Estimate the heat pump capacity for a Québec home

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For Québec homeowners: this site explains, in plain terms, how a heat pump is sized and which rebates exist in 2026–2027. It sells nothing: no quote form, no ads, no affiliate links. The tool below gives an order of magnitude, not a purchase recommendation.

Quick estimator

HDD = heating degree-days below 18 °C, Environment and Climate Change Canada 1981–2010 normals. Abitibi and Nord-du-Québec: no current normals found, pick the most similar locality.
Simple physics adjustment: capacity is multiplied by height ÷ 8 (air volume is proportional).
12,000 BTU/h per 750 sq ft≈ 16 BTU/h per sq ftHydro-Québec cooling rule (source)
15,000 BTU/h per 750 sq ft= 20 BTU/h per sq ftHydro-Québec buying guideline (source)
Important: this is an estimate. Actual capacity must be confirmed by a load calculation (CSA F280 method) by a contractor licensed by the Régie du bâtiment du Québec (RBQ).
Beware of fraud: Hydro-Québec says it does no telephone or door-to-door solicitation for LogisVert (source). If you receive a suspicious solicitation, Hydro-Québec suggests filing a complaint with theOffice de la protection du consommateur (source).

Calculation method

  1. Base: area × 16 to 20 BTU/h per sq ft, based on the two Hydro-Québec guidelines above.
  2. Climate: factor = 1 + 0.5 × (locality HDD ÷ Montréal HDD − 1). Degree-days come from ECCC 1981–2010 climate normals (open data). The 0.5 weighting is a site-estimated factor : degree-days measure annual energy, not peak capacity, so we apply only half the difference. Example: Sept-Îles (6,196 HDD) gives 1.21; Montréal gives 1.00.
  3. Height: × height ÷ 8 ft (simple physics: volume is proportional to height; 8 ft by default).
  4. Insulation: good 0.90 · average 1.00 · poor 1.15. Site-estimated factor, deliberately modest: we found no official coefficient; NRCan and Québec.ca guides only say that insulation and airtightness reduce needs.
  5. Installed cost: wall unit $3,000 to $6,500, multi-zone $6,000 to $15,000 (BranchéQC, private source). Central: no range shown, for lack of a reliable public source; cost depends mostly on the condition and adaptation of existing ductwork. Protégez-Vous observed a $9,841 gap between quotes for the same house in Outaouais (source): get at least 3 quotes.
  6. Rebate: LogisVert pays $50 (ENERGY STAR) or $120 (cold climate) per 1,000 BTU/h à −8 °C, up to $6,700 (Hydro-Québec). Capacity at −8 °C is lower than nominal capacity. Conservative estimate: low end of the range × 70% for a cold-climate model: ENERGY STAR cold-climate certification requires at least 70% of nominal capacity at −15 °C (ENERGY STAR); applying this floor at −8 °C, which is milder, is a conservative site-estimated assumption. For a standard ENERGY STAR model: × 45%, site-estimated based on the minimum at −15 °C in ENERGY STAR’s “Most Efficient” criteria (source), which does not apply to all models. Check your model’s real −8 °C capacity in Hydro-Québec’s list of efficient heat pumps.
  7. Multi-zone: suggested split into common head sizes (6,000, 9,000, 12,000, 18,000 BTU/h) that add up to the range. Site-estimated split : the real split depends on the rooms and must be confirmed by the installer.

See also: the cost and payback analysis · heat pump rebates in 2026–2027.