Stationary Combustion/
Residential

While Canada's population has been rising, emissions from this sector has been declining, due primarily to improvements in space-heating efficiency. The data for this sector are from Natural Resources Canada's National Energy Use Database, which also hosts a great mini-site overview of drivers and solutions for this sector circa 2020.

How might Canada reduce residential stationary combustion emissions?

Critical Success Factors

To reduce residential stationary combustion emissions, it seems required to do some combination of the following:

• Reduce the number of residences relying on combustion for space and water heating
• Increase the energy efficiency of these combustion-heated spaces and hot water systems.
• Capture ${\mathrm{C}\mathrm{O}}_2$ emissions from residential combustion (impractical, as far as I know).
• Replace fossil fuels with renewable replacements.
• Change thermostat settings to heat rooms more selectively, or to reduced temperatures overall.
• Reduce the average size of residences.
• Use electric heat for cooking.

Barriers

It is challenging to make progress on the critical success factors above for several reasons:

• Upfront Cost, Long ROI: upgrading a building to be more energy-efficient or to use a different heating technology can save money over time, but upgrades require cash up front. The payback period for home upgrades is typically many years.
• Confusion re: Heat Pumps: Heat pumps are a new technology compared to e.g. oil furnaces. Natural Resources Canada has developed a mini-site about heat pump technologies, explaining e.g. the basics, and addressing myths.
• Distributed Decision-Making: residential heating technology is controlled by the buying decisions of the general Canadian public. Convincing homeowners to take action takes time. (This barrier has a positive flip-side, that there can be early adoption as soon as any homeowners are ready to try new technology.)
• Infrequent Upgrade Opportunities: upgrades to owner-managed residences are more-frequently motivated by the failure of a home element, as compared with professionally managed buildings. After failure, there may be time pressure, cashflow pressure, and fewer options than for a planned upgrade. A rushed replacement of an oil-burning furnace may regretably lock in decades of future emissions, which could have been avoided by a planned heat pump upgrade. (Statistics Canada's 2025/2026 Households and the Environment Survey (HES) specifically added questions to track "Planned" vs "Emergency" replacements to better understand this behavior.)
• Desire for Warmth: people like to be warm and cozy in winter, it's unpleasant to be cold in one's own home.
• Desire for Space: People want more private space; Canada's average residential floor space per person has been rising for decades, it appears to have reached 150 square metres (link).
• Personal Preference: some people just like "cooking with gas".

Possible Strategies

Posts developing this page

• Residential Stationary Combustion Sources: Emissions Calculations (Mar 26, 2026)