How Halifax is built
- Before 1961 22%
- 1961–1990 42%
- 1991–2000 14%
- 2001 or later 22%
Getting your usage history in Halifax
Most of Halifax is served by Nova Scotia Power for electricity and Eastward Energy for natural gas.
- Nova Scotia Power: MyAccount, then MyEnergy Insights (smart-meter customers): usage by hour, day, month and year, plus an appliance breakdown and alerts. As of Sept 2026 the page says MyEnergy Insights is still being restored after NS Power's cyber incident. Link
What the analysis shows
Halifax gets about 3,870 heating degree-days a year, a measure of how much heating its climate needs, and its winter design temperature, the cold day heating systems are sized for, is −15.9°C. Those figures come from the climate data for Shearwater in HOT2000, the home-energy software Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) gives energy advisors. Weather-normalizing your bills against those degree-days separates heating from baseload (lights, appliances, hot water), so you can see how much of the bill a heating upgrade can actually touch, and compare a mild year with a harsh one fairly.
In Halifax, summer air conditioning also shows up on the electricity bill: compare your July and August use with a spring month to see roughly what cooling costs, and how much a heat pump or better attic insulation could take off it.
Atlantic Canada Maritimes and Newfoundland
What this means in Halifax’s climate
Damp, windy, icy winters and costly oil: switch to heat pumps, seal, test for radon.
Atlantic winters are wet, windy and icy rather than extremely cold, and summers are mild. Heating oil is still common and its price rose sharply in 2026, while heat pumps already heat many homes. An EnerGuide evaluation here should plan the move off oil, seal wind-driven leaks, fix moisture before insulating, and include a radon test.
- Plan your move off oil. Oil prices rose 65% to 81% in a year, and corrosion is a leading cause of oil tank leaks. Cold-climate heat pumps can be up to three times as efficient as oil heating. Ask: Ask the advisor to note your oil tank's age and condition, and to size a cold-climate heat pump with a backup plan.
What else homes in Halifax need →
Sources for this climate guide · checked October 26, 2026
- National Building Code of Canada 2020, climate data (NRC)
- Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 (ECCC)
- Keeping the Heat In (NRCan)
- Heat pumps, Canada Greener Homes (NRCan)
- Heat pump basics (NRCan)
- Heating and Cooling With a Heat Pump (NRCan)
- Primary heating systems by household, Table 38-10-0286-01 (Statistics Canada)
- Household heating oil prices, Table 18-10-0001-01 (Statistics Canada)
- Electricity price comparison, April 2025 (Hydro-Québec)
- Prevent oil tank spills (Government of Nova Scotia)
- Canada's top weather stories of 2019 (ECCC)
- Canada's top weather stories of 2022 (ECCC)
- Canada's top weather stories of 2023 (ECCC)
- 2024 Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Exposure
- Guide for Radon Measurements in Homes (Health Canada)
- Conditions for thermal scans, ASTM C1060 summary (Cx Associates)
- Canada's top weather stories of 2025 (ECCC)
NRCan-licensed service organizations serving Halifax
In Nova Scotia, EnerGuide home energy assessments are booked through Efficiency Nova Scotia's Home Energy Assessment program, which assigns one of its Delivery Agent Partners; NRCan's list shows no separate service organizations for Nova Scotia postal codes.
Programs in Halifax
Energy bill analysis in Halifax: common questions
How do I download my energy usage in Halifax?
Nova Scotia Power: MyAccount, then MyEnergy Insights (smart-meter customers): usage by hour, day, month and year, plus an appliance breakdown and alerts. As of Sept 2026 the page says MyEnergy Insights is still being restored after NS Power's cyber incident. Link
What is Green Button?
A standard format for downloading your own energy data. Ontario electricity utilities have been required to offer Green Button Download My Data since November 1, 2023.
Why weather-normalize bills?
A cold winter raises heating bills even if nothing about the house changed, and a hot summer raises cooling bills. Normalizing to degree-days lets you compare years fairly and measure real savings.