Commercial Deep Energy Retrofit Program: major building renovations
Owners of eligible Manitoba commercial, multi-unit residential, industrial or agricultural buildings can receive modelling support and a floor-area payment for major renovations designed to cut annual energy use by at least 20%.
Deze mogelijkheid is momenteel in het Engels beschikbaar.
This programme assesses the building as a whole. Energy modelling simulates how its walls, equipment, use and operating schedules interact, comparing an agreed pre-renovation baseline with the final building as constructed.
Modelling support is limited to eligible invoiced costs and CAD 12,000 total: up to CAD 6,000 after Phase 1 design analysis, with the remaining eligible amount paid through Phase 2. This is separate from the performance payment.
The performance payment multiplies eligible renovated floor area by a rate based on the modelled reduction in annual energy consumption:
| Energy reduction | CAD per square foot |
|---|---|
| 20% | 2.25 |
| 25% | 2.75 |
| 30% | 3.25 |
| 35% | 3.75 |
| 40% | 4.50 |
| 45% | 5.25 |
| 50% | 6.00 |
The reduction is rounded down to a whole percentage point, with rates calculated proportionally between the table values: 27.8% becomes 27%, paying CAD 2.95 per square foot. In certain approved final shortfall cases, the rate falls by CAD 0.10 per square foot for each percentage point below 20% down to 18%, then CAD 0.20 for each further point below 18%. This final adjustment does not remove the 20% design target needed to enter Phase 2.
Multi-unit residential projects enrolled by March 31, 2027 can receive a 100% bonus on the performance payment, doubling that payment, when a ground-source heat pump becomes the existing building’s primary heating system. The building must be primarily residential and the system must serve all dwelling-unit spaces. The bonus does not double modelling support.
Renovations can be staged, with all planned stages included in the initial model and updated models, reports and operating documentation after each stage. Agree the stages with Efficiency Manitoba; staged payments depend on approved incremental savings. Renovating only part of the building requires a plan to renovate the whole building over time.
Eligibility
The building must be in Manitoba and used for commercial purposes, including multi-unit housing, or for industrial or agricultural purposes. The owner or designated representative must be a Manitoba Hydro customer eligible for its commercial general-service electricity rates and commercial natural-gas rates. The building’s primary heating must use Manitoba Hydro electricity or natural gas. Other primary heating fuels and switching from electric to natural-gas heating are excluded.
Eligible floor area is the renovated, year-round occupied heated or cooled space with at least 7.5 feet of headroom. Partly heated spaces qualify where heating-system output is at least 0.9 watt per square foot. Measure area inside exterior walls or to the centreline of walls separating buildings. Crawlspaces, attics and areas that are neither heated nor cooled are excluded from the payment area.
Include at least two significant measures from at least two of these categories: architectural (such as insulation, windows or air sealing); electrical (such as interior lighting or efficient motors); and mechanical (such as heating, ventilation or hot-water systems). No individual measure may contribute more than 75% of anticipated total savings. Other measures need Efficiency Manitoba’s agreement and supporting calculations.
Savings from replacing gas space or water heating with electric-resistance heating do not earn incentives. Such a project can still qualify if other eligible measures achieve at least 20% savings against an adjusted baseline that assumes electric resistance for the affected systems. This is a different rule from the prohibition on switching electricity to gas.
Unless agreed with Efficiency Manitoba before application, on-site generation, commercial refrigeration, exterior lighting and manufacturing/process measures are outside this programme’s incentive scope. Do not obtain other Efficiency Manitoba incentives for planned upgrades unless they are deemed outside this programme’s scope. Projects also entering the New Buildings Program may receive modelling support under only one programme.
Apply and obtain approval before ordering or buying materials or starting renovation work. Submit Phase 1 documents before on-site renovation. Approval to proceed to Phase 2 is separate. Programme approval does not replace permits, consents or code compliance.
How to apply
- Status
- Doorlopend open
- Beperkingen per ronde
- Approval before material orders, purchases or work. Qualifying multi-unit ground-source bonus requires enrolment by March 31, 2027.
- Complete the linked application and email it to DeepRetrofits@efficiencyMB.ca. A consultant or contractor can submit for the owner, but the owner must read and sign the agreement. Include building, utility-account, project-team, proposed-work and incentive information. Signing also authorizes release of the building’s utility-consumption history to the designated energy modeller for the baseline and modelling work.
- After acceptance, use an energy modeller registered with Efficiency Manitoba. The owner must prepare the Owner’s Project Requirements, recording the building’s functional needs and performance goals; the design team records its proposed solutions in the Basis of Design. Submit both during Phase 1 and keep them updated. Phase 1 also requires a design-model report, the programme Workbook summarizing model inputs, and an itemized modelling invoice. Support baseline assumptions with drawings, audits, photos or measurements. For projected savings below 30%, submit both baseline and design simulation files; Efficiency Manitoba may request files for other projects too.
- The baseline normally uses the latest five years of energy consumption adjusted for weather, so unusually warm or cold years do not distort the comparison. A different representative baseline may be agreed for changed use or vacancy. Modelling software must meet NECB 2020 article 8.4.2.2, including ANSI/ASHRAE 140, the required building-simulation evaluation standard.
- Obtain written Phase 2 approval before proceeding. Renovate in accordance with the accepted design and have the building operational within 24 months of formal design-compliance notice. If claiming savings from reduced air leakage, conduct tests before and after renovation using the guide’s ASTM E3158 methodology; get prior approval for necessary deviations and document them.
- Submit baseline and final simulation files, a final report stamped by a qualified professional, the updated Workbook and modelling invoice. Provide the Systems Manual: the package explaining how to operate and maintain the renovated building. It must include the owner’s performance goals, the design team’s solutions, final design records, equipment instructions, commissioning and functional-test reports confirming how systems work, and operator-training records and occupancy permits. Deliver it to the owner and operating staff and train the relevant personnel.
- Efficiency Manitoba reviews the documents and may inspect before paying the owner or specified payee. Report information changes promptly and notify Efficiency Manitoba in writing of design changes. Operate the building for at least 36 months after payment and allow inspections until 36 months after renovation completion. Breach, including losing the relevant Hydro account-holder status, can cancel unpaid incentives; payments received while already in breach must be repaid on notice.