Ontario Pays $100 a Window — and Only If You Do Something Else Too
The rebate everyone quotes sits on a path most people never step onto.
In short
Window replacement in Ontario runs about $800–1,500 per window supplied and installed, and $12,000–25,000 for a typical whole house.
The Home Renovation Savings Program pays $100 back per rough opening for ENERGY STAR certified windows and doors. But that rebate lives on the bundled path: a home energy assessment, then two or more upgrades. Replace only your windows and you get nothing.
Two details decide whether this is worth chasing. The assessment itself pays $600 back. And the rebate counts rough openings, not panes — a three-section picture window is one opening and earns $100, not $300.
What windows cost in the GTA
Market quotes, autumn 2026 — prices published by businesses that sell the work, not an independent survey.
| Type | Typical supplied and installed | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Standard double-hung or casement | $800–1,500 each | The bulk of a typical house |
| Large picture window | $1,500–2,500 | Glass weight drives labour |
| Bay or bow window | $2,000–4,000+ | Often structural, often permitted |
| Basement slider or hopper | $500–900 | Egress requirements may apply in a bedroom |
| Patio or garden door | $2,000–4,500 | Counts as a rough opening for the rebate |
| Whole house, 10–15 windows | $12,000–25,000 | Where the bundle maths starts to matter |
How the rebate actually works
The Home Renovation Savings Program is delivered by Save on Energy and Enbridge Gas with Ontario government support, and it has two distinct routes.
| Path | What it requires | What windows earn |
|---|---|---|
| Bundled | Home energy assessment, then two or more upgrades | $100 per rough opening, ENERGY STAR certified |
| Single upgrade | No assessment, one upgrade | Windows are not on this list |
| Home energy assessment | Booked first | $600 back on its own |
| Insulation, bundled | Part of the two-or-more | Up to $7,700 |
| Air sealing, bundled | Part of the two-or-more | Up to $250 |
| Heat pump water heater, bundled | Part of the two-or-more | $500, ENERGY STAR certified |
So the sequence that pays: book the assessment, do the windows, and add one more eligible upgrade you were going to do anyway. On a twelve-opening house that is $1,200 in window rebate plus $600 for the assessment, before whatever the second upgrade earns — and attic insulation is the obvious partner.
Count the openings before you budget
A rough opening is the framed hole in the wall, not the glass in it. One wide window divided into three sections by mullions is normally one opening. A wall of three separately framed windows is three.
This is where expectations break. A homeowner counts twenty panes, expects $2,000, and receives $900 because the house has nine openings. Walk the house and count frames, not panes, before you decide whether the bundle is worth the extra work.
When you do not need new windows
Three failures get misdiagnosed as “time for new windows”:
Red flags
What to do next
Count your rough openings, then decide in this order: book the home energy assessment, pick a second upgrade you were going to do anyway, and only then take window quotes. Doing it the other way round is how the rebate gets missed.
Compare renovation companies and home services on Ontario24 and contact them directly. Ontario24 is a classified directory — we help you find and compare, and we do not vet anyone. Also useful: what rebates you can still claim and attic insulation costs.
Before you call anyone, it helps to know what this job should cost and what the next one will. What things cost in Ontario in 2026 puts 75 service prices in one table.
Frequently asked questions
Market quotes generally run $800 to $1,500 per window supplied and installed for a standard double-hung or casement, and $1,500 to $3,000 for large picture windows, bays or anything requiring structural work. A whole-house replacement of 10 to 15 windows commonly lands between $12,000 and $25,000.
Yes, but it is conditional. The Home Renovation Savings Program pays $100 back per rough opening for ENERGY STAR certified windows and doors — and that rebate sits on the bundled path, which requires a home energy assessment plus two or more upgrades. Replacing only windows, with no assessment and no second upgrade, earns nothing.
Book the home energy assessment first, which itself pays $600 back. Then complete windows plus at least one other eligible upgrade — insulation, air sealing, a heat pump water heater. The assessment plus the bundle is what unlocks the per-opening rebate.
The framed hole in the wall, not the number of panes of glass. A large window divided into three sections is usually one rough opening, so it earns $100, not $300. This is the detail that turns an expected rebate into a disappointing one — count openings before you budget.
Fogging between the panes means a failed seal, and on many windows the sealed unit alone can be replaced for a fraction of a full window. Rot in the frame, a sash that will not lock, or drafts you can feel at the frame edge point to replacement. Get a quote for both before assuming.
Autumn and winter, for an unromantic reason: installers are less busy than in spring, and quotes reflect it. Installation in cold weather is routine — a competent crew works one opening at a time and the house does not sit open.
Usually not for a like-for-like replacement, but yes if the opening is being enlarged or a new opening cut, because that is structural. Bedroom windows also have egress requirements. Ask the installer who is pulling the permit and confirm with your municipality rather than taking a verbal answer.
Sources and how current this is
Checked 18 September 2026. The $100 per rough opening windows and doors rebate, the ENERGY STAR certification requirement, the $600 home energy assessment, the bundled structure requiring an assessment plus two or more upgrades, and the insulation and air sealing amounts come from Save on Energy’s Home Renovation Savings Program, delivered with Enbridge Gas and supported by the Government of Ontario. Programme terms and amounts change — confirm at source before you commit to a sequence of work, and check the programme’s own full details page for conditions this summary does not cover. Prices are market quotes published by GTA businesses that sell the work, not an independent survey. Permit requirements are municipal. Ontario24 is a classified directory and does not install windows, administer rebates or vet the businesses listed.