The Provincial government is aiming to make electric heat pumps more affordable for low- and moderate-income households.
Minister of Energy and Climate Solutions Adrian Dix made the announcement on Wednesday saying every British Columbian deserves reliable, affordable, and clean heating and cooling. “Since our government started providing incentives for people to make the switch to heat pumps, we’ve seen a huge uptake across the province, but cost is still a barrier for many.“
“We’re prioritizing funding to make clean-energy solutions and year-round comfort accessible to British Columbians who need them most,” said Dix. “Including for owners and renters who live in multi-unit buildings.”
The CleanBC Energy Savings Program, launched in June 2024, is funded through the Province and leverages contributions from BC Hydro and the federal government. The program, which supports the installation of affordable heat pumps for income-qualified, single-family homes, will expand to include individual suites in multi-unit residential buildings starting mid-2025.
The move comes about a week after B-C repealed its consumer carbon tax, and Dix says the province is looking at its Clean-B-C portfolio with carbon-tax revenue no longer in the mix. “I think we do have to look at all of our programs with respect to clean BC, and it’s a significant portfolio of programs and and make choices. And our choice and the Green Party choice in this case, was to give an emphasis on affordability. My message is that climate change is real. We have to take action on it. The carbon tax is one tool, but there are many other tools as well. Got to build out electricity. I talked about that, how to use flexible regulations effectively, and we do that. EC, and I give credit here to the energy industry has made enormous progress in methane emissions in just a few years.”
“We have to look at all the programs,” Dix says. “And we’re doing that like everyone else is, especially in light of the fiscal situation facing the province. This heat pump rebate, we think, makes sense for families, makes sense for affordability, and makes sense for the province as a really cost-efficient way to address climate change.”
With $50 million in each of the next two fiscal years – 2025-26 and 2026-27 – the Province plans to deliver as many as 8,300 new heat pump rebates to British Columbians. Households in individual suites in multi-unit residential buildings could be eligible for up to $5,500 for a ductless mini-split heat pump. In addition, the Province will partner with BC Hydro and FortisBC to expand their Energy Conservation Assistance Program to offer heat-pump installations to the lowest-income households in single-family homes and individual suites.
From 2019 to 2023, average heat pump sales were nearly double the average of the previous five years, and in 2022 began to exceed furnace sales. The province says that today, 13% of all B.C. households use heat pumps for heating, up from 5% in 2008.
