Heating in Calgary: furnaces, the few boilers, gas permits and contractors

Quick answer: most Calgary homes are heated by a gas forced-air furnace (74% in Statistics Canada’s 2023 survey); 8% use a boiler with radiators. Every gas installation in Calgary needs a permit, and a homeowner can only take out a gas permit if they are an Alberta certified journeyman gasfitter. A Calgary contractor puts a new boiler at $8,000–$20,000. The City’s Clean Energy Improvement Program is closed until winter 2026/2027.

Calgary is furnace country. Boilers turn up in some older inner-city houses, in custom homes with in-floor heating, and in apartment buildings. This guide says honestly what Calgary homes use, then covers the permit rules for gas work, who may do it, the heat standards for rented homes, and what help with costs is available in 2026.

What Calgary homes actually use

Main heating system (2023)	Calgary	Alberta	Canada
Forced-air furnace	74%	78%	46%
Boiler with hot water or steam radiators	8%	7%	7%
Electric baseboard heaters	Too unreliable to publish	3%*	23%

*Use with caution (Statistics Canada). Natural gas is the main heating energy for 73% of Calgary households, and 58% of Calgary boiler households use gas. If you are weighing a boiler against a furnace, see boiler or furnace; for in-floor heating, underfloor heating and boilers.

Calgary gas permits: who can pull them

Gas work in Alberta is regulated under the provincial Safety Codes Act, and in Calgary the City issues the permits and sends safety codes officers to inspect. The City’s plumbing and gas permits page says:

Rule	What the City says
Which jobs need a permit	All plumbing and gas installations, including renovation work
Homeowner gas permits	Only if the homeowner is an Alberta certified journeyman gasfitter, working on a single-family home they live in or will live in, applying in person with proof of qualifications
Other homeowner permits	Homeowners may apply for all other permit types
Furnace replacement	A furnace replacement permit is required for HVAC contractors replacing a residential furnace
Fees	Set by the Safety Codes Permit Fee Bylaw and increased every 1 January; the City has an online trade permit fee estimator

So for a boiler replacement, the gas side must be done under a permit by a qualified gasfitter. A permit and inspection protect you when you sell and if something goes wrong. Ask the contractor to include the permit in the quote and to give you the permit number.

Heat standards for rented homes

Alberta’s Minimum Housing and Health Standards, enforced by Alberta Health Services, require the heating system in a rented home to be able to heat all living spaces to 22°C, and to keep at least 16°C in very cold weather (as summarised by the Centre for Public Legal Education Alberta). Tenants can call Health Link on 811 to reach an inspector.

Help with costs in 2026

The City’s Residential Clean Energy Improvement Program (CEIP), which finances energy upgrades through your property tax bill, is closed to applications until winter 2026/2027. When open, it finances up to 100% of eligible costs up to $50,000, and the City estimated the 2026 fixed rate at 6.00%–6.10%. We did not find a current City of Calgary or Alberta-wide rebate for a new boiler or furnace.

Federal money: what has closed

Two federal schemes that older articles still mention are no longer available to new applicants. The Canada Greener Homes Grant closed earlier, and CMHC says the Canada Greener Homes Loan portal has been closed to new applications since 2 October 2025. The replacement, the Canada Greener Homes Affordability Program, offers no-cost retrofits such as insulation and heat pumps to low-to-median-income homeowners and tenants, but only through participating provinces. Alberta is not currently listed as a participating province.

Typical boiler prices in Calgary

Comfort Union, a Calgary heating contractor, says installing a new boiler in Calgary typically runs $8,000–$20,000, with an average home at about $8,500–$12,000 including unit, labour, permits and basic set-up. That is a seller’s own figure rather than an independent survey. For national comparisons, HomeStars puts a natural gas furnace at $4,000–$6,750 and an air-source heat pump at $6,000–$12,000, and it notes that in colder regions a heat pump may need backup heating costing $1,500–$4,000. All figures were checked in September 2026; see our Canada boiler costs guide.

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We are a comparison and referral service, not a heating engineer. We do not guarantee a quote, a price or a response time. Anyone working on gas appliances in the UK must be on the Gas Safe Register; check the engineer's ID card before work starts.

How to choose a heating contractor in Calgary

Ask who holds the gas permit and for the gasfitter’s Alberta certificate.
Ask for a heat loss calculation, not a size copied from the old boiler. See what size boiler do you need.
In-floor heating needs a firm that designs hydronic systems, not just one that swaps furnaces.
Book the inspection. Make sure the permit is closed after the safety codes officer’s visit.

Our guide to comparing boiler quotes like for like has a checklist.

Boiler and heating firms in Calgary

These businesses appear in public business listings for Calgary, and each has its own website describing boiler, hydronic or heating work. We have not checked their work, prices, licences or insurance, and they have not paid to appear. Ask for the gasfitter’s certificate and the permit number yourself.