You're on the Canadian site. In the United States? HERS raters and BPI professionals, audit costs and the rebates, tax credits and utility programs open in your state. Go to audityourhome.com →
Which tests does my home need?
Era, heating, water, symptoms in — your flagged tests out, in 30 seconds.
Run the screener →
Heat & energy
Air
Water & moisture
Your city, read like an auditor
70 Canadian cities, each with its climate, housing age and 16 local audit and testing services.
All 70 cities →
Across Canada
Big cities
Ontario region guides
Provincial guide · program status verified per item
Ontario is our home turf and the deepest part of this site: the Home Renovation Savings Program's audit-linked rebates, Toronto's HELP loans, CMHC's premium refunds — plus city-by-city guides for twelve markets and a provider directory with verified credentials.
From pre-Confederation stone to last year's tract builds, Ontario has every housing era in volume. The pattern that matters: pre-1980 stock dominates the resale market, and it's exactly the stock where audits find five-figure savings opportunities.
Natural gas heats 58% of homes, and electricity costs about 14¢ to 16¢/kWh in Ottawa and Toronto (2025). Southern Ontario has hot, humid summers and storm flooding; Northern Ontario has deep winters and heavy snow. Ice storms make backup heat worth planning.
Radon: About 1 in 8 homes tested at or above 200 Bq/m³ in the 2024 survey: about 1 in 6 in Ottawa–Gatineau but 1 in 22 around Toronto.
Great Lakes–St. Lawrence covers 28 cities we cover: Toronto, Ottawa, Mississauga, Brampton, Hamilton, London, Markham, Vaughan, Kitchener, Windsor, Oakville, Richmond Hill, Burlington, Oshawa, Barrie, Guelph, Whitby, Cambridge, St. Catharines, Milton, Kingston, Ajax, Waterloo, Brantford, Chatham-Kent, Clarington, Pickering, Peterborough
Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Southern Ontario and southern Quebec
Cold winters and hot, humid summers: seal the attic, dry the basement, plan cooling.
This region has real winters and hot, humid summers, so bills come from both heating and cooling. Natural gas heats most Ontario homes, while most Quebec homes use low-cost electricity. An EnerGuide evaluation here should cover air sealing and the attic, cooling and dehumidification, and keeping the basement dry before insulating it.
Seal air leaks and top up the attic
Air sealing is still the first retrofit. In the snowier Ottawa–Montreal–Sherbrooke belt, a leaky, under-insulated attic also causes ice dams.
Right-size cooling to control humidity
In humid summers, an oversized air conditioner or heat pump cools quickly but shuts off before removing moisture, leaving rooms clammy. A heat pump replacing the air conditioner also covers much of the heating.
Keep the basement dry before insulating
Basements can be about 20% of heat loss, but insulating a damp basement from the inside can rot the new wall. Flash floods have hit Toronto and Montreal repeatedly.
When to book: Book the evaluation in winter (December to February) for clear thermal scans, and start a 3-month radon test in fall. Check the basement after spring thaw or heavy rain, and line up cooling work before summer.
Everything homes in Toronto need →
Very Cold East covers 2 cities we cover: Greater Sudbury, Thunder Bay
Very Cold East Northern Ontario, Saguenay, Quebec City
Deep, snowy winters: stop ice dams, and pair a cold-climate heat pump with backup heat.
Winters here are long and deep, with cold snaps of −25°C to −31°C and the heaviest snow loads of any region we cover. Heat escaping into the attic melts roof snow from below, which refreezes as ice dams. An EnerGuide evaluation here should focus on the attic, the basement and rim joists, and a heating plan with reliable backup heat.
Stop ice dams at the attic
NRCan says the best way to prevent ice dams is sealing attic air leaks and insulating thoroughly, so roof snow stays frozen. Snow loads here are the heaviest of any region we cover.
