HalifACT Home Energy Upgrade Program Launched Today!

HALIFAX, NS, April 8, 2026 – Halifax Regional Municipality, in partnership with SwitchPACE CIC, launched the HalifACT Home Energy Upgrade Program today, a new program that will help eligible homeowners finance energy upgrades for their homes.

The program is part of Halifax’s broader HalifACT plan and is one of the ways the municipality is working to reduce emissions at the community scale. By giving homeowners, a local financing option for upgrades like heat pumps, insulation, and electric water heaters, the program is intended to help homeowners make improvements that lower energy use, improve comfort, and reduce energy costs.

The program is focused on pre-2000, owner-occupied, oil-heated residential properties in Halifax Regional Municipality. Homeowners in the program will work toward a minimum 50 per cent reduction in household energy use, helping focus the program on homes where the impact can be most meaningful. Recent prices spikes and volatility in the oil market are significantly impacting homeowners in the Maritimes.

SwitchPACE CIC is supporting delivery of the program by providing Energy Concierge (Navigator) services to help guide homeowners through the retrofit process. SwitchPACE’s Energy Concierges are there to be a trusted source of information for homeowners, answering questions, explaining the steps involved in finding reputable contractors, helping them navigate available rebates, and providing guidance throughout the upgrade journey. Program participants can contact their Navigator at (902) 812-5028 or [email protected] at any time to ask questions and receive support as they move through the process.

For SwitchPACE, this work is close to home. The organization operates out of Halifax, and being part of a program in its own community means a great deal to the team.

“Programs like this build on climate work Halifax has been leading for years,” said Julian Boyle, President of SwitchPACE CIC. “For us, it is very exciting to be part of something here at home that can help people make real improvements to their houses. These projects can feel like a lot to take on, and a big part of our role is helping homeowners feel supported as they work through it and making it easy.”

Boyle also sees this program as part of a longer path Halifax has already started. Before co-founding SwitchPACE CIC, he spent 12 years working with the Halifax Regional Municipality. During that time, he led the design and implementation of the Halifax Solar City program, Canada’s first PACE program. He says the HalifACT Home Energy Upgrade Program carries some of that same promise and ambition as the program he developed over 15 years ago – to help transform the marketplace and scale retrofits under a financially sustainable model for municipalities. Over $30M in residential solar retrofits have been enabled by the Solar City program.

“Solar City showed that Halifax can build a local program that helps people invest in their homes while reducing emissions,” said Boyle. “The hope with this broader energy efficiency phase is to build the foundation for something that can grow over time in a similar way. If we want to reduce carbon emissions at the speed and scale we need to, we have to create programs that homeowners can actually use.”

More information about the HalifACT Home Energy Upgrade Program, including eligibility, registration, and homeowner resources, is available at https://www.halifax.ca/about-halifax/environment-climate-change/halifact-energy-upgrade

Media Contacts: Julian Boyle, P.Eng., President SwitchPACE CIC – (902) 802-0924, [email protected]