When Emily Hunter decided to ditch her furnace and get a heat pump, she figured she would dramatically cut her personal carbon emissions and save money on her monthly bills.
After all, multiple studies carried out by governments, non-profits and academics have shown that thanks to their great efficiency, heat pumps are cheaper to run than furnaces, even when electricity is more expensive than natural gas.聽
So when Hunter received an email this summer from the gas company saying her heat pump would cost her more than a furnace, she was confused.
The email highlighted how Prime Minister Mark Carney鈥檚 decision to cancel the federal carbon charge (FCC) in March has altered the economics of electrification. Natural gas is undoubtedly cheaper now that there isn鈥檛 a 15 cent per cubic metre carbon tax added on top. But the question remains whether that change has reduced the cost of running a furnace enough so that electric heat pumps are more expensive.
Enbridge certainly thinks so.
鈥淭he Federal Carbon Charge (FCC) under the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act has been set to zero. This action has changed the cost spread between natural gas and electricity significantly. As a result, this changes the economics of electric heat pump operation,鈥 Enbridge states on its website. 鈥淣atural gas customers who have installed or are planning to install an electric heat pump for space heating may experience increases in their home鈥檚 total energy bills.鈥
Hunter was particularly irked by the email because Enbridge sent it out to thousands of Ontarians who were planning to install heat pumps and had applied for a provincial rebate, which is administered by the natural gas distribution company.
鈥淚 feel like they鈥檙e seeding doubt wherever they can to the homeowner,鈥 she said.
Hunter, who works for an environmental non-profit, believes there鈥檚 a conflict of interest in having a gas company run a program that helps people get off natural gas and this email shows the company is not impartial. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like getting a fox to watch over the henhouse,鈥 she said.
Linked to the email is a table on Enbridge鈥檚 website that compares the costs of running four types of heat sources: a heat pump running at 200 per cent efficiency, a heat pump at 400 per cent efficiency, an older 90-per-cent-efficient furnace, and a newer 98.5-per-cent-efficient furnace.
the cost of running both furnaces is about half the cost of running the heat pump at low efficiency, and only a few dollars more expensive than a heat pump running at high efficiency.
Experts question the numbers in this table from Enbridge Gas’ website.
homerenovationsavings.caExperts say the table is deceiving and the assumptions behind the numbers are unrealistic, inflating the cost of running a heat pump while minimizing the costs of running a furnace.
鈥淭his chart is intentionally misleading,鈥 said Keith Brooks, programs director at Environmental Defence. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e cherry picked some arbitrary numbers here that would lead a person to believe that a heat pump is much more expensive to run.鈥
In 2023, Environmental Defence filed a false advertising complaint against Enbridge for distributing a similar price comparison chart on flyers in communities that were being connected to the natural gas system. The charts made it appear that gas was the cheapest way to heat your home. The Competition Bureau has launched a formal investigation, which is ongoing.
Enbridge Gas spokesperson Chloe Mills said the company is aware of the Competition Bureau complaint and ”stand(s) by the integrity of our communications.”聽
The elimination of the federal carbon tax 鈥渉as had a direct impact on the operating cost of home heating, and it鈥檚 important that customers understand how these changes could impact household energy costs,鈥 she wrote聽in an email.
鈥淭o provide clear, accurate information regarding the possible impact, Enbridge Gas took steps to make natural gas consumers aware of the potential for higher energy costs when utilizing a heat pump, based on the current fuel cost spread.鈥
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Bryan Purcell, vice-president of policy and programs at The Atmospheric Fund (TAF), an organization that promotes and finances emission reductions in the GTA said the business case for a heat pump is more challenging now that the carbon tax is gone.
鈥淏ut it鈥檚 misleading to say that an air-source heat pump will always cost more,鈥 he added.
Purcell had several issues with the numbers in Enbridge鈥檚 table. The efficiencies for both heat pumps and furnaces don鈥檛 reflect real-world operation, which would shrink the cost gap on Enbridge鈥檚 table, he said.
