Heating With · Electric baseboards
Electric Baseboard Heating: The Most Expensive Way to Heat a Home
Baseboards have no furnace to die and no tank to fill — just a hydro bill that eats the winter. There's a reason electric homes sit in the top rebate tier.
Why are baseboards so expensive to run?
Because they're one-for-one heat: one unit of electricity becomes exactly one unit of heat — a 100%-efficient heater that is still the priciest way to warm a house, because every other system does better than one-for-one. A baseboard home has no breakdown risk and no maintenance, but through an Ontario winter it pays full electric-resistance prices for every degree, every hour. It's common in smaller homes, older apartments and additions across the region — and the winter hydro bills tell the story.
How much less electricity does a heat pump use?
A heat pump doesn't make heat, it moves it — delivering roughly two to three units of heat per unit of electricity through most of the season. Against baseboards, that's a reduction of 50% or more in heating electricity for the rooms the heat pump serves. For a baseboard home spending $2,500–$4,000 a winter on heat, that's commonly $1,200–$2,000 a year back, every year — before any rebate. Most baseboard homes keep the baseboards in place as the deep-cold backup, so the new system needs no other heat source.
What kind of heat pump fits a home with no ducts?
Usually a ductless mini-split: an outdoor unit feeding wall-mounted heads in the main living spaces — no ductwork to install, and each head is its own zone. Homes with ducts but an electric furnace can go ducted instead. Either way, you also gain real air conditioning, which most baseboard homes have never had. Sizing and head placement are worked out at the in-home visit.
What rebates does an electric home get?
The top Ontario rate: electric homes qualify under Home Renovation Savings at $1,250 per ton, up to $7,500, same as oil and propane. The new federal rebate stacks on top — $2,000, or up to $10,000 if your household is below the median income — and for baseboard homes carrying some of the highest heating bills in the province, that income tier is worth checking carefully. Federal applications open early 2027, and installs on or after November 1, 2026 count. No energy assessment is required for the heat pump rebate under either program. Start with the calculator — select "Electric" as your fuel.
Electric baseboards — common questions
Do the baseboards have to come out?
No — and usually they shouldn't. Left in place, they're a free, already-installed backup for the coldest nights and for rooms without a ductless head. You just stop using them as your main heat source.
My panel is only 100 amps. Can I still add a heat pump?
Often yes — ductless systems draw far less than a house full of baseboards running at once, and in many homes the total load picture actually improves. If a panel upgrade is needed, it's quoted in writing at the in-home visit, before you commit.
Will a ductless system heat the whole house, or just one room?
It depends on the layout. Multi-head systems serve several rooms and open-plan homes heat evenly; closed-off bedrooms lean on their baseboards more. The visit maps your floor plan to a head layout — honestly, including which rooms will still use baseboard help.
Baseboard home? Check your rebate
Top Ontario rate plus the federal rebate — and a winter hydro bill that finally shrinks. About a minute.
See your rebate AND your monthly number