In 2021, Gerald Parker and his family planned to build a passive home in Muskoka Lakes near Utterson, Ont. Parker designed the home to be as eco-friendly as possible and aimed to harness natural sources of energy to minimize combustion. Gas or oil heat sources in this modern dwelling? No way.
Parker planned to build a full-time residence made out of five sea-can shipping containers with flat roofs that could be fitted with solar panels. In 2022, he obtained permits and hired contractors. By 2023, the build was nearing completion.
“We got the papers, the permits, the authorizations,” Parker says. “Then the HVAC guy comes in and puts in five mini-split heat pumps in each bedroom of the house.”
But in late 2023—after walls were up, painted, and fixed with finishings—Parker says the Township of Muskoka Lakes’ building department determined that his five heat pumps were not considered a “primary source of heat.”
The department suggested he install electric baseboard heaters in each room to bring the place to code—a costly adjustment, given that drywall and trims were already installed throughout the home.
Parker estimates adding the baseboard heaters after the fact cost him upwards of $30,000 after labour and material. And, given that heat pumps are a key technology to help get Canadians off oil and gas usage, Parker was surprised the municipality was giving him such a hard time.
Heat pumps are an environmentally friendly temperature control option for the cottage that can both heat and cool a space. In recent years, there’s been a push towards heat pumps to reduce emissions at local, provincial, and national levels. In 2022, the federal government even rolled out grants for eligible Canadians to switch from oil to electric heat pumps as part of its $250 million Oil to Heat Pump Affordability grant.
So Parker, who worked in public policy for 40 years, decided to take action. On Mar. 21, he presented his experience trying to install heat pumps to the district’s Community and Planning Services Committee.
His presentation outlined the “totally unnecessary issues” he faced for his new build. Parker’s first inkling that heating requirements could be difficult came from speaking to installers during the planning phase.
“I was told from the get-go that I should just put in a gas furnace ducted system and go through the permit process. And then after getting occupancy, we could get an energy audit and tear out that system to get thousands of dollars in rebates from the feds and the provinces for doing so,” he says.
“That’s just ridiculous, right? But if you do that, it’s a retrofit, not a new build. So there’s no permit and the municipality doesn’t get to stick its nose in. But that didn’t sit right with me,” Parker says. “I wanted to do this right out the gate.” So he forged ahead with a radiant floor heating system and five heat pumps, which are certified for cold weather.
But Parker says issues like these will discourage well-intentioned homeowners from installing heat pumps. He says putting in antiquated heating systems just to tear them out in order to be eligible for a rebate is nonsensical.
He wrote a letter to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing about the situation. A representative said that heat pumps are allowed for home heating under the Ontario Building Code, but it’s up to individual building departments to accept submitted designs.
“Depending on the design and other energy-efficiency measures in a new house, the Building Code allows heat pumps to be used for heating the house,” Mansoor Mahmood, the director of the building and development branch of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing wrote in a letter to Parker. “It is up to your municipality’s Chief Building Official as to whether they accept the design as submitted with the building permit application.”
Parker asked for a staff report to be brought to committee and council to determine best practices for heat pump installation, and for the district to petition the province to ensure cold weather heat pumps are specifically identified as Type 1 Primary Heat Sources under the Ontario Building Code.
“The Building Division is looking into this matter and continues to strive towards compliance with appropriate regulations to ensure suitable heat sources are provided for all residences,” Kalleen Turchet, the communications advisor for the Township of Muskoka Lakes, said in an email.
Parker feels the response from both levels of government has been insufficient to date. “The province put it back on the municipality, and the municipality put it back on the province,” Parker says.
“We’ve been left in the middle with tens of thousands of dollars of cost delays. And I don’t want that to happen to anyone else.”
Build it, fix it, get it done!
Get Dockside DIY, for tips on how to maintain your cottage…and then some
Sign up hereRelated Story Will a heat pump solve your cold cottage woes?
Related Story B.C. to require new builds have at least one temperature-controlled room
Related Story Federal government offers grant to upgrade from oil to electric heat pumps