30%refundable federal credit on commercial ground-source systems — loop field included — what qualifies
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Residential Ground Source

For houses with the land, the load and the horizon. We would rather talk you out of one than sell you a system that takes thirty years to make sense.

When a house is a good candidate

Three things have to be true at once, and it is the combination that is rare rather than any one of them.

  • Land, or drilling access. A horizontal field needs real space. A vertical field needs a rig to reach the spot and room to work.
  • A load worth the capital. A large or poorly insulated house in a cold location makes the case. A small, well-sealed house does not — there is not enough annual energy to pay back the ground works.
  • A long horizon. If you might sell within five years, this is not your investment. The next owner gets the benefit.

The fourth factor is what you are replacing. Against electric baseboard or oil, ground source is transformative. Against a modern condensing gas furnace in a region with cheap gas, the operating saving alone will not carry it.

The honest position on money

No federal credit applies to a house. The Clean Technology ITC is explicitly restricted to commercial and industrial property.

Ontario's Home Renovation Savings Program runs to 30 November 2026, and the post-installation submission must be filed before that date — the work has to be done, not merely sold. Eligibility runs through registered participating contractors and registration has been paused, so we confirm the position project by project rather than promising a rebate.

After that date, as things stand, Ontario has no general residential retrofit programme. The federal successor is running in several other provinces but has no Ontario agreement and no announced launch. We would rather tell you that now.

What we will usually say instead

For most Ontario houses, a cold-climate air-source heat pump delivers the large majority of the benefit for roughly a third of the capital, with no drilling, no restoration, and a far shorter disruption. That is not a lesser recommendation. It is usually the correct one.

Where ground source genuinely wins — an acreage property, an oil-heated home, a large house with a long horizon, or a site where an outdoor unit is unacceptable — we will tell you that too, and show the comparison rather than assert it.

What an installation involves

Drilling or trenching, loop and header, a plant location indoors, connection to existing or new distribution, and restoration of the ground afterwards. On a vertical field the drilling is a matter of days; restoration and landscaping usually take longer than people expect and should be in the quote, not discovered later.

Financing is available on qualifying projects.

Common questions

Will it ruin my garden?

Temporarily, yes — particularly a horizontal field, which is effectively a large excavation. Restoration is part of the work and should be itemised in the quote. A vertical field disturbs far less area.

Is there any Ontario rebate for a home system?

The Home Renovation Savings Program runs to 30 November 2026 and requires the work to be completed and submitted before then, through a registered contractor. After that date there is currently no general Ontario residential programme.

How does it compare to an air-source heat pump?

Better efficiency, especially in deep cold, no outdoor unit, and a much longer life on the ground loop. Against roughly three times the capital cost. For most Ontario houses air-source is the better investment, and we will say so.

Related

Where to go next

Request an assessment

Start with the ground, not the brochure.

Tell us the building, the site and how long you expect to own it. If ground source is wrong for you, that is the first thing we will say.