$5000 Greener Homes Grant, $40,000 Interest Free Loan for Solar

Update 2024-09-19

Today the Greener Homes Grant is on hold. But we have many more opportunities for you to save and make the dollars make sense.

The Canada Greener Homes Initiative is designed to help homeowners save money while fighting climate change. Grants and interest-free loans are available for homeowners to make energy-efficient retrofits, including the installation of solar panels.

Steve Dyck, President of Guelph Solar commented, “It’s a really exciting time to be thinking about solar power in Canada. Under the new Greener Homes Initiative, homeowners can receive a grant for up to $5,000 for installing solar equipment and a 10-year interest-free loan up to $40,000 for their solar installation or other low-carbon upgrades to their home.”

We encourage you to look into how our government can help you put the sun to work for you!

The Greener Homes Initiative offers:

• A grant of up to $5,000 to get part of your costs back for your solar project

• A rebate of up to $600 toward the costs of your retrofit EnerGuide evaluations

• Interest-free loans from $5,000 to $40,000 with a repayment term of 10 years to help you undertake major home retrofits

Eligibility:

Before you start the process, make sure you are eligible! You can do an evaluation here and find the terms and conditions of the rebate here.

• Your home must be over 6 months old and must be your primary residence (indigenous peoples are exempt from this requirement)

• You must apply for the grant/loan BEFORE beginning the installation of your solar project, so we recommend you apply early in the planning process

If you are eligible you must:

1. Apply and wait for your application to be approved by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan)

2. Complete a pre- and post-retrofit EnerGuide evaluation

3. Complete at least one retrofit that is both eligible and recommended by your energy advisor in their Renovation Upgrade Report. Retrofits completed without having a pre-retrofit EnerGuide evaluation completed first are not eligible for the grant.

4. Keep copies of all your documents until March 31, 2028

Start your Greener Homes Rebate and Loan application:

Here is a summary of the process from the Government of Canada website.

Step 1. Apply for the Greener Homes Rebate here. It is a similar login process to your CRA account. 

Step 2. Obtain a pre-retrofit EnerGuide evaluation. This is a mandatory step before you start your retrofits.

• An energy advisor performs the pre-retrofit EnerGuide evaluation, which measures the energy efficiency of your home. 

• The energy advisor is registered with Natural Resources Canada and represents the service organization you select when you apply through the Canada Greener Homes Grant portal.

• Read more about this step here.

Step 2B. (optional) Interest-free loan - Apply for the Canada Greener Homes Loan.

• You are not eligible for a loan if you have already started or completed the retrofits.

• You will receive the loan only after the completed work has been verified through a post-retrofit EnerGuide evaluation.

• You can’t ask for a bigger loan if you decide to do more retrofits later, so it’s important to plan your work in advance before applying for the loan.

• Further information can be found here.

Log in to your Canada Greener Homes Grant account and click on the button to access the loan portal. To submit your application, make sure you have your documents in hand:

• your property tax statement

• your driver's license or other government-issued ID together with a utility bill

• confirmation of income and employment (for example, a job letter or a T4 slip)

• the quote from Guelph Solar

Step 3. Retrofit your home 

• Make sure to keep copies of all your receipts and invoices along the way!

Step 4. Post-retrofit EnerGuide evaluation - Log in to the grant portal to access the results.

Step 5A. Request and receive your grant

• Upload your documents, and confirm your grant. 

• More information is available here.

Step 5B. Receive your loan 

• The energy advisor will update the information related to your final evaluation in the grant portal including the estimates of your final grant amount. 

• You will also have to upload all your final invoices/receipts to the grant portal and receipts for the retrofits to the loan portal

Step 6. Enjoy your new solar system!