC have a heat pump rebate we can use here?
Who sends in the application?
Where these numbers come from
Official pages only, and what each one is the source for.
- BC Hydro, heat pump rebates and the bonus
$4,000 whole home, $1,500 partial, bonus up to $1,000 on work completed, invoiced and paid between August 1 and October 31, 2026, applied for by November 30, 2026.
- CleanBC Better Homes, Home Renovation Rebate requirements
Electric-heat eligibility, the 1,200 sq. ft. rule, the six-month application deadline, the northern limit on the fossil-fuel stream, and the rule against combining with the Energy Savings Program.
- CleanBC Better Homes, Energy Savings Program requirements
For invoices dated on or after July 6, 2026: the income Level 1 maximums of $16,500 for a combined space and water heat pump, $13,000 for central ducted or three-head space heating off fossil fuel, $5,000 and $8,500 on the electric side, and the three-month eligibility code.
- CleanBC Better Homes, Energy Savings Program requirements effective June 1, 2026
The version this one replaced, and the source for what changed: $16,000 and $19,500 income Level 1 maximums, an income Level 2 electric stream at $4,000, and eligibility codes valid for six months.
- CleanBC Better Homes, Energy Conservation Assistance Program
Free upgrades for income-qualified households, with the products and contractor chosen by the program.
- Regional District of Nanaimo, Fossil Fuel to Heat Pump Rebate
$2,000, Electoral Areas only, registered contractor, old system removed, January 1 to December 14 intake.
- FortisBC, air source heat pump rebate
Requires a residential FortisBC electricity account, or a municipal account in Grand Forks, Penticton, Summerland or Nelson.
- Natural Resources Canada, Canada Greener Homes Loan
Closed. Funding fully committed, new applications cannot be approved, approved loans unaffected.
- Natural Resources Canada, Oil to Heat Pump Affordability program
Intake closed July 31, 2026 for five named provinces and territories; BC residents are sent to the provincial program.
More on the money side
The electric-heat rebate in full
Baseboards or an electric furnace: who qualifies, the rules people trip on, and how the application runs.
ReadThe RDN $2,000 rebate
Nanoose Bay, Coombs, Errington, French Creek, Bowser and Deep Bay, and the conditions attached to it.
ReadWhat a heat pump costs here
What moves the price on an Island house, and what the rebates take off the end of it.
ReadHeat pumps cannot be sold at your door
What changed on August 1, 2026, and what to do if you already signed something.
ReadThree facts decide which program fits
- 01 What heats the house today: baseboards, an electric furnace, natural gas, propane or oil. That is the question the whole table above turns on.
- 02 The address. The Regional District of Nanaimo money stops at the town boundary, so Nanoose Bay and Parksville get different answers.
- 03 Roughly how big the house is. Over 1,200 sq. ft. the Home Renovation Rebate wants a multi-split or a central system rather than a single head.
Ask us about the heat pump itself
Tell us how the house is heated, roughly how big it is and where it is, and we come back with a quote for the work. We reply within 24 hours.