What's actually confirmed for Peterborough
We haven't found a Home Renovation Savings Program line item specifically naming HRV (heat recovery ventilator) units on the official program page for Peterborough. Rather than invent a number, here's what is confirmed and closely related: the assessment-required air sealing rebate, which covers draftproofing your home's envelope.
Air sealing
Draftproofing your home's envelope, verified by the before/after energy assessment.
Air sealing is part of the assessment-required tier, so you'll need a home energy assessment (about $600, refunded as a rebate) and at least two qualifying upgrades to claim it.
Check directly before assuming an HRV rebate applies
If you're planning to install an HRV alongside insulation or air sealing work, check homerenovationsavings.ca directly, or ask your energy advisor during the assessment, since HRV eligibility can be tied to the ventilation requirements of an airtightness upgrade rather than being its own standalone line item.
Financing with Better Homes Peterborough
Up to $50,000 at 4.5%, repaid through your property tax bill
Better Homes Peterborough, the city's retrofit loan delivered through EnviroCentre, covers electrical upgrades and a range of retrofit categories as part of a broader project — ask directly whether an HRV or ventilation install can be bundled in. The loan offers up to $50,000 at 4.5% interest, repaid over 15 years through your property tax bill, or an unsecured loan through Kawartha Credit Union. Call 1-888-284-9417 or visit betterhomesptbo.ca.
HRV & Ventilation installers in Peterborough
We haven't independently vetted specific hrv & ventilation installers in Peterborough yet, so we're not going to invent names or star ratings for this page. Browse our installer directory to compare local companies yourself, or run the free assessment below and we'll help connect you with someone once we have vetted options in your area.
Browse the HomePowerRebate installer directory →
Understanding your HRV/ERV
In plain terms, an HRV keeps your Peterborough home's air fresh without dumping your heating dollars out the vent. It exchanges old indoor air for new outdoor air continuously, and a heat-exchange core inside the unit captures most of the warmth from the air leaving so the air coming in isn't ice cold.
This isn't a luxury add-on. The same air-sealing, insulation, and window upgrades that make a Peterborough home cheaper to heat also make it tighter — and a tighter home traps moisture, CO2, and indoor pollutants that used to leak out on their own through drafts and gaps. An HRV or ERV is how you get that fresh air back without paying to reheat it from scratch.
HRV or ERV — which one
HRV and ERV aren't interchangeable names for the same box. An HRV recovers heat only; an ERV recovers heat and also carries some humidity along with it between the two airstreams. Homes in very cold or very humid regions generally do better with an ERV, since it helps prevent indoor air from drying out (or getting too damp) in the extremes.
Real-world efficiency, not the marketing number
Efficiency numbers on the box are best-case, not what you'll see in a typical cold snap. Real-world heat recovery typically runs somewhere around 60-75% in moderate cold, and it drops further as temperatures fall — the coldest stretches can also trigger the unit's defrost cycle, which pauses fresh-air intake periodically and adds runtime. That's a genuine tradeoff, not a flaw to hide; it's still recovering most of the heat, just not all of it.
Should you turn it off in winter?
It's a fair instinct to want to shut the HRV down when winter air feels cold coming through the vents, but it's the wrong move in a well-sealed home. The unit has already pulled most of the usable heat out of the air leaving your house before that intake air reaches you. Dialing it back to low or intermittent through the coldest months is the usual guidance; switching it off completely in an airtight home trades a small amount of recovered heat for a real risk of trapped humidity, window condensation, and eventually mould. It's also worth knowing that an HRV doesn't replace bathroom exhaust fans. The airflow an HRV moves is spread across the whole house on a continuous, modest schedule — it can't clear a steamy bathroom the way a dedicated exhaust fan can, so skipping the fan because the HRV is already running is a mistake worth avoiding.
Checking a unit before you buy
Before signing off on a unit, run it against Natural Resources Canada's list of ENERGY STAR certified HRV/ERV products — efficiency varies more between models than most homeowners expect. NRCan also publishes a straightforward explainer, "What's a heat/energy recovery ventilator and do you need one?", worth a read if you're still deciding between HRV and ERV.
Common questions
Is there an HRV rebate in Peterborough?
We haven't confirmed a Home Renovation Savings Program line item specifically for HRV (heat recovery ventilator) units in Peterborough. The closest documented, confirmed category is air sealing, which pays $200–$250 under the assessment-required tier. Check homerenovationsavings.ca directly or ask your energy advisor whether an HRV qualifies as part of your specific project.
What's the air sealing rebate in Peterborough?
$200 to $250, as part of the assessment-required tier of the Home Renovation Savings Program. It requires a home energy assessment and at least two qualifying upgrades, and covers draftproofing your home's envelope.
Your utility: Peterborough Utilities Commission
Peterborough Utilities Commission is the local electric utility for Peterborough. The HRV rebate above comes from a province-wide program, so which utility bills you doesn't change what you qualify for. Where it can matter: Peterborough Utilities Commission is who to contact about your home's electrical service capacity if your installer flags an upgrade, and who bills the electricity your new equipment uses once it's running. Some utilities layer their own incentive on top of the province rebate — worth a quick call to Peterborough Utilities Commission to ask directly.
Why ventilation matters more in Peterborough's winters
Peterborough's average January daily low over the last 10 winters (2015-2024) has been -11.4°C, with a coldest recorded day of -31.2°C. Colder outdoor air holds less moisture, which is exactly why a well-sealed Peterborough home needs mechanical ventilation in the first place — without an HRV, that sealed-up house traps humidity indoors instead of exchanging stale air for fresh air without losing the heat you paid for.
Next steps
View all Peterborough rebate programs → or check the official Home Renovation Savings Program site → for the current source of truth.