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Northern GuideCold-climate heat pumps

Places and tools · 22

Yellowknife and the NWT

Yellowknife is as cold on the design table as Whitehorse. The rebate office is not the same office, and Yukon’s Dependable Grid money does not travel.

Last updated: October 17, 2026

The climate

In the National Building Code climatic tables, Yellowknife’s January 2.5% design temperature is −41°C, and the 1% value is −44°C. Heating degree-days below 18°C are about 8,170, higher than Whitehorse’s 6,580. NRC tables A heat pump that was marginal in Whitehorse is not easier in Yellowknife. The Arctic Energy Alliance’s June 11, 2026 note on a two-year monitoring project is the local evidence: cold-climate mini-splits did operate, a secondary furnace or boiler was still required in extreme cold, and at current NWT prices the heat pump was most cost-effective in milder weather. The note also says annual greenhouse-gas emissions from the heat pumps were a fraction of oil or propane heating, even counting diesel from NTPC’s Jackfish plant. AEA

Rebates, and a contradiction to flag

Nothing on yukon.ca applies in the NWT. The Arctic Energy Alliance’s renewable-energy page says it funds ground-source heat pumps, along with solar, wind, wood pellet heating, and biofuel, and that residents can receive up to $20,000 on “all other projects” and up to $30,000 on biomass. The rebate is the lower of 50 percent of eligible costs (75 percent for community governments, Indigenous governments, and Indigenous development corporations) and a savings calculation. Grid-tied renewable electricity in hydro communities is no longer funded. AEA program page

Federal OHPA, for the NWT, stopped taking applications on July 31, 2026. NWT was in the direct-delivery group, with its own after-tax income table. A one-person household had to be at or under $68,540; two people $129,950; three $154,100; four $179,400; five or more $180,550. NRCan table Those figures are not Yukon’s Affordable Heat Pump thresholds, and they are not a reason to file a Yukon form.

Related pages

Sources

Every figure on this page comes from the documents below. If a later official update conflicts, the official update wins.

  1. NRC climatic tables

    Yellowknife January 2.5% −41°C, January 1% −44°C, about 8,170 heating degree-days below 18°C.

  2. AEA, June 11, 2026

    Cold-climate mini-splits monitored with RDH and Housing NWT. They ran. Secondary heat was still required. Cost-effectiveness was best in milder weather. GHG savings claimed versus oil or propane, including Jackfish diesel generation.

  3. AEA renewable energy program

    Landing page names ground-source heat pumps among funded technologies. Residents: up to $20,000 for “all other projects,” up to $30,000 for biomass. 50% of eligible costs, or 75% for community and Indigenous governments.

  4. AEA guidelines PDF, April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027

    The eligible-project bullets extracted for this guide list solar, wind, solar thermal, micro-hydro, wood boilers and furnaces, and electric heating in parts of the South Slave. They do not name air-source heat pumps. Confirm the PDF you are applying under.

  5. NRCan OHPA income table

    NWT is a direct-delivery territory for OHPA. After-tax thresholds by household size. Applications closed July 31, 2026.