Electrifying small businesses
Wrapping up · 2024–2026
This City of Toronto collaboration examined the practical and financial realities of replacing gas heating with heat pumps in small commercial buildings. The study followed one completed retrofit and one project that stopped at feasibility, combining technical and project records with quotations, correspondence and one owner interview.
Project overview
What happened at the sites
One planned heat-pump retrofit was completed. At a second site, projected costs and electrical and technical requirements made the retrofit difficult to justify, so it did not proceed. Comparing the two cases shows why technical feasibility alone does not determine whether a small business can electrify.
What the evidence can show
Project documentation for both sites, quotations, technical correspondence and one coded interview with the owner of the completed retrofit show how electrical capacity, system sizing, vendor scope, project timing and concern about long-term operating costs can shape a decision. The comparison identifies questions that can be screened earlier and process changes that could make future retrofits easier to pursue.