Ontario's solar incentive picture is genuinely a fork in the road, not a stack
You have to choose: the HRS rebate or net metering, not both
This is the single most important thing to understand about Ontario solar in 2026, and it's confirmed directly in the program's own rules: participants who receive a Home Renovation Savings incentive for solar photovoltaic or battery storage projects are not eligible to participate in a net-metering agreement with their local distribution company. The reasoning is structural, not arbitrary: HRS is designed around a load-displacement system, meaning one sized to offset your own consumption directly rather than export surplus to the grid, while net metering is built specifically around crediting exported power. Because of this, the two paths tend to favor different system designs, and different types of households. Net metering tends to work better for homes with a south-facing roof, modest consumption, and no battery, since it rewards daytime export at the full energy rate. The HRS path, especially paired with a battery and Ontario's Ultra-Low Overnight rate plan, tends to work better for evening-heavy households that can use battery-stored solar power during expensive on-peak hours rather than exporting it during the day.
The Home Renovation Savings program is now the leading upfront incentive
Delivered through Save on Energy and backed by the Ontario government, HRS pays $1,000 per kW of installed solar capacity, up to 50% of your total costs and capped at $5,000 for a 5 kW system, which is the practical ceiling for most residential installations. A separate component pays $300 per kWh of installed battery storage paired with that solar, also limited to 50% of total costs and capped at $5,000, bringing the combined maximum across both solar and battery to $10,000. The battery must be paired with a new solar system and sized to store energy produced by that system rather than to charge from the grid. You must own the home, which has to be a detached, semi-detached, row, townhome, or mobile home on a permanent foundation, and Cornwall Electric customers are excluded because that utility is connected to the Hydro-Québec grid. The program requires written pre-approval from both the HRS team and your local distribution company before you buy or install anything, and retroactive applications for systems already installed are not accepted, so timing your application correctly is essential. Several installer guides report funding running through late November 2026 on a first-come, first-served basis, but the official program page publishes no end date, so treat that as a reported figure rather than a guaranteed deadline, apply early, and confirm the program is still open before you commit to a contract.
Net metering credits exports 1:1, but only against certain charges, and the system size threshold just changed
Ontario net metering credits exported solar generation at a 1:1 rate matching your blended residential electricity rate, commonly cited around 12 to 16 cents per kWh depending on your specific local distribution company and rate plan. It's worth understanding exactly what this credit covers. Per the Ontario Energy Board's own net metering page, these credits can only offset charges related to the electricity you consume and can't be applied to other types of charges on your bill, so your effective savings per exported kilowatt-hour will be somewhat less than the full rate shown on your bill, and it's worth asking your utility exactly which line items your credits can offset. Credits roll over month to month and expire after 12 months, which rewards systems sized closer to your annual consumption pattern over one built purely for maximum production. On size, the OEB raised the micro-embedded generation maximum to 12 kW, effective May 1, 2026, and that threshold decides which connection process your system goes through rather than acting as a hard ceiling on net metering. The HRS rebate, by contrast, stops growing at 5 kW and 50% of cost, and because HRS systems can't export for credit, extra capacity beyond your own usage earns nothing there, while under net metering that extra production still earns bill credits, so a larger system tends to favor net metering if your roof space and consumption support it.
The federal Greener Homes programs are gone, so provincial and municipal programs matter more
The Canada Greener Homes Grant, which offered up to $5,600 including evaluation costs, closed to new applicants in February 2024, and December 31, 2025 was the last day for existing participants to submit their documents. The Canada Greener Homes Loan closed to new applications entirely on October 1, 2025. Both are unavailable to anyone starting a project in 2026, which is part of why the provincial HRS program now carries more relative weight than it used to. Beyond HRS and net metering, several municipalities offer their own low-interest or interest-free financing tied to your property tax bill, including Toronto's Home Energy Loan Program, Ottawa's Better Homes Loan Program, Guelph's Greener Homes financing, and London's BetterHomes program, each covering different maximum amounts and terms, so it's worth checking whether your specific municipality runs one of these alongside whichever provincial path you choose. If you do borrow, the combined loan and rebate timing tool can show how a loan and a rebate that arrives later interact on your monthly payment. Check the rebate deadline tracker to stay on top of application windows. Compare your overall picture against another province with the Quebec incentive estimator or the British Columbia incentive estimator.