“Free” Attic Insulation in Ontario

The short answer

Attic insulation in Ontario is not free, and any advertisement that says it is without qualification is being loose with the word. What is true is that the rebate can cover a large proportion of a small job, and on a very small attic in the top tier it can approach the whole invoice.

Why it cannot be free, as a matter of arithmetic

The attic stream pays a maximum of $1,250, and no more than 50% of the invoice after tax. That cap is the reason. If the job costs $1,000, the rebate is $500, not $1,000. The programme is designed so the homeowner always carries at least half.

When a job genuinely comes close to nothing

Where the attic is small, the access is easy, nothing has to be removed, and the existing depth puts you in the top tier, a $2,400 invoice returns $1,200 and you pay $1,200. That is half, not free — and it is the best case, not the typical one.

What the phrase usually means in an advertisement

• Free inspection — which is genuinely free, here and at most companies.
• Free quote — likewise.
• A rebate being described as though it eliminated the invoice.
• Occasionally, a price inflated so the rebate looks like it covers more of it. If a quote is well above others and the pitch leans on "free", ask for the invoice figure before the rebate.

What we will do instead

Put the invoice, the tier and the cap arithmetic on one page of your quote, so you can see what you are actually paying before you sign anything.

Amounts are set by Enbridge Gas and Save on Energy and are quoted from the programme pages — attic stream, assessment stream — checked September 2026.

Common questions