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Nova Scotia’s oil-to-heat-pump money is gone. This is what is left.
Until July 2026 an oil-heated Nova Scotia household under the income line could have a heat pump paid for up front. That money was fully allocated on 2 July. What remains pays after the work, by the ton of heat pump you add, and it pays very different amounts depending on your income and what heats the house. Halifax has added financing of its own. Here is all of it, read off Efficiency Nova Scotia’s, the province’s and Halifax’s own pages.
Updated .
The short version
The up-front money closed on 2 July 2026
Efficiency Nova Scotia stopped taking Oil to Heat Pump Affordability applications on 2 July 2026 because its funding was fully allocated. A standby list exists, and Efficiency Nova Scotia says plainly that it guarantees nothing. Most of what is left pays after the work. The exceptions are HomeWarming, which does the work for you, Halifax’s financing, which lends it, and the instant rebates, which come off at the till.
source · verified 23 September 2026
A heat pump is paid by the ton, and only for what you add
The Home Energy Assessment pays $500 a ton for a centrally ducted heat pump and $300 a ton for a ductless one, at any income, after a $199 assessment. It pays only on newly added capacity, so replacing a working heat pump earns nothing, and Efficiency Nova Scotia’s heat pump page says “rebates are not available for replacement heat pumps”.
source · verified 27 September 2026
Apply for the second layer first
A household under the Moderate Income Rebate’s income line, in a home heated by something other than electricity, adds $1,500 a ton for a ducted heat pump on top of the assessment rebate. Efficiency Nova Scotia says to apply for it before booking the assessment and to wait for approval before starting work. Book the assessment first and you pay the $199 you did not need to, and can lose the second $5,000.
source · verified 23 September 2026
What exists
Three Efficiency Nova Scotia programmes that pay for upgrades, one that discounts at the till, two Halifax loans, and the province’s repair money.
Home Energy Assessment
up to $5,000
Any income, any fuel. $199 for the assessment, twelve months to do the work, paid after a second visit.
The rates by upgrade →
Moderate Income Rebate
up to $5,000 more
The same upgrades paid a second time, for moderate incomes in homes not heated by electricity.
The income lines →
HomeWarming
installed free
Draft-proofing, insulation and a single-zone heat pump where recommended, under the lowest income line.
Who qualifies →
HalifACT Home Energy Upgrade
4.75% over 10 years
Halifax financing for oil-heated homes built before 2000, for a retrofit that halves energy use.
The conditions →
Solar City
4.75% over 10 years
Halifax finances solar panels as a charge on the property. A loan, now that SolarHomes is closed.
How repayment works →
Instant rebates
$800 at the till
Off a heat pump water heater, with no assessment. A smart thermostat for electric heat is free, installed.
Every instant rebate →
Housing Repair and Accessibility
$10,000 grant + $8,000
For urgent repairs or accessibility work, under income and property-value limits. There is a waitlist.
What it will and will not fix →
The same three-ton heat pump pays from nothing to $6,000
A centrally ducted heat pump of three tons (36,000 BTU/h), newly added to an oil-heated house. Which row you are in decides almost everything.
| Household | How it is paid | Rebate |
|---|---|---|
| Under HomeWarming’s income line | A single-zone heat pump, installed free, where the assessment recommends one | free |
| Moderate income, not heated by electricity | $500 a ton from the assessment plus $1,500 a ton from the Moderate Income Rebate | $6,000 |
| Any other household | $500 a ton from the assessment, after the $199 fee | $1,500 |
| Replacing a heat pump that still works | Only newly added capacity is paid | $0 |
Three tons at $500 is $1,500; three tons at $2,000 is $6,000. Each programme stops at $5,000 per household, so the $4,500 from the Moderate Income Rebate is under its cap. A ductless system is paid at $300 plus $500 a ton, $800 in all.
source · verified 23 September 2026
Borrowing for it: two Halifax loans, and one that closed
All three were repaid as a charge on the property rather than a personal loan, and the charge stays with the house if you sell and the buyer agrees.
