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Heat pump installation in New Westminster

New Westminster is unusual in Metro Vancouver because the City owns and runs its own electric utility, so your service upgrade and load approval go through the City instead of BC Hydro. Add a dense mix of heritage houses, rental buildings and strata towers, plus a new rental cooling rule, and a heat pump here needs more planning than a template quote.

Free New Westminster heat pump quote

$4,000BC rebate for electrically heated homes
  • Free in-home quote with a written, itemized price
  • Rebate-eligible equipment and the heat load calculation the programs require
  • Electrical and gas permits pulled for every install
(604) 332-3083

Neighbourhoods we serve in New Westminster

  • Queen's Park
  • Sapperton
  • Brow of the Hill
  • Uptown
  • Downtown
  • West End
  • Glenbrook North
  • Connaught Heights
  • Queensborough
  • Victoria Hill
  • Moody Park
  • Massey Victoria
Map of the 14 Metro Vancouver communities we serveSurreyVancouverRichmondCoquitlamBurnabyNew WestminsterNorth VancouverWest VancouverPort CoquitlamPort MoodyLangleyDeltaMaple RidgeWhite Rock

New Westminster homes and the systems that suit them

Heritage and character houses in Queen's Park, Brow of the Hill and the West End are often older, with plaster walls, original radiators and limited duct space. A ductless multi-split or a hydronic-friendly system avoids opening up walls, and a heat load calculation keeps the equipment right-sized.

1950s to 1970s houses with suites around Sapperton, Glenbrook North and Connaught Heights usually have a gas furnace and a rented basement. A ducted heat pump can reuse the ducts upstairs, with a ductless head for the suite so tenants control their own heat and cooling.

Strata towers and rentals in Downtown, Uptown and Victoria Hill suit ductless systems. See our condo and townhouse guide. New Westminster's cooling rule for rentals makes one system that both heats and cools especially useful for landlords.

Get a New Westminster heat pump quote

We'll check your service size with the City's utility, your strata rules and the noise limits, then send an itemized price.

Get my free quoteor call (604) 332-3083

Planning around the City's electric utility

Because New Westminster runs its own utility, an extra heat pump load is not a simple add-on. We check your panel size, whether the service needs an upgrade and what the City's fee schedule says before we quote, so the electrical side does not hold up your install.

Quiet placement on a narrow lot

With a 45 dB night limit and a general ban on noise that disturbs neighbours, placement matters more than the model. We keep the unit off the lot line, away from neighbours' bedroom windows, on a solid pad with rubber feet and behind a fence where possible.

See how the BC and federal rebates work or what heat pumps cost in Metro Vancouver.

New Westminster permits and siting rules

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  • New Westminster's Electrical Utility Bylaw 6502 gives the City's General Manager, Electric Utility authority over service connections. A customer may not substantially increase connected load without City approval, and the electrical permit holder must confirm the location, voltage and phases of the service and meters with the utility before work starts.

    Source: City of New Westminster - Electrical Utility Bylaw No. 6502

  • Service alterations are priced in the bylaw's fee schedule. As of the 2021 consolidation, altering an overhead residential service with a main switch up to 200 A cost $860, and a new underground connection cost $957 for 100 A, $1,270 for 200 A and $2,225 for 300 or 400 A, so a heat pump that needs a bigger panel should be planned with the City early.

    Source: City of New Westminster - Electrical Utility Bylaw No. 6502

  • New Westminster is not on Technical Safety BC's list of local governments that issue their own electrical or gas permits, so electrical and gas permits for a heat pump install normally go through Technical Safety BC. Homeowners can apply, or the contractor applies for them.

    Source: Technical Safety BC - Jurisdiction and heat pump permits

  • Noise Bylaw No. 6520 limits continuous noise in residential quiet zones to 55 dB from 7:01 a.m. to 9:59 p.m. and 45 dB from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Noise that disturbs neighbours is also prohibited even below the numeric limit, owners are responsible for noise from their property, and fines can reach $2,000.

    Source: City of New Westminster - Noise Bylaw No. 6520, 1999

  • From June 2026 the City requires landlords to keep at least one living space in each rented unit at or below an average of 26°C between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. from April 1 to October 31. Owners may choose their cooling method, and fines run from $200 to $750 per ticket.

    Source: City of New Westminster - Cooling requirements for rental units

Utilities: The City of New Westminster's own Electrical Utility for electricity, and FortisBC for natural gas. Rebates come from the provincial and federal programs - see the BC rebate guide.

Map of our New Westminster service area

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Heat pump questions from New Westminster homeowners

The City runs its own electrical utility, so your electricity comes from the City instead of BC Hydro. Any substantial increase in connected load needs City approval, and service upgrades follow the City's utility bylaw and fee schedule. We contact the utility early so a panel or service upgrade does not delay your install.

An electrical permit for the heat pump and a gas permit if a gas furnace or boiler is altered or capped. New Westminster is not on Technical Safety BC's list of local governments that issue their own permits, so these normally go through Technical Safety BC, and the electrical permit holder confirms the service details with the City's utility. Your contractor handles both.

The City has funded top-ups through Better Homes BC, including a heat pump top-up and an electrical service upgrade top-up of up to $500, added to the CleanBC rebates when you switch from oil, gas or propane to an electric heat pump. Funding is limited, and customers of the City's own utility should confirm eligibility with a CleanBC Energy Coach before work starts.

In residential quiet zones the City's Noise Bylaw limits continuous noise to 55 dB by day and 45 dB from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Noise that disturbs neighbours is also banned below those numbers. Because many lots here are narrow, we place the unit away from neighbours' bedroom windows and use vibration pads.

Yes. New Westminster's rental cooling rule requires at least one living space to stay at or below an average of 26°C overnight from April to October, and owners may choose how. A ductless heat pump heats in winter and cools in summer, so it can meet the rule with one system.

Usually with written strata approval. Towers in Downtown, Victoria Hill and Quay often limit installs to ductless heads with a balcony unit, and the building's electrical capacity can decide how many units are allowed. We check the strata bylaws before we quote.

Guides for New Westminster homeowners

Also serving nearby areas

Each city has its own permit office and noise bylaw, so we plan every install around the rules where you live.

Book your free New Westminster quote

We'll visit, calculate your heat load and send a written, itemized price with the rebates you qualify for.

(604) 332-3083
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