Cold-climate heat pump with reliable backup
Cold snaps of −25°C to −31°C are at or beyond many heat pumps' limits, so backup heat is a must: baseboards in most Quebec homes, the furnace in Ontario.
Insulate the basement and rim joists
Basements can be about 20% of a home's heat loss, and the long cold season makes the savings add up. Rim joists are often among the leakiest spots.
When to book: Book the evaluation from November to March for clear thermal scans, and check the attic after the first light snow. Start a 3-month radon test in the heating season.
Everything homes in Greater Sudbury need →
$600 assessment rebate · insulation to $7,700 · heat pumps to $7,500 ($12,000 ground-source)
The audit-linked path: pre- and post-retrofit EnerGuide assessments through one of seven approved service organizations unlock the stack, and the follow-up must be done by December 31, 2026. If your gas comes from Kitchener Utilities or Utilities Kingston rather than Enbridge, check eligibility first. Full details in our program tracker.
City loans up to $125,000 (or 10% of assessed value), repaid on the property tax bill
Toronto homeowners only. Most HELP loans need an EnerGuide evaluation before the work. Details and rates in our program tracker.
25% back on a CMHC mortgage insurance premium after $20,000 of energy renovations
For recent buyers with a CMHC-insured mortgage: at least $20,000 of eligible energy work after purchase, claimed within 24 months of closing. No EnerGuide evaluation is needed. Details in our program tracker.
announced National Heat Pump Rebate (new): Announced October 8, 2026 and expected to open early 2027: $2,000 toward an eligible cold-climate air-source heat pump, or up to $10,000 for households below the median income. Apply online, approval within 24 hours, no EnerGuide evaluation, and it can be combined with provincial rebates. Not open yet. What we know → ↗
closed Canada Greener Homes Grant & Loan: The grant closed to new applicants in February 2024; the interest-free loan (up to $40,000) stopped taking applications October 1, 2025 and its funding is fully committed. Approved applicants keep their funding — new ones can't join. ↗
live Greener Homes Affordability Program: Free direct-install retrofits (insulation, heat pumps) for low-to-median-income owners and tenants, expanded June 29, 2026 with over $500 million, delivered through provincial partners in BC, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, PEI and Quebec (Quebec's 2026–27 registration has ended), with more to be listed. You apply through your province's program, never through cold-callers. ↗
closed Oil to Heat Pump Affordability (OHPA): Closed to new applications July 31, 2026 (approved participants have until January 31, 2027 to submit receipts). It paid up to $15,000 (plus a one-time $250 payment) toward oil-to-heat-pump conversions for income-qualified households. In Ontario it was delivered with Save on Energy as a free heat pump installation worth up to $25,000. ↗
Each city page covers 16 audit and testing services with that city's own climate, housing age and service organizations. The bar shows its houses by construction era, oldest first. HDD is heating degree-days: the higher the number, the longer and colder the heating season. The share built before 1961 matters because older houses usually leak more and have less insulation.
Local geology, water sources, and climate set the home-health checklist. Each item links to its full guide; the 30-second screener personalizes it to your exact house.
Ontario gets the full treatment: twelve city guides with local housing eras, program angles, and monitor-and-test sections from Ottawa's radon belt to London's humidity.
Varies house to house across every Ontario geology — the winter kit is the answer everywhere, and Ottawa-area homes especially shouldn't skip it.
Ontario's standout: Public Health Ontario tests private well samples for bacteria free of charge. Rural homeowners — use it seasonally.
The Hawkins-Gignac Act requires alarms near sleeping areas in homes with fuel appliances, fireplaces, or attached garages — Ontario is the province where this is settled law, not just best practice.
Other provinces: British Columbia · Alberta · Saskatchewan · Manitoba · Quebec · New Brunswick · Nova Scotia · Prince Edward Island · Newfoundland & Labrador · The North (YT · NT · NU)
NRCan-registered service organizations work in every province. Tell us where you are and what you're planning — we'll point you at the right door, with your province's programs flagged.