How much you get
Pairs naturally with other upgrades
Burlington sits where the Niagara Escarpment meets Lake Ontario, and the lake has a real moderating effect on winter temperatures here compared to inland Ontario cities, which is one reason a lot of Burlington homeowners find the water heater upgrade an easier standalone project rather than needing to bundle it with insulation to justify the visit.
What's actually different about Burlington
Much of Burlington's housing was built during the postwar suburban boom of the 1960s through 80s, and those established neighbourhoods are a common source of original-era tanks well past their expected life.
Burlington's Climate Action Plan sets a target for cutting community emissions, and home energy retrofits, water heating among them, are named as one of the more achievable near-term levers compared to transportation emissions.
Tankless and heat pump water heaters, compared
Burlington's lake-moderated climate is friendly to either high-efficiency option. A tankless unit skips the standby heat loss a storage tank can't avoid, running around 97 percent efficient against roughly 67 percent for a standard tank and lasting 15-plus years compared to a tank's 6 to 8. A heat pump water heater takes a different route, using a coefficient of performance around 2.5 to 3.5 to draw heat from ambient air, and it's the option the $500 provincial rebate is actually built around.
How to claim it
- Book an initial home energy assessment ($600, refunded later)
- Get your custom report
- Install the heat pump water heater plus at least one other qualifying upgrade
- Book a follow-up assessment
- Rebate arrives by mail within 60 days
Water Heater installers in Burlington
Real companies based in Burlington, pulled from their current Google reviews. We're not paid to list anyone here.
See all Burlington installers →
Common questions
What rebates cover water heaters in Burlington?
Ontario's program rebates heat pump water heaters under the same Home Renovation Savings framework as heat pumps. Confirm the current amount with your installer, since these figures change more often than the headline heat pump numbers.
Is Burlington Hydro different from the merged utilities in nearby cities?
Yes, Burlington Hydro has stayed independent while several neighbouring GTA utilities merged into Alectra. That doesn't change your rebate eligibility, since the $500 water heater program is set provincially, but it does mean your utility contact and any local conservation programs are specific to Burlington rather than shared across a larger merged territory.
Are tankless water heaters rebated in Burlington?
Standard tankless (on-demand) gas water heaters generally aren't rebated. The $500 provincial program is built around heat pump water heaters specifically, though tankless is still worth considering for the efficiency and lifespan gains on its own.
Your utility: Burlington Hydro
Burlington Hydro is one of the few municipally owned electric utilities left in the GTA that hasn't merged into a larger regional player, and it still bills the city directly. The $500 rebate itself comes from the province, not Burlington Hydro, but the utility is who to contact about service capacity questions or any conservation incentive it runs on its own.
Next steps
View all Burlington rebate programs → or check the official Home Renovation Savings Program site → for the current source of truth.