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Oil, gas and propane conversions in Courtenay

The fuel being replaced decides the rebate, and the rebate decides the real price.

Replacing a fossil-fuel system earns the largest rebates in the Energy Savings Program: up to $13,000 for a central ducted system and $16,500 where oil heating and hot water are replaced together. Oil tanks remain in service across Comox, while propane is the incumbent fuel through Merville and Black Creek.

Two identical houses with identical equipment can be quoted thousands apart, and the difference is usually what is being taken out rather than what is going in. The program pays most for removing oil, less for gas and propane, and the amounts step down as household income rises.

What changes with each fuel

Replacing oil pays the most at every tier — a single-head ductless system earns up to $7,000 against $5,500 for the same equipment replacing gas or propane, and a two-head system reaches $11,000 either way. The gap widens at the bottom of the tables: at the highest income tier a gas conversion on a single head pays $1,000, where the oil equivalent pays $3,000.

The order the paperwork has to happen in

Pre-registration comes before installation, not after. An eligibility code is valid for three months from approval, income documentation must be dated within twelve months of pre-registration, and the claim has to be in within six months of the invoice date. Work done before registration is not eligible, whatever the invoice says.

The limits that disqualify a house

The home must be a year-round primary residence in British Columbia at least twelve months old, connected to FortisBC, BC Hydro or a listed municipal utility. Assessed value caps apply — $1.2 million on the two lower tiers and $1.82 million on the third. Single-family homes, secondary suites, mobile homes, duplexes and triplexes qualify; multi-unit buildings and condominiums do not.

What's included

  • Oil furnace to heat pump conversion

    Replacing oil heat, the conversion the program pays the most for.

  • Propane and natural gas conversion

    Replacing a gas or propane furnace, with the amount set by income tier.

  • Combined space and water heating replacement

    Heating and hot water replaced together, the largest amount in the program.

The installation process

  1. 1

    Fuel, income tier and assessed value confirmed — those three between them set the rebate before any equipment is discussed.

  2. 2

    Pre-registration filed — the eligibility code has to be in hand before installation begins.

  3. 3

    Changeover — old equipment out, heat pump in, electrical work only where the load calculation required it.

  4. 4

    Claim filed — inside the six-month window from the invoice date.

In practice

Situation
An acreage near Black Creek heated by a propane furnace with a wood stove as backup, no natural gas service anywhere on the road.
Complication
The outdoor unit needed a longer line-set run than a suburban lot would, and the owners wanted the wood stove kept in service.
Resolution
A multi-zone system sized to the occupied part of the house, with the wood stove retained as backup, which suited the partial-home rebate path rather than the whole-home one.

People also ask

Is it worth converting from natural gas?

The rebates are smaller than for oil and drop sharply at higher income tiers. The case is made on operating cost and on cooling, not on the rebate alone.

What happens to the old oil tank?

Tank removal is a separate scope handled by a specialist, and it is arranged around the changeover rather than during it.

Can heating and hot water be done together?

Yes, and on an oil conversion that is the single largest amount in the program at $16,500. It is only available where both are replaced.

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