How much you get
Local financing note for Burlington
Burlington homes are served by Burlington Hydro. The city used to run Better Homes Burlington, an interest-free loan built for exactly this kind of upgrade, but it stopped accepting new applications and only already-approved homeowners can still draw on it — the city has funding for a feasibility study toward a replacement program, but nothing new is live as of this writing. Budget for this upgrade using the provincial rebate and your own financing rather than counting on local loan help.
No assessment needed: attic & cathedral ceiling
Attic, from ≤R-12
Attic, from R-12–25
Attic, from R-25–35
Cathedral ceiling / flat roof
Assessment required: walls, foundation, crawlspace
Exterior wall
Foundation / basement wall
Basement slab
Foundation header
Crawlspace wall
Crawlspace ceiling
Exposed floor
The attic pays more here than on the no-assessment path
If you're already booking an assessment for other upgrades, do attic insulation through this tier instead, up to $1,500 (vs. $1,250) and $780 for cathedral ceiling (vs. $750).
How to claim it
- For attic: confirm eligibility, pick a participating contractor, get it installed, contractor submits the application
- For walls/foundation: book an energy assessment first, then follow the assessment-path steps
Browse HVAC, solar, and electrical installers near Burlington →
Common questions
What insulation rebates are available in Burlington?
The same provincial tiers apply in Burlington as anywhere in Ontario — attic, wall, foundation, and crawlspace insulation, scaled by scope of work. There's no local top-up rebate here; Better Homes Burlington's loan program is closed to new applicants, so budget the provincial rebate against your own financing.
Do I need an energy audit first in Burlington?
Yes, for anything beyond attic-only insulation. Ontario requires a pre-retrofit assessment so an auditor can confirm the upgrade and measure the result afterward — there's no local Burlington program that changes that requirement.
One of the last independents: Burlington still runs its own hydro
While Alectra swallowed up most of the utilities around the western end of the GTA, Burlington Hydro held onto its own charter and still serves the city directly. It has zero bearing on the rebate dollar amounts above, those come from Queen's Park, not city hall, but it matters if your insulation contractor flags anything electrical along the way, like a panel that needs upgrading before wall work can proceed safely. Burlington Hydro is a smaller shop than its regional neighbours, and homeowners here often report that service calls move faster simply because there's less bureaucracy to route through. No confirmed insulation-specific top-up from Burlington Hydro exists right now, flag it to us if that changes.
Lake Ontario takes the edge off, but it's not enough to skip insulation
Burlington's proximity to Lake Ontario shows up in the numbers: its 2015-2024 average January low of -7.2°C is among the mildest in this part of Ontario, and even its coldest recorded night, -26.2°C, stayed short of what inland cities nearby have hit. That moderation doesn't erase the payback logic, though, heat still moves from warm indoor air to cold outdoor air at a rate set by how well your envelope resists it, and a gap in the attic or an uninsulated wall section leaks money on every one of Burlington's roughly 90 sub-zero January nights, lake effect or not.
Next steps
View all Burlington rebate programs → or check the official Home Renovation Savings Program site → for the current source of truth.