If you own a home in Durham Region and you’ve been thinking about upgrading your insulation, replacing your furnace with a heat pump, or finally going solar — there’s a financing program built specifically for you.
The Durham Greener Homes Loan program has been helping Durham Region homeowners complete energy retrofits since 2022. It offers a rare combination: expert guidance, access to preferential-rate financing, and generous rebates — all in one place.
Here’s a complete breakdown of how the loan program works, what’s changed, and what options remain available to you right now.
The Durham Greener Homes program is a Region-wide initiative developed and delivered by Windfall Ecology Centre in partnership with the Regional Municipality of Durham. It was built to help homeowners navigate the often overwhelming world of home energy retrofits — from figuring out what upgrades make sense for your specific home, to finding the money to pay for them.
The program is part of Durham Region’s broader Durham Community Energy Plan, which sets out a roadmap for deep energy retrofits across nearly all of Durham’s 200,000 homes by 2050 — with the goal of reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century.
Durham Greener Homes Loan (Residential): Residents can access low-interest (2%) loans up to $125,000 for energy-efficient retrofits (e.g., heat pumps, solar, insulation). This program often features a 15-year repayment term.
At Home Incentive Program (Housing Development): Provides forgivable capital loans and financial incentives to developers to increase affordable housing stock in the region.
Federal Affordable Housing Fund (Community): Offers low-interest or forgivable loans to organizations for constructing or repairing affordable housing.
Starter Company Plus (Small Business): Offers up to $5,000 for qualifying entrepreneurs and business owners in Durham Region to expand.
The Durham Greener Homes program was originally designed to prioritize single-family homes built between 1970 and 2000 — a segment representing about 46% of all single-family homes in the region — because these homes tend to have the highest energy-saving potential.
Eligible retrofit types include:
Eligible cities: Ajax · Brock · Clarington · Oshawa · Pickering · Scugog · Uxbridge · Whitby
A newer addition to the Durham Greener Homes program is the Weather-Ready Home Assessment — a free, comprehensive evaluation of your home’s vulnerability to extreme weather events including:
The assessment — a first-of-its-kind protocol in Canada developed by Windfall Ecology Centre — covers your home’s landscaping, drainage, building envelope, HVAC systems, and emergency preparedness. It results in a tailored set of recommendations to improve your home’s safety and resilience.
This matters more than ever: according to the Canadian Climate Institute, annual weather-related damage in Canada has grown from $400 million in the 1970s to over $3.1 billion in 2023 — and Ontario homeowners have been among the hardest hit.
The best first step? Book a free eligibility call. It costs nothing, and it could save you thousands.
Our coach will contact you to assess your home’s energy-saving potential online and walk you through the program. If you decide to move forward, we’ll help you apply for financing and guide you on your path to net zero.
Solify.ca helps homeowners across Durham Region with home energy retrofits and solar installations. We combine in-depth knowledge of available rebate programs with hands-on installation expertise – so you can access the funding you qualify for and have the work completed properly.
Local expertise: We know Durham’s programs, municipalities, and utilities inside out — no guesswork.
Maximum rebates: We help you stack every available incentive — federal, provincial, and regional.
End-to-end guidance: From your free energy assessment to final inspection, we’re with you the whole way.
Proven track record: Over 4,000 successful installs, both residential and commercial.
Wondering what a completed retrofit looks like? Solify has a growing gallery of real projects across Durham Region — from single-family homes going solar to commercial buildings upgrading to heat pump systems.
Residential projects: Solar panels, heat pumps, insulation upgrades & EV chargers for homeowners
Commercial projects: Large-scale solar arrays, HVAC retrofits & energy systems for businesses
