Ottawa Retrofit Accelerator
Ottawa Retrofit Accelerator
Unlock free expert guidance, comprehensive support services, and exclusive funding opportunities to enable your building’s energy transformation through deep retrofits.
Ready to get started?
Apply nowLooking for a carbon pathway study? Click here to learn more.
Buildings are the largest source of emissions in Ottawa
Helping more buildings implement deep retrofits will significantly reduce building emissions, while enabling a wide range of other benefits including improved occupant comfort, as well as lower life cycle and operating costs. At Hydro Ottawa, we understand the need to reduce carbon emissions in a way that makes sense for your business or organization.
That’s why we’re proud to have been selected by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) to deliver the Ottawa Retrofit Accelerator, a $10 million program running until 2027. The program provides an ecosystem of support services to help streamline the deep retrofit process, improve building efficiencies, and cut emissions. The best part? You can access our support services at no cost.
Unlock deep retrofits to enable your building's carbon reduction transformation with:
Support services are available at any stage
Wherever you are on your carbon reduction journey, our experts are here to help.
Retrofit stages
Consultation and decision-making
Gain the insights and information to help inform your decisions and direction.
Energy benchmarking
Streamline your energy data gathering and evaluation process for an improvement baseline.
Carbon pathway studies
Access our industry consultants and potential funding for carbon pathway studies to analyze your building's carbon footprint, identify emission reduction strategies and funding sources to make it happen.
Capital planning review
Review existing capital plans, equipment replacement schedules, and more to create a replacement strategy that leverages scheduled or planned work and asset life cycle.
Goal setting and planning
Work with us to set strategic goals and develop a business case for stakeholder buy-in.
Identify programs and funding
Leverage our expertise to identify suitable funding, incentives, grants, and financing options for your retrofit.
Project execution
Connect with our network of trusted professionals to bring your vision to life, - or let us assist you in collaborating with your preferred project partners.
Monitoring and verification
We’ll help you track your progress and identify any deviations or areas of improvement for adjustments and optimization.
Documentation and certification
Count on us to support your project teams to document your achievements - whether for internal reporting, to tell your story, or to pursue certifications to showcase your commitment to sustainability.
Continuous improvement
Use our ongoing performance review and optimization support to identify new opportunities for continuous improvement. Our capacity-building initiatives offer access to tools, best practices, and networks tailored to your needs, ensuring you have the knowledge, support, and resources necessary for long-term success.
Tap into funding for carbon pathway studies
You could be eligible for exclusive funding covering up to 75 per cent of your costs, or even 90 per cent for affordable housing,
up to a maximum of $50,000.
The following leading energy consulting firms have been selected to ensure expert delivery of your carbon pathway analysis.
Contact any of these approved delivery consultants directly
to initiate your carbon pathway study or reach out to us at [email protected].
View the standard scope of work for all pathway studies supported by the Ottawa Retrofit Accelerator.
Learn more about carbon pathway study funding, including eligibility criteria.
Are you eligible?
Our energy experts are dedicated to helping Ottawa building owners and managers. Eligibility criteria includes:
Building location:
- The building must be located within the Hydro Ottawa service territory.
Building type:
- Existing commercial, institutional, and multi-unit residential (mid-rise and high-rise) buildings.
- Industrial buildings are not eligible for this program. Learn more about other programs for businesses.
- Single, semi-detached, townhomes, or any low-rise residential dwellings are not eligible for this program. Learn more about programs for homes.
Building ownership:
- Legal entities incorporated or registered in Canada, including for-profit and not-for-profit organizations.
- Federally owned buildings, including its departments and crown corporations are not eligible for this program, unless they are being leased and are owned by a private building owner.
Join the Ottawa Retrofit Accelerator and fast track your carbon transformation today.
Apply nowIf you need more information or have questions, our program experts are here to help.
Frequently Asked Questions
Support services
Through the Ottawa Retrofit Accelerator, Hydro Ottawa and our partners provide a range of FREE support services including training and capacity building, technical assistance, continuous improvement and evaluation, and an enduring support relationship.
