Heating

Reference programme for cantonal subsidies linked to energy renovation of buildings in Switzerland.

CHF 1,000 - 30,000

Your energy renovation costs are deductible from federal direct tax and cantonal taxes. Spread over up to 3 tax periods.

IWB (Basel utility) support programme for solar and district heating connections.

CHF 500 - 3,000

EWZ (Zürich city utility) support for photovoltaic and heat pumps.

CHF 500 - 4,000

Romande Énergie utility subsidies for solar installations and heat pumps in the canton of Vaud.

CHF 500 - 3,000

Geneva utility (SIG) programme: bonuses for heat pumps, solar thermal and renewable installations. Solar premium boosted to 25% of the federal amount from 2026.

CHF 1,000 - 5,000

Zürich subsidy programme for heating replacement and building envelope improvement.

CHF 3,000 - 40,000

Comprehensive Bern programme covering insulation, heating and global renovation with some of Switzerland's highest amounts.

CHF 5,000 - 80,000

Vaud aid for replacing fossil heaters with renewable systems, linked to GEAK. 2026 envelope: CHF 74 million.

CHF 3,000 - 12,000

Geneva cantonal programme for energy renovation with bonus for rental buildings. 2026 envelope: CHF 80 million.

CHF 5,000 - 50,000

Cantonal aid for installing a log or pellet boiler replacing fossil heating.

CHF 3,000 - 10,000

Support for connecting to a district heating network powered by renewable energy.

CHF 3,000 - 8,000

Cantonal aid for installing a heat pump replacing a fossil or electric heater.

CHF 4,000 - 15,000

Time-limited (10 years) federal booster: top-up for replacing an electric or fossil heater with a renewable solution. Up to CHF 9,000 per project.

CHF 2,000 - 9,000

Municipal and energy provider subsidies for local renewable energy installations

CHF 500 - 5,000

Heat pump or another heating system: how do you choose?

A heating choice should start with the building, the emitters, local constraints, and the project schedule—not with a catalogue. This guide helps you decide when a heat pump is technically coherent, when another solution still makes sense, and what to check before looking at support.

How should a heating project be linked to the Building Programme?

In Switzerland, a heating replacement often stops being a simple equipment choice as soon as it connects to the building’s energy performance, planned envelope works, an audit, or a wider renovation strategy. The reliable reading order is: building first, canton second, audit need third, subsidy file last.

Which heating systems are eligible for subsidies in Switzerland?

This guide identifies the heating system families that most often appear in Swiss subsidy schemes, then qualifies the real decision factors: the system being replaced, the role of the new installation in the building, and the cases that require canton- or programme-level verification before assuming eligibility.

Why aren’t heating subsidies the same everywhere in Switzerland?

Heating subsidies in Switzerland follow a shared energy direction, but eligibility is usually applied at cantonal level. That is why support can change from one address to another, even for apparently similar heating projects.

How do you avoid a refusal or blockage in a heating file?

A heating file is usually blocked for readability and verification problems, not just for technical reasons. This guide shows when to act, in which order to prepare the file, which documents actually matter, which weak signals should stop submission, and what final step reduces the remaining risk.

Which documents should you prepare for a heating subsidy application?

For a heating subsidy application, the right documents do more than fill a form: they prove who applies, what building is concerned, what system exists today, what will be installed, and whether the project follows the timing and evidence rules of the relevant measure and canton.