Window and Door Rebates in Ontario (2026): The $100 an Opening, the Assessment You Need First, and Why Replacing Windows Alone Does Not Qualify

Windows & Doors

The $100 Window Rebate Is Real. It Is Also Not What the Window Salesman Said It Was.

Ontario’s Home Renovation Savings program advertises $100 for every window and door opening you replace. What the flyer leaves out is that you need an energy assessment before you start, another after, and a second upgrade on the list, or the windows pay nothing. Here is how it actually works, as of the day this page was checked, and the order to do things in so you do not lose it.

Checked October 2026 against the program’s own pages. Rebate programs change; the date matters, and the program site is the last word.

The numbers

$100per eligible window or door rough opening
2energy assessments: before and after
2+eligible upgrades needed; windows alone do not count
$1,500on a 15-window house, less the assessments

How the program works, in plain words

The program is run by Save on Energy and Enbridge Gas for Ontario homeowners. The windows and doors rebate sits inside the stream for whole-house upgrades, not the stream for a single appliance. To get it, a registered energy advisor does an EnerGuide assessment of the house before any work starts. You then do at least two eligible upgrades from the list (windows and doors count as one; attic insulation, basement or wall insulation, air sealing, a heat pump and so on are the others). The advisor comes back, measures again, and the rebates are paid on what changed.

The windows have to meet the program’s performance requirement, which in practice means ENERGY STAR certified for Canada: a whole-window U-factor of 1.22 W/m2K or better, or an Energy Rating of 34 or better. Almost every mid-grade Canadian window qualifies. Ask for the certification number on the quote.

The catch, said plainly: replace eighteen windows and nothing else, with no assessment first, and the rebate is zero. The salesman who said “you get $100 back on every window” was telling you the program’s headline, not its rules.

The order to do things in

  1. Book the pre-assessment first. Before you sign a window contract, before anyone measures. $300 to $600 depending on region, and some of it comes back in the program. The advisor’s report tells you where the house actually loses heat, which is often the attic, not the glass.
  2. Pick the second upgrade from the report. Attic insulation is the usual one, and the cheapest per unit of heat saved. The attic insulation page has the prices.
  3. Get the window quotes with the certification numbers on them. Manufacturer, series, and the ENERGY STAR or NRCan certified ratings for the actual units. The ratings page explains what the numbers are.
  4. Do the work, keep every invoice. The invoice has to show the number of openings and the product.
  5. Book the post-assessment. The rebates are calculated from it. Do not skip it, and do not wait a year; the program has a window for completing.

The loan that goes with it

The federal Canada Greener Homes Loan, interest-free up to $40,000 over ten years, has been available for the same kind of assessed, whole-house retrofit, and windows are an eligible measure in it. Programs have opened, closed and reopened over the last few years, so check before counting on it. If it is open when you read this, it is the cheapest money you will find for a window job, and it uses the same EnerGuide assessment.

Where homeowners go wrong

  1. Signing the window contract before the assessment. Work started before the pre-assessment is not eligible. This is the one that costs the most people the most money.
  2. Deducting the rebate from the quote in their head. It is paid after, by the program, if everything lines up. Budget without it; treat it as a cheque in the mail.
  3. Buying windows that are not certified for Canada. A US ENERGY STAR label is a different standard. Canadian certification, by unit.
  4. Letting the window company “handle the rebate”. Some do it well. Some do not book the assessment and tell you afterwards it was not available. Book it yourself.
  5. Assuming the program is the same next year. It will not be. Check the date at the top of this page and the program site.

Questions people ask

Is there a rebate for replacing windows in Ontario in 2026?

Yes, $100 per eligible window or door opening through the Home Renovation Savings program, with a pre- and post-assessment and at least one other eligible upgrade. On its own, no.

Do I need an energy audit to get the window rebate?

Yes, before the work and after. It is the thing most people miss, and it is not optional.

Do triple-pane windows get a bigger rebate?

Not in this program; it is per opening, not per rating. Triple glazing earns its keep in comfort and noise, not rebate dollars. Double vs. triple.

Does a new patio door count?

An exterior door opening counts the same as a window opening if the door meets the performance requirement. Interior doors, garage doors and storm doors do not.

The rebate is the small number

$1,500 back on a $25,000 window job is nice. The $8,000 difference between the right quote and the wrong one is bigger. Price the job on the calculator first, then book the assessment, then get the quotes.

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Sources and further reading