Through our program partners and consultants, you may be able to access free technical training and funding for a portion of custom carbon pathway studies for eligible commercial, institutional, and mid-rise and high-rise multi-unit residential buildings in Hydro Ottawa’s service area. Additional financial support is available for non-market rental affordable housing and social housing.
Contact us to get started today [email protected].
Existing commercial, institutional, and mid to high-rise multi-unit residential buildings located within the Hydro Ottawa service territory.
Mid- and high-rise multi-unit residential buildings must contain two or more units sharing a common building entrance and interior hallways and have either four or more storeys above ground or have a horizontal footprint greater than 600 m2 measured within the exterior walls and firewalls.
- Buildings located outside of the Hydro Ottawa service territory
- Buildings classified as industrial
- Single, semi-detached, townhome or any low-rise residential dwellings
- Federally owned buildings, including its departments and crown corporations, unless they are being leased by these entities and are owned by a private building owner
Eligibility will be assessed based on the >50 per cent usage of floor space within the building.
- Example 1: if your building is 30 per cent retail (commercial) and 70 per cent multi-unit residential, that building would be eligible.
- Example 2: if your building is 51 per cent office (commercial) and 49 per cent industrial, that building would be eligible.
Contact us for assistance in determining eligibility at [email protected] or by phone at 613-738-5474.
Each application is limited to a single property. If you have multiple properties under consideration, please indicate so when filling out your application and a program representative will be in touch with you to discuss the additional sites.
No. While the program does not provide direct incentives or funding for retrofits, our team of specialists can assist you in identifying and leveraging available incentives and funding sources to support your retrofit projects.
Our team of specialists would be pleased to provide you with more information. You can reach a member of our team by email at [email protected] or by phone at 613-738-5474.
You can get started by completing our online intake form here.
Carbon pathway studies
- Your building must meet the requirements for support services (existing commercial, institutional, and mid to high-rise multi-unit residential buildings located within the Hydro Ottawa service territory)
- Your building must also be at least 20,000 sq. ft.
- Buildings located outside of the Hydro Ottawa service territory
- Buildings with a gross floor area of less than 20,000 sq. ft.
- Buildings classified as industrial
- Single, semi-detached, townhome or any low-rise residential dwellings
- Federally owned buildings, including its departments and crown corporations, unless they are being leased by these entities and are owned by a private building owner
Eligible carbon pathway studies under this program must be conducted by one of our exclusive delivery consultants: Envari, J.L. Richards, Modern Niagara, Purpose Building, WSP.
The program does not specify or prefer any vendors for project implementation or other work that is outside the program’s carbon pathway study scope.We have adopted a standard scope of work to ensure uniform base requirements for all carbon pathway studies supported by the Ottawa Retrofit Accelerator.
Yes, tenants or building manager applicants can apply as long as they provide written authorization from the building owner as part of their application. Tenants and building managers can access support services.
No, private residences, even if a business is registered at the location, are not eligible.
Federally owned buildings, including its departments and crown corporations are not eligible unless they are being leased by these entities and are owned by a private building owner.
What if I have multiple properties? Can I submit them all to the program for carbon pathway studies?
Funding for carbon pathway studies may not be available for all buildings in a customer portfolio. To ensure equitable access to a wide range of customers, we may limit the number of studies any given customer is eligible for.
The program offers funding to cover a substantial portion of carbon pathway study costs for eligible buildings. Standard coverage is 75 per cent of the total study cost, up to a maximum of $50,000. However, affordable housing providers are eligible for enhanced coverage of up to 90 per cent of the study cost, up to a maximum of $50,000. Only items identified in the standard scope of work are eligible, and a carbon pathway study must address all items in the standard scope of work to qualify for funding.
Funding will be automatically applied to the cost of service for the carbon pathway study through one of our exclusive delivery consultants.
To initiate a carbon pathway study application, please contact us at [email protected] or by phone at 613-738-5474. Alternatively, you may contact our delivery consultants: Envari, J.L. Richards, Modern Niagara, Purpose Building, or WSP to submit an application on your behalf.