Guides · Emergency
Furnace Died? What To Do This Week
A dead furnace in an Ontario winter forces fast decisions — and fast decisions are where homeowners lose rebates and sign bad contracts. Here's the week, step by step.
The one thing to know before you sign anything
Your Ontario rebate — up to $7,500 — only exists if a participating contractor files your pre-approval BEFORE the new system is installed. An emergency install done first and papered later gets nothing. Any installer who works with the program can file it fast; make sure yours does, before the truck rolls.
Was the federal rebate built for exactly this moment?
Yes — that was its stated design. Furnaces rarely die on a convenient schedule, and the old programs punished that: mandatory energy audits meant weeks of process before help arrived. The new federal National Heat Pump Rebate requires no energy audit, promises fast online approval when applications open in early 2027, and counts installations on or after November 1, 2026. It pays $2,000 to eligible households and up to $10,000 to households below their province's median income — and it stacks with the Ontario rebate. A no-heat week this winter is precisely the situation it was built for.
What are the 5 steps for a no-heat week?
Confirm it's actually dead
Get the failure diagnosed before you replace anything. A cracked heat exchanger or a dead control board on a 20-year-old furnace is a replacement conversation; a failed ignitor or blower motor often isn't. If the furnace is 15+ years old and the repair is four figures, replacement with rebates usually wins — but confirm the diagnosis first, and stay warm safely in the meantime: space heaters on separate circuits, never a stove or oven for heat.
Check the replacement against the federal Eligible Products List
The federal rebate only pays on eligible cold-climate heat pumps on its Eligible Products List. Before you agree to a model, have the model number and its AHRI reference checked against that list. A cheaper unit that's not on the list can cost you $2,000 to $10,000.
File the Ontario pre-approval BEFORE the install
Non-negotiable order: pre-approval first, installation second. Under Home Renovation Savings — $1,250 per ton for oil, propane, electric and wood homes, $500 per ton for gas, up to $7,500 — a system installed before its pre-approval is filed does not qualify. Emergency timelines don't change this rule; a participating contractor files it as part of the job.
Mind the date on the install
For the federal rebate, the installation must be dated on or after November 1, 2026. An install finished days earlier doesn't count, however good the equipment is. If your emergency lands near a date line like that, it's worth a direct question before the date is set.
Keep every invoice and document
Keep the dated invoice, the model and serial numbers, the AHRI certificate, and the pre-approval confirmation together. Your Ontario claim is filed after install; your federal claim is filed when the portal opens in early 2027 — and both run on paperwork. The household that keeps the folder gets paid.
Should you sign a rental contract to get heat back fast?
Be very careful here. A no-heat week is the rental industry's best sales moment: heat today, sign here. What the signature usually creates is a long-term rental contract — often 10+ years — with a buyout price far above the equipment's value, registered against your home, that can complicate a future sale and can put your rebate eligibility at risk. A purchased system with both rebates stacked is frequently cheaper in total than a few years of rental payments. If a rental is genuinely your only path to heat this week, read the buyout and term clauses before signing — not after.
Can this wait until you've seen your rebate number?
The number takes about a minute, and it changes what you can afford to do this week: up to $7,500 from Ontario plus $2,000 to $10,000 federal is the difference between "replace the furnace and keep the tank" and "do the full switch once, properly, while the crew is already there." Run the questionnaire now, even mid-emergency — then make the call with the real math in front of you.
Furnace emergency — common questions
How fast can a replacement actually happen?
Planned switches run a few weeks from estimate to install; genuine no-heat emergencies are prioritized. The pre-approval step happens as part of the booking, not as a separate wait — but it must still happen before the install itself.
My furnace died before November 1, 2026. Did I miss the federal rebate?
The federal program counts installations on or after November 1, 2026 — the install date is what matters, not the date the old furnace failed. If your replacement install lands on or after that date, it counts.
The repair quote is $900 on a 19-year-old furnace. Repair or replace?
Run the honest comparison: $900 buys maybe a few seasons from a furnace at the end of its life, with no rebate. Replacement now stacks up to $7,500 provincial plus the federal rebate on a system that also cuts your fuel bill roughly in half. On a 19-year-old unit, replacement usually wins — the cost page lays out the numbers.
Get your number — it takes a minute
Even in a no-heat week, especially in a no-heat week: know your rebate before you sign anything.
See your rebate AND your monthly number