Ontario Solar Rebates & Incentives 2026: Up to $10,000 Through the HRSP

Ontario homeowners can get up to $5,000 back on rooftop solar and up to $5,000 on a home battery through the Home Renovation Savings Program. Here’s who qualifies, how the money is calculated, and the one rule that changes the decision: you can take the rebate or net metering, not both. (For other provinces, see our guide to solar rebates across Canada.)

Quick answer: In 2026 the Home Renovation Savings Program (HRSP), run by Save on Energy and Enbridge Gas, pays $1,000 per kW of solar up to $5,000 and $300 per kWh of battery storage up to $5,000, each capped at 50% of the cost. That’s up to $10,000 together. You need written pre-approval before buying or installing anything, the battery must come with a new solar system, and homes that take the rebate cannot sign a net-metering agreement.

Key takeaways

• Solar: $1,000/kW, up to $5,000, no more than 50% of the solar cost.
• Battery: $300/kWh, up to $5,000, no more than 50% of the battery cost, and only with a new solar system.
• Total: up to $10,000 for solar plus a battery.
• No home energy assessment needed for the solar and battery rebates.
• Pre-approval first. Equipment bought or installed before written approval from the program and your local utility doesn’t qualify.
• Rebate or net metering, not both. Rebated systems are for “load displacement”: you use what you make instead of exporting it for bill credits.
• Low-interest loans can cover the rest. Toronto’s HELP lends up to $125,000, with a 20-year term for solar. Ottawa and Durham Region have their own programs.

What the Home Renovation Savings Program is

The HRSP is Ontario’s main home energy rebate program. It’s delivered by Save on Energy (the IESO’s conservation program) and Enbridge Gas, and it covers heat pumps, insulation, windows, appliances, and rooftop solar with battery storage.

Solar and batteries sit in the program’s “no assessment required” stream, so you don’t pay for or wait on a home energy audit first. The application runs through your contractor, who submits the pre-installation form and helps you get connection approval from your local utility.

How much you can get

Source: Home Renovation Savings Program, solar panels and battery storage, checked October 2026.

A worked example

These numbers show the arithmetic. They are an example, not a quote.

• Solar: an 8 kW rooftop system works out to 8 × $1,000 = $8,000, which is above the cap, so the rebate is $5,000. For the full $5,000 the solar portion has to cost at least $10,000, because of the 50% limit.
• Battery: a 13.5 kWh battery, the size of one Tesla Powerwall 3, works out to 13.5 × $300 = $4,050. That’s under the $5,000 cap, and it stays $4,050 as long as the battery portion costs at least $8,100.
• Total rebate in this example: $9,050.

A 5 kW system gets 5 × $1,000 = $5,000, so systems of 5 kW and up reach the solar maximum, as long as the 50% limit doesn’t bite. For what systems cost before the rebate, see our Ontario solar cost guide.

Who qualifies

According to the program, you must:

• be at least 18;
• live in a single detached, semi-detached, row house, townhome, or mobile home on a permanent foundation;
• own the home and pay for the system yourself (landlords apply for tenanted homes);
• be connected to the Ontario electricity grid.

Cornwall Electric customers aren’t eligible because they’re on the Hydro-Québec grid. The program’s terms and conditions page has the full requirements.

For batteries, the system has to be paired with a new solar system, sized for it, and designed to store mainly solar power rather than power from the grid. A battery added to existing panels, or a battery on its own, doesn’t qualify.

How to apply, step by step

1. Check eligibility with the program’s short online form.
2. Choose a contractor. Your contractor submits the pre-installation form and applies to your local utility (Hydro One, Toronto Hydro, Hydro Ottawa, Alectra and so on) for connection approval.
3. Wait for written pre-approval from the program and your utility. This is the step people get wrong: anything bought or installed before approval isn’t eligible.
4. Install. The contractor installs to the program’s requirements.
5. Get paid. The contractor submits the post-installation documents, and once they’re approved the rebate is paid to you.

Ask any installer you’re considering whether they submit the program forms and the utility application for you. Get a quote with the rebate applied.

The big decision: the rebate or net metering

This is the part most rebate summaries skip. The program states that homes receiving the HRSP solar and battery incentive are not eligible for a net-metering agreement with their utility. Rebated systems are for load displacement: the power you produce goes into your own home first, and the program isn’t meant to pay for systems built to export.

How to think about it:

• With a battery, more of your solar power gets used at home (stored during the day, used in the evening), so less is exported and the rebate is usually the stronger deal.
• Without a battery, on a large system, a lot of midday power goes to the grid. Net metering pays you for that through bill credits.
• Your rate plan matters too. On Ontario’s time-of-use or ultra-low overnight plans, what a kWh is worth depends on the hour. See our Ontario electricity rates guide for current rates.

Net metering in Ontario is regulated by the Ontario Energy Board and run by your local utility. Ask your installer to model both options for your roof and usage before you apply. Once you’re approved for one, you’re committed to that choice.