DECARBONIZE · HEAT PUMPS
Commercial heat pumps engineered for Canadian winters
Aerothermal, geothermal, air-to-water, and hybrid retrofits for buildings across Canada — designed around the operating costs, load profile, and grant programs in force. Our Energy division runs the whole path, including, in Quebec, assessment and coordination of Énergir and Hydro-Québec dual-energy support.
Trusted by
- 2,000+
- Projects deliveredAcross Canada since 1927.
- $59M
- In grants securedAcross past client mandates — ÉcoPerformance, Énergir, Hydro-Québec and federal sources combined.
- 33%
- Average subsidy shareAcross past Energy-division mandates — share of total project cost covered by grants, all sectors combined.
Heat pump types we install
Four platforms, one engineering team
The right platform is the one that matches your building's load profile, your site constraints, and the grant envelope available — not the one with the loudest brochure. We engineer all four, so the recommendation is honest.
Aerothermal (air-source)
Air-source heat pumps that pull thermal energy from outdoor air. Best fit when site geology, footprint, or capital cost rules out ground loops. Sized against the site's design conditions with the back-up strategy modelled in.
Geothermal (ground-source)
Ground-source systems for sites with the area and the long horizon to justify the borefield. Highest seasonal efficiency in cold climates, lowest exposure to design-day swings, and the strongest grant-stacking math.
Air-to-water / hydronic
Air-to-water heat pumps that drop into existing hydronic loops — radiators, fan coils, in-floor — without re-piping the building. The retrofit path of least resistance when the distribution system already runs on water.
Hybrid (dual-fuel)
Heat pump as primary, with the existing gas boiler retained as cold-snap back-up — can be a cost-effective path in older buildings. In Quebec, this configuration may be eligible for the Énergir and Hydro-Québec dual-energy program.
Quebec · Dual-energy program
Énergir + Hydro-Québec dual-energy support — assessed for each project
In Quebec, the dual-energy program may improve the economics of an eligible hybrid conversion. Our Energy division checks the building, proposed system, current measures, and stacking rules before estimating support or preparing an application.
Énergir + Hydro-Québec support
The dual-energy program may support eligible hybrid-electric conversions. The available measures, amounts, and stacking rules are confirmed against the program terms in force for each project.
Project-specific support
The program may address eligible incremental costs between a like-for-like gas replacement and a heat-pump-plus-back-up retrofit. The supported amount is calculated under current rules after the building and proposed system are assessed.
How it works in practice
Our Energy division models the gas-only and hybrid cases side-by-side, identifies potentially eligible incremental costs, and coordinates the current application path with Énergir and Hydro-Québec. No support amount is assumed before eligibility is confirmed.
Who qualifies
Commercial, multi-residential, industrial and horticultural buildings operating in Quebec that currently burn natural gas and are converting to a heat-pump-led configuration. Sector subsidy shares on past Energy-division mandates: 41% multi-residential, 38% industrial, 30% horticulture, 29% commercial.
Cold-climate engineering
Electrification only works if it works in February
A heat pump that performs in shoulder seasons and stumbles on the design day is a brochure, not a retrofit. The engineering work is in sizing, switchover, and defrost behaviour — scoped during the heat-load and feasibility step.
Sized for cold-climate design conditions
Heat-pump capacity is engineered to the building load profile at the design heating day for the site — not selected from a catalog rating. The cold-climate sizing exercise is scoped during the heat-load and feasibility step.
Back-up and switchover strategy
Hybrid systems live or die on the switchover logic. We model where the gas back-up takes over from the heat pump against the load curve and the marginal cost of each fuel — then commission the controls to execute that crossover automatically.
Defrost and shoulder-season behaviour
Cold-climate units run defrost cycles when ambient drops below freezing. We design distribution and controls to ride through those cycles without comfort drift — and to recover usable heat where the system topology allows.
How we work
Four steps from feasibility to performance reporting
Heat-load and feasibility
Audit of the existing system, building load profile, and conversion options. We model gas-only, full-electric, and hybrid against the available grant envelope.
Grant-optimized design
Heat pump platform selection, integration with existing distribution, controls retrofit, and back-up strategy — engineered around the eligible-measure list so the grant filing writes itself.
Application and build
In Quebec, our Energy division files the ÉcoPerformance, Énergir, Hydro-Québec and dual-energy dossiers; we then execute the retrofit inside the occupied building.
Performance monitoring
Energy accounting dashboards and post-implementation reporting — the data the programs require, in the format your ESG team can fold into its disclosure.
Heat pump retrofit FAQ
What our clients ask before engaging
Are heat pumps viable in Canadian winters?
Yes — when the platform is specified for cold-climate design conditions and the back-up strategy is sized against the coldest design hours, not the catalog rating. For most older Quebec retrofits a hybrid (heat pump as primary, gas back-up retained) is the cost-effective path. Pure electrification is realistic for new construction and for some institutional retrofits — we have delivered net-zero institutional work including Library and Archives Canada.
When does aerothermal beat geothermal — and vice versa?
Aerothermal (air-source) wins on capital cost, footprint, and speed of execution — and on sites where ground loops are not feasible. Geothermal (ground-source) wins on seasonal efficiency, resilience to cold-snap design days, and on the grant-stacking math when the borefield can amortize over the asset life. We model both against your building and your grant envelope before recommending a path.
Can heat pump retrofits qualify for ÉcoPerformance, Énergir, Hydro-Québec, and the dual-energy program at once?
Potentially. ÉcoPerformance, Énergir, Hydro-Québec, and dual-energy support may apply to different parts of a heat-pump conversion. Eligibility, available amounts, and stacking limits are project-specific, so our Energy division checks the current rules before structuring and coordinating the applications.
What does payback typically look like?
Payback varies by asset class, gas-vs-electric rate exposure, and which grant envelope applies. On past Energy-division mandates, grants have covered 29% (commercial), 38% (industrial), 41% (multi-residential), and 30% (horticulture) of total project cost on average. Current dual-energy support is assessed separately under the rules and eligibility criteria in force. We deliver the actual payback math for your building as part of the feasibility step, not as a brochure number.
Can you keep the existing boiler plant as back-up?
Yes — that is exactly the hybrid configuration. The heat pump becomes the primary heat source, the existing gas boiler is retained for cold-snap back-up, and the controls automate the switchover at the marginal-cost crossover. In Quebec, this configuration may be eligible for Énergir and Hydro-Québec dual-energy support, subject to the current program rules.
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