Heat pump rentals ease cost barriers for Canadian homeowners

The option to lease a heat pump—just as many households now lease their furnaces and hot water heaters—could help homeowners overcome cost barriers when they switch to the new technology.

Heat pumps are a proven alternative to using fossil fuel furnaces for home heating as energy systems adjust to accommodate electricity from clean energy sources. But in addition to concerns about relying on new technology for something crucial like staying warm, households have also been slow to make the switch for another reason—cost.

Energy and HVAC companies are now starting to offer heat pumps to customers in the same way they have long offered other high-cost home appliances like furnaces and water heaters, by providing the heat pump through a subscription or lease. Brendan Haley, policy director at Efficiency Canada, told The Energy Mix that such programs need to account for the larger building system when determining what size heat pump to install, “including duct work and the building envelope that keeps the heat in.” He added that programs that install heat pumps through a lease or subscription need take whole-home performance into account, “or make sure the interactions between the heat pump and the building it is trying to heat is considered.”

Last December, an article in the Guardian spotlighted Swedish clean energy company Aira as the “Spotify of heat pumps” for its “end-to-end subscription service.”

“The number-one hurdle for many consumers is the high upfront costs of buying and installing a heat pump. So we’re removing that,” said Aria CEO Martin Lewerth. “We don’t want to help affluent households only—we want to make heat pumps available to many households across Europe.”

Customers of Aria’s program commit to monthly payments but pay no upfront fee, and in return Aria engineers install and service the unit. Customers have the option of paying back the costs of the pump and its installation over 10 years, or half the expected lifespan of the device, and can pass on a contract to a subsequent owner if they move houses.

Aria is expanding over Italy, Germany, and the United Kingdom, and similar plans are available in Canada. Calgary-based gas utility Enbridge offers lease-to-own heat pump options through its Enbridge Sustain program, which also includes a smart thermostat to coordinate use between a heat pump during milder weather and a gas furnace during colder temperatures.

In Ontario, Climatecare runs CLARITY lease-to-own subscription, which finances heat pump ownership through monthly payments, with an option to cover scheduled maintenance with an added fee. Subscribers “can absolutely take advantage” of government rebates like ones from the Home Renovation Savings program, Climatecare member marketing and implementation manager Tom Rand told The Mix.

Ontario homeowners can also rent heat pumps through the Enercare Advantage program, which offers free installation, repairs, and maintenance across the device’s operating life.

In New Brunswick, Saint John Energy’s Zero30 program offers customers mini-split ductless heat pumps for rent.