The WestshoreColwood and View Royal lead Greater Victoria on heat pumps. Here's what yours would cost.
Almost one building in ten there has one. If your house still runs on baseboards, BC will put up to $4,000 toward yours without asking what you earn.
Almost 10% of buildings in Colwood and View Royal have a heat pump, the highest share in Greater Victoria, according to a 2024 report for the CRD covered by the Oak Bay News. In Victoria, Saanich, Esquimalt, Central Saanich and Oak Bay it's 3 to 6%.
Two Victoria installers told the paper why: the Westshore has a lot of newer houses, and a lot of boxy B.C. builds that are easier to retrofit.
Baseboards: up to $4,000, and nobody asks what you earn
If electricity heats your home, BC's Home Renovation Rebate pays up to $4,000 toward a heat pump sized to heat the whole house. There is no income test. Heat only part of the house, say one unit in the living room, and the cap drops to $1,500. The work has to be done by a contractor registered with the program.
Lower-income households can get up to $5,000 through the Energy Savings Program instead. For a family of four, that means a household income of $94,900 or less.
Gas or oil: $13,000, or as little as $1,000
Homes on gas, propane or oil go through the income-tested Energy Savings Program. For a family of four, Level 1 is a household income up to $94,900, Level 2 up to $118,600 and Level 3 up to $189,800.
A central system, or three or more indoor units, gets up to $13,000, $7,000 or $3,500 at those levels. Go smaller and it falls fast. At Level 3, a gas or propane home gets $1,000 for one or two units. Oil gets $3,000.
Two more rules. The home's assessed value has to be $1.2 million or less at Levels 1 and 2, and $1.82 million or less at Level 3. And you have to register before any work starts.
After the rebate, a baseboard house pays $3,000 to $14,000
Installed prices around Greater Victoria, before GST and rebates, run $4,500 to $8,500 for one indoor unit, $7,000 to $18,000 for two to five, and $12,000 to $22,000 for a central ducted system.
Take a baseboard house getting three units. After the $4,000 rebate, that's $3,000 to $14,000. A family of four under $94,900 on gas, going central, gets up to $13,000 back and pays $0 to $9,000.
The range is wide because the price depends on the house: how many rooms, how far the lines run, and whether the electrical panel needs an upgrade. A site visit is what narrows it.
Some people slept in their cars during the heat dome
In June 2021, one Victoria installer's clients told him they slept in crawl spaces, or in their cars with the air conditioning running, the Oak Bay News reported.
A heat pump is the same machine all year. It heats in November and cools in July, so one system replaces the baseboards and the window fan.
ExchangEnergy is family-owned, based in Duncan, and installs Daikin systems from Nanaimo to Victoria, including Langford, Colwood and View Royal. It has 253 Google reviews: 249 five-star, four four-star, none lower. Quotes are same-day.
Sources: Heat Vulnerability Data and Analysis Project for the CRD, via Oak Bay News (May 28, 2024). Better Homes BC rebate rules as of Nov 3, 2026. Installed price ranges from the Greater Victoria Heat Pumps price guide. Google review count as of Nov 3, 2026. Rebates are maximums and change. This story is paid for by ExchangEnergy.