Applying for the Home Renovation Savings Program

What is the Home Renovation Savings Program?

How much is the $10,000 solar and battery rebate?

• Panels earn $1,000 per kW DC of nameplate capacity, not rounded, so a 4.84 kW array earns up to $4,840 (program FAQ). The panel rebate hits its cap at 5 kW.
• A battery earns $300 per kWh of storage, so the 13.5 kWh battery the program calls typical earns up to $4,050, and the cap arrives at about 16.7 kWh.
• Each rebate also stops at half of that measure's eligible costs: equipment, permits, approvals and labour, before HST. Financing, insurance, later maintenance, spare parts and tools do not count.

Who is eligible for the Home Renovation Savings solar rebate?

You

18 or older, the owner, and the person paying for the system. A landlord applies for a rented home; a tenant cannot apply on the owner's behalf.

The home

Detached, semi-detached, row house, townhome or a mobile home on a permanent foundation, on a residential hydro account with any Ontario utility except Cornwall Electric, whose customers are on the Hydro-Québec grid.

First-time solar

No solar panels or storage on the home yet. Adding to an existing array, or to a microFIT system, is outside the rebate.

On a roof

The panels go on the house or on a permanent existing structure on the same meter, such as a detached garage. Ground-mounted arrays are excluded, so KAJK connects ground mounts under net metering instead.

A new system you own

New, bought in Canada and owned by you: leases and third-party ownership are out. A licensed electrical contractor designs and installs it, and a battery is paired with the new panels and charged mainly from them.

Power used as it is made

The system is sized for load displacement: the house uses what the panels make, and the system is never net-metered.

Why the choice between rebate and net metering comes first

How to apply for the Home Renovation Savings Program, step by step

1. 1

   Check your eligibility

   Fill in the short eligibility form on homerenovationsavings.ca, or bring the question to your installer's assessment. Use the program's own site: it warns that scammers run fake rebate websites and impersonate contractors.

2. 2

   Size the system to your home

   The program puts a typical load displacement system at 5 to 10 kW with a 13.5 kWh battery, and may ask for electricity bills behind a larger one. If an EV charger, heat pump or hot tub is coming, it suggests installing that first so the panels are sized to the new load.

3. 3

   Talk to your utility

   The program urges a conversation with your local distribution company about the connection and the largest system it allows. For a system of 12 kW AC or less, Hydro Ottawa answers a service request with a service layout in 15 days, up to 60 for complex projects, and the layout stays valid for 90 days (Hydro Ottawa, read 2026-10-28).

4. 4

   Your installer files for pre-approval

   You sign the participant agreement, and the contractor uploads it with the pre-installation application and a proposal whose quote is dated within 60 days of the submission. The program aims to reply within a week with an approval or a list of what to fix.

5. 5

   Wait for both approvals

   Order no equipment and sign no purchase agreement until the program's written pre-approval and your utility's approval are both in hand. A binding commitment made before them rules the rebate out.

6. 6

   Permits and installation

   The installer applies for the City of Ottawa building permit where one is needed (solar collectors of 5 m² or more on a building, City of Ottawa, read 2026-10-01), files the Electrical Safety Authority notification, and finishes the install within 12 months of pre-approval.

7. 7

   Inspection and connection

   The Electrical Safety Authority (ESA) inspects the work and issues its Connection Authorization, and the utility connects the system after that. The ESA Certificate of Acceptance is kept for the claim.

8. 8

   The claim and the rebate

   Within 30 days of the install, the contractor uploads the post-installation claim and marks it ready for review. The IESO approves it in writing, recalculates the rebate on the final figures, and pays it to you. The recalculated rebate cannot rise more than 10% above the pre-approved amount.

What goes in the pre-installation application

Your details

Name, phone and email, the installation address, a mailing address if it differs, and the name of your local distribution company.

The home and the installer

The home type, and the installer's company, contact name, phone and email. Two contractors, one for the panels and one for the battery, can share a project by arrangement with solar@homerenovationsavings.ca.

The panels

Orientation (east, west, south, south-east or south-west), where they will sit, the tilt angle, the nameplate capacity in kW DC, and the brand, model and country of manufacture.

The battery

Capacity in kWh, brand, model and country of manufacture, plus the loads it will serve now or later, such as an EV charger, a heat pump or a hot tub.

Costs and other funding

Material, labour and other costs before tax, solar and battery on separate lines, the rebate each works out to, and any grant, utility incentive or manufacturer rebate on the same work.

Attachments

The project proposal (a quote or draft invoice dated within 60 days, equipment spec sheets and the sizing rationale, all describing load displacement only), your signed participant agreement, and a single line diagram if your utility asks for one.

What the post-installation claim needs

The final invoice

Itemized like the program's sample invoice: the contractor's name, address and GST/HST number, your name and the installation address, the invoice and installation dates, material, labour and other costs, and a paid stamp or other proof of payment for every instalment.

Photos

All the panels on the roof, the battery and each inverter in full, one front-facing photo of each nameplate showing the maker, model, serial number and ratings, the utility meter (old and new if it changed) and the service panel after the work.

ESA documents

The Certificate of Acceptance, or an equivalent inspection report, and the Connection Authorization contractor copy, each showing your name and the installation address.

Utility approval

The signed generation connection application marked load displacement, and the utility's approval: a connection agreement, an offer to connect, or an email or portal confirmation.

How long the application takes

• About a week for the program's reply to a pre-installation application (program FAQ).
• 15 to 60 days for Hydro Ottawa's service layout on a system of 12 kW AC or less, and 90 days before that layout expires.
• 60 days: the oldest a quote can be when the pre-installation application is filed.
• 12 months from pre-approval to a finished install.
• 30 days from the install to the post-installation claim.

Combining the rebate with the Better Homes Ottawa Loan

Questions to ask your installer before you apply

Are you a licensed electrical contractor?

The program pays only for systems a licensed electrical contractor designs and installs.

Will you file both applications?

The contractor submits the pre-installation application and the post-installation claim on your behalf.

Is the quote split the way the program reads it?

Solar and battery on separate lines, each in material, labour and other costs before tax, dated within 60 days.

Is the system sized to my last 12 months of use?

A load displacement system is sized to what the house uses, and a larger one is asked for bills.

Is the equipment bought in Canada, and will I own it?

Leased and third-party-owned systems do not qualify.

Who handles the permit, the ESA inspection and the utility approval?

The claim needs the ESA Certificate of Acceptance and the utility's connection approval.