Ground source heat pumps for businesses
Rebates help Manitoba commercial buildings replace electric or natural-gas heating with a ground source heat pump.
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A ground source heat pump transfers heat between the building and the ground through a buried pipe loop, providing heating and cooling. Efficiency Manitoba pays for approved installations after checking the completed project.
The rebate is the lowest of CAD 2.50 per square foot heated, CAD 120 per MBH of installed heating capacity, or CAD 120 per MBH of the building’s eligible base heating load. One MBH is 1,000 British thermal units per hour, a measure of heating output. The base load is the heat needed to replace losses through the building and air leakage; a designer calculates it.
The standard limit is CAD 100,000 per upgrade unless Efficiency Manitoba agrees otherwise in writing. Payment cannot exceed the product and installation cost you paid, including taxes. Heating water for use, as distinct from water circulating to heat rooms, and intermittent ventilation loads are excluded from the rebate calculation; continuous ventilation needs beyond heat-recovery capacity are assessed individually.
Failure to comply, including ceasing to be the building’s Manitoba Hydro account holder, can cancel unpaid incentives after notice. You must repay an incentive if you were in breach when it was paid.
Eligibility
- You must own or represent the building and hold an eligible Manitoba Hydro commercial account. The building must be heated primarily by electricity or natural gas supplied by Manitoba Hydro. Commercial premises, including multi-unit residential buildings, industrial premises and agricultural buildings can qualify.
- The usual route replaces an existing electric or gas heating system. Existing heat-pump replacement is excluded. New farm buildings exempt from the Manitoba Building Code may qualify if their outer elements, such as walls, roof and windows, meet or exceed Efficiency Manitoba’s building-envelope requirements. Other new buildings and additions use the separate new-building programmes; when an existing system is upgraded and expanded for an addition, only the existing building portion may qualify here.
- Heat the building throughout September to May and use the new system as its main heating source. The system must be designed for at least 1,500 full-load hours in a heating season: the equivalent of operating at full output for that time. Unheated buildings do not qualify; partial heating or an indoor set temperature below 10°C reduces the incentive.
- Equipment must be new and meet the commercial programme’s design and certification requirements. Air-source, direct-expansion, standing-column-well and internal-source systems are excluded. Use an Efficiency Manitoba-registered installer recognized by the Manitoba Geothermal Energy Alliance (MGEA), in good standing, who employs a Manitoba-licensed refrigeration mechanic.
- Professional design is normally required. The local building-code authority alone can grant an exemption, which must be documented with the application. Larger or more complex buildings under Part 3 require engineer-sealed mechanical and ground-loop drawings; Part 9 projects require appropriately trained designers for the loop and the air or water distribution system.
- Disclose other public or utility energy-conservation assistance. The same equipment may be ineligible unless Efficiency Manitoba agrees otherwise in writing. Obtain approval before purchasing or beginning work.
How to apply
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Choose a contractor registered with Efficiency Manitoba and recognized by MGEA to apply online on your behalf. The contractor submits your signed application, building heat-loss calculation, ground-loop software design report and scaled site drawings. Agree to the programme terms and wait for written approval before any part of the system is bought or installed.
Complete installation within 12 months of approval and keep the equipment in place for at least 36 months after installation. Permit inspections from application through that period; removed equipment cannot be resold except as scrap without prior consent.
You and your contractor submit completion declarations, paid invoices, final loop drawings, MGEA permit and commissioning form, electrical approval and the commercial occupancy certificate. Include other required permits; a groundwater-use licence may apply to open-loop systems that draw from and return water to wells. Efficiency Manitoba may inspect before calculating the final rebate and paying your designated recipient.