Growing calls to extend B.C.'s heat-pump rebates to condos to keep vulnerable residents cool

Two years after a deadly heat dome killed more than 600 people in British Columbia, efficient cooling devices remain out of reach for many condo residents — the same people authorities say are the most at risk of dying during extreme heat.

Residents and advocates are now raising concerns about what they say is inequity in the province's response to extreme heat, warning it leaves the most vulnerable at even greater risk.

B.C. has strongly promoted heat pumps to reduce people's reliance on fossil fuels. Owners of single-family detached homes are eligible for up to $11,000 in provincial, municipal and federal rebates if they install one.

Heat pumps use electricity to pull heat from the air, allowing them both keep homes warm in the winter and cool in the summer. The devices, which also filter air, use much less energy than gas furnaces, electric baseboard heating or portable air conditioners.

But they can cost up to $14,000, depending on the size and age of the home, not including the costs of installation and electricity.

Some municipalities, including Vancouver, now have requirements that any new building should have heat pumps; and they should also be installed in houses where gas furnaces or electric baseboard heating are being replaced. 

But condo owners aren't eligible for the same rebates, leaving many apartments without such a cooling system — even as climate change is predicted to make extreme heat events more frequent and intense.

"Air conditioning is not a luxury item anymore," said Chris Ramsay, who has been trying unsuccessfully to get a heat pump installed in his Richmond condo for nearly a year. "Because it's getting so hot in B.C., it's a necessity,"

'Prohibitively expensive'

Ramsay, who moved into a three-bedroom condo last July with his partner Sarah, said he had no idea how unbearably hot it could become inside.

His research into a cooling solution pointed him toward a heat pump. He convinced his strata council to allow him to install one.

But Ramsay learned that the combined cost of the pump unit, its installation and electrical work would cost as much as $27,000 — and because he lives in a condo, he would not be eligible for any rebates.

"It's disappointing," Ramsay said. "You get told about this solution ... then you realize it's so prohibitively expensive."

The couple bought a second portable air conditioning unit instead, but Ramsay says it's a wasteful, "Band-Aid" solution.

Soaring demand for rebates

Apartments and condos aren't eligible for rebates because they use about two-thirds less energy than single-family homes, according to B.C. Hydro, which administers the rebate program.

"The purpose of the rebate is to help those customers interested in fuel-switching from gas to electricity, or with high electricity consumption," a spokesperson told CBC News.

There are about 200,000 heat pumps installed across B.C., according to B.C. Hydro, about 10 per cent of them in private residences.

So far this year, more than 10,000 people have applied for the rebates — over 40 per cent more than applied all of last year, and over triple the applicants in 2021.

CBC News asked the B.C. energy ministry why condos are among the only dwellings excluded from the rebates, how eligibility is decided, and whether there are plans to make heat pumps more available.

A ministry spokesperson said Sunday that heat pumps "are one of a number of cooling options to keep homes cool," and that British Columbians' safety "will always be a priority" for the government.

'Just as necessary as having heat'

The demand for heat pumps in B.C. has "exploded" since the heat dome, according to two companies that install them.

"I equate it now to something that is just as necessary as having heat," said Rory Stubbs, general manager at Moore and Russell Heating and Air Conditioning in Port Coquitlam, B.C. "And it's not just about comfort, it's about health for some people."

Chris Milani, with Burnaby, B.C.-based Milani Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning, said he's seen several prospective clients move after realizing they would not be able to install a heat pump to keep their home safe, either because of the cost or difficulties getting permission.

"They've said, 'You know what, I can't live here anymore, I'm not comfortable, my kids can't be here, my pets can't be here.' And they just sell the place, which is unfortunate," Milani said.

Strata councils can have rules about noise, common property, exterior changes and electrical grids that make installing even one heat pump challenging, Milani and Stubbs said.

They both say they want to see rebates apply to condos, as well as legislation mandating that stratas allow for heat pumps to be installed, like recent requirements for electric vehicle chargers.

Air conditioning a medical necessity

There have been repeated calls for the province to provide air conditioners or heat pumps to help save lives during future extreme heat events, and consider them as medical devices.

That was also the recommendation of the B.C. Coroners Service in its death review panel report, which the health ministry said it's been considering since last year.

"Current building codes in B.C. do not consider cooling in the same manner as they consider heat," Dr. Jatinder Baidwan, chief medical officer at the B.C. Coroners Service, said last June.

At least two-thirds of people who died during the 2021 heat dome did not have air conditioning, and the vast majority were elderly or disabled, the report found.

That's led to groups like Heat Dome Action B.C. demanding government action, including funding and distributing portable air conditioners to low-income people, revising the Residential Tenancy Act to set maximum indoor temperatures at 23 C, and ensuring 24-hour cooling centres are available and accessible in all neighbourhoods. 

"It's eminently possible to prevent more deaths in the future if the government takes action," Jennifer Efting with Heat Dome Action B.C. at a demonstration outside the Vancouver Art Gallery on Sunday, which marked the day the heat dome began to build across the province two years ago.

In an emailed statement, a health ministry spokesperson said it would release its review of the coroner's recommendations later this week, adding that air conditioners are already installed or can be deployed in hospitals and long-term care and assisted living facilities. 

But for condo residents like Ramsay, not knowing when or if a permanent cooling solution will be available is worrying.

"It's just going to be unlivable here," he said.