| Programme | For | Rate and term | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| HalifACT Home Energy Upgrade | Oil-heated homes in Halifax built before 2000 | 4.75%, 10 years | open |
| Solar City | Property owners in Halifax, for solar | 4.75%, 10 years | open |
| Clean Energy Financing | Twelve municipalities, from Amherst to Yarmouth | 1% to 3%, up to 15 years | closed |
The municipal loans are closed, but not every town page says so
Clean Energy Financing is “no longer accepting new applications”, according to the programme’s own site. The District of Lunenburg’s page still offers up to $20,000 at 2%, and promises SolarHomes and Canada Greener Homes rebates, both closed.
source · verified 27 September 2026
Halifax’s loan is for a deep retrofit, not a heat pump
The HalifACT Home Energy Upgrade requires the insulation the assessment recommends and an estimated 50 per cent cut in energy use. Halifax’s pilot averaged about $30,000 a house. No maximum is published.
source · verified 27 September 2026
Repairs, and help that is not an upgrade rebate
The province’s Housing Repair and Accessibility Program pays for emergency and health and safety repairs, or accessibility changes, for homeowners under income and property-value limits: a $10,000 grant and an $8,000 forgivable loan, with up to $20,000 more as a repayable loan. It does not pay for insulation or drafty windows, and it pays for a heat pump only when one replaces a main heating system that has failed and costs less than the repair. Emergencies are reviewed in one to three days; everything else joins a waitlist.
source · verified 27 September 2026
Two smaller sources can go toward heating repairs without being upgrade rebates. The Seniors Care Grant reimburses $750 a household, for people 65 or older by 31 March 2027 with net household income of $45,100 or less, and counts heating repairs, heating maintenance and small home repairs; apply by 1 December 2026. In Bridgewater, Energize Bridgewater Home Upgrades guides income-qualified homeowners through no-cost upgrades, grants and financing.
source · verified 27 September 2026
What closed, and what you will still be told to apply for
- Oil to Heat Pump Affordability — closed to new applications on 2 July 2026, funding fully allocated. A standby list guarantees nothing.
- SolarHomes — closed to homeowners since April 2025. A version survives for registered non-profits and charities.
- Clean Energy Financing — the municipal home energy loans, no longer taking applications.
Not covered here
The Heating Assistance Rebate Program helps with heating bills rather than upgrades, and is not tracked on this site. Efficiency Nova Scotia’s new-home programmes are for builders and buyers of new houses. The rest of Atlantic Canada is on the Atlantic page.
Questions people actually ask
Can I still get a heat pump paid for to replace oil in Nova Scotia?
Not up front, since Oil to Heat Pump Affordability closed on 2 July 2026. What is left pays after the work: the Home Energy Assessment pays $500 a ton for a centrally ducted heat pump at any income, and a moderate-income household heated by something other than electricity adds $1,500 a ton through the Moderate Income Rebate, $2,000 a ton in all. Under HomeWarming’s income line the work is free, including a single-zone heat pump where the assessment recommends one. In Halifax, an oil-heated home built before 2000 can also finance the work at 4.75% over ten years.
Is there a free heat pump program in Nova Scotia?
Only HomeWarming, for households under its income line: $30,187 for one person, $57,075 for two to four people and $79,163 for five or more, as adjusted income. It installs a single-zone heat pump where the assessment recommends one, and since the oil programme closed it no longer installs whole-home systems.
Does Nova Scotia pay a rebate for replacing an old heat pump?
No. The Home Energy Assessment pays only on newly added capacity, so replacing a working heat pump earns nothing, and Efficiency Nova Scotia’s heat pump page says rebates are not available for replacement heat pumps. The province’s Housing Repair and Accessibility Program pays for a heat pump only when it replaces a main heat source that has failed and costs less than the repair.
What does Halifax's HalifACT Home Energy Upgrade program offer?
Financing, not a rebate: heat pumps, insulation and electric water heaters paid by the municipality and repaid over ten years at a fixed 4.75%, as a charge on the property. It is only for oil-heated homes in the Halifax Regional Municipality built before 2000, and the work has to cut the home’s modelled energy use by at least half.
Is Clean Energy Financing still available in Nova Scotia?
No. The Clean Foundation’s programme site says it is no longer accepting new applications, and Bridgewater and Chester say the same. Some municipal pages, including the District of Lunenburg’s, still advertise it.