The electricity rate used to calculate the cost of running a heat pump is also 鈥渁 bit high,鈥 he added, saying 12.4 cents per kilowatt hour is a higher average price than any of the different rate plans available to 海角社区官网Hydro customers.
Lastly, the table leaves out the fixed customer charges added to bills.
In response to questions about the chart, Enbridge’s spokesperson Mills wrote that the prices cited are “a reasonable proxy for many consumers.”
Purcell says there are many ways a homeowner can maximize their savings with a heat pump that aren’t contemplated in the comparison, including using a timer to take advantage of time-of-day electricity prices, and by switching to an electric water heater and stove to also eliminate the fees on the natural gas bill.
鈥淭here are many factors that determine cost,鈥 he said, 鈥淏ut a good contractor can help most homeowners get into the black.鈥
Purcell isn鈥檛 the only one to have found heat pumps retain their cost advantage. The provincial government鈥檚 own , which was released after the carbon tax was cancelled, found that electrification would reduce a household鈥檚 energy bills by 47 per cent by 2050 and noted that 鈥渢here is a risk of high energy bills for households remaining on natural gas.鈥
While their purchase price is higher than a furnace, heat pumps have been found to operate more cheaply, saving the average Ontario household $500 per year. Now that the carbon tax has been removed, experts expect that difference to be smaller, maybe even resulting in equal bills, but they do not expect furnaces to become cheaper to operate.
Jana Elbrecht, a policy adviser with Clean Energy Canada, which has produced an online calculator for the carbon and dollar savings from electrification available at , said: 鈥淚f it comes out to the same price, I think we can question Enbridge鈥檚 intentions in sending out that email dissuading people from adopting a heat pump.鈥
Elbrecht says she plugged Enbridge鈥檚 numbers into their calculator and found that a homeowner would pay $18 more per month to run a heat pump in Ontario. But that would be more than cancelled out by eliminating the $26.74 monthly customer charge on all Enbridge bills.
Still, this is in stark contrast to the $19 monthly savings that the calculator had previously found for a heat pump, underlining how the elimination of the carbon tax has made a heat pump less economical.
鈥淯ltimately, that was the point of the carbon tax 鈥 to drive people to make the right decision from a climate point of view,鈥 she said.
The experience of five homeowners the Star spoke with suggest even Enbridge doesn’t really know how to disconnect from Enbridge.
The experience of five homeowners the Star spoke with suggest even Enbridge doesn’t really know how to disconnect from Enbridge.
Cost is important, but there are other benefits that heat pumps provide that furnaces don鈥檛, like air conditioning, and a quieter, more consistent climate control, said Michelle Hjort, an energy adviser who helps homeowners navigate the complex subsidy programs. Many of her clients opt to go with a heat pump, even after they learn that the cost savings have shrunk.
鈥淓ven if the federal carbon pricing is no longer available to us, I鈥檇 rather break even and still know that I am drastically reducing my home front emissions,鈥 said Hunter, who expects to cut her house鈥檚 emissions by 70 per cent when her heat pump is installed.
The federal government鈥檚 Greener Home Grants, which provided up to $5,000 for energy-efficient renovations like new windows, doors and insulation, as well as heat pumps, ran out last year, leaving some homeowners in the lurch. Ontario鈥檚 provincial rebate, which is run by Enbridge, also cut off some homeowners mid-renovation until the Star highlighted the issue and the company reversed course.
The federal government continues to offer zero-interest loans of up to $40,000 for green renovations. Enbridge launched a new in January, which offers rebates of up to $12,000.
Enbridge Gas has a monopoly on natural gas distribution in Ontario, but does not make money by marking up the price of gas. Instead, their business relies on building and maintaining the natural gas distribution network, and charging customers fees for that. Homeowners who disconnect their gas lines cut into the company鈥檚 bottom line, noted Aaron Freeman, a co-founder of Energy Neighbour, a network of homeowners who have made the switch to heat pumps and share advice.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e going to do everything they can to keep that connection.鈥
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