About the Retrofit program

Everything you need to know to get started on your project.

Under the Retrofit program, there are two types of project applications available: the prescriptive and custom track.

Prescriptive track


Prescriptive track applications are ideal for quick system upgrades. Incentive levels are based on a predefined amount with applications that are easy to follow and have a fast turnaround.

Incentive amounts for lighting and other measures (which include lighting controls) are per unit of product.

To participate, your project must be pre-approved. Small projects must be worth a minimum incentive of $500.

Custom track


Custom track applications are designed to provide flexibility for more comprehensive projects, with opportunities for increased energy savings. Incentives are based on energy savings over pre-project baselines. All custom track incentives are capped at 50 per cent of project cost.

The incentives are based on the specific information you provide about your project, which may include:

  • A description of the facility baseline electricity use
  • A description of the equipment being replaced
  • A description of the new equipment to be installed 
  • The operating schedule (days per week, hours per day, time of day)
  • The total cost of the retrofit, including equipment, labour and disposal costs
Available incentives
Lighting The greater of either $400/kW of demand savings

or

$0.05/kWh of first-year electricity savings
Other measures, including lighting controls, building automation systems, water chillers and cooling towers The greater of either $800/kW

or

$0.10/kWh of first-year electricity savings
Multi-family – tenant education $200/kW of the estimated demand savings, and to a maximum of 10 per cent of the incentives paid for the equipment replacement project
Social housing Advance 50 per cent of eligible financial incentive funding before project starts and after project approval by the IESO

Gap grant funding: double the participant incentive, capped at 50 per cent of the project cost

To participate, your project must be pre-approved. For the custom track application, your project must be worth a minimum incentive of $1500.

All custom track incentives are capped at 50 per cent of project cost. Projects must also deliver energy savings for at least 48 months.

Ready to start your project?
There are two ways we can help:

Option One

Call us at

1-844-303-5542

for application support or general questions.

Option Two

Provide us with information about your project and we’ll call you back to provide tailored advice.

Get a call

Eligibility

Retrofit incentives are available to owners or lessees* of:

  • Commercial spaces or buildings, such as offices, retail and grocery stores, restaurants, hotels and warehouses
  • Industrial facilities in sectors such as food and beverage, automotive, plastics and packaging industries
  • Institutional buildings, including hospitals, universities, municipal halls and arenas
  • Multi-family buildings, such as apartments (including low-income and social housing) or condominiums
  • Agricultural facilities, including dairy, swine or poultry farms, greenhouses and nurseries

*If you lease, you must have the owner’s consent or authorization.



What kinds of projects are eligible?

Overall, projects that are eligible under the Retrofit program are those that provide sustainable, measurable and verifiable reductions in peak electricity demand and electricity consumption.

Examples include:

  • Lighting retrofits
  • Lighting controls
  • HVAC redesign
  • Chiller replacement
  • Variable-speed drives
  • Improvement of a building envelope's thermal performance through measures such as:
    • increased insulation, and installation of high-performance windows and frames
    • low-emissivity window glazing
    • low-emissivity roof barriers
  • implementation of new operating procedures required either to obtain or increase the effectiveness of an energy management system or building automation system, including the installation of equipment such as:
    • an energy management system
    • building automation systems
    • sensors
    • control equipment
    • metering equipment
    • related communication systems

Ready to get started? Sign up for the Retrofit portal.


Note: If you had an existing account in the previous system, you must reactivate your account. Fill out the Sign Up form above. Sign up with the same email address used for your previous account and you will receive a reactivation email.