Rules from your home country may not apply: check the municipality, grid operator and Pronovo for your Swiss project. Check the site data and official sources before signing.
Decision to make
Rules from your home country may not apply: check the municipality, grid operator and Pronovo for your Swiss project. Adapt this decision to the building, your actual consumption and the project schedule.
For this project, start by identifying the grid operator, applicable tariff and site constraints. The quotation must specify the conditions affecting connection, metering or the value of surplus electricity.
Practical effects of the project
- The plan must specify the sequence and deadlines for the roof assessment, notification or permit, connection, installation, commissioning and Pronovo procedures for the system type.
- The schedule must separate what the owner decides, what the installer files and what the network manager validates.
- The deadlines change if the roof needs to be redone, if the municipality requests parts or if the meter needs to be replaced.
- The first meeting should identify the grid operator, examine the building and establish future electricity uses.
- A good plan keeps an option for heat pump, battery or terminal without oversizing the first site.
These points help assess the topic ‘ Expats and cross-border homeowners: the pitfalls of Swiss solar ’ without turning a national average into a local promise. Every decisive figure needs its source, date and scope.
Specific controls
- Confirm site data with the relevant professionals and connection conditions with the grid operator.
- Show base price, options, connection, aid and exclusions separately.
- Compare a reference hypothesis with a conservative variant before signing.
The answers should appear in the quote or in a dated appendix. A verbal explanation is insufficient if it changes the price, expected output, financial support or a contractual obligation.
Compare quotes
- Tariffs: state the purchase price, surplus remuneration and fixed charges applicable to the site, with their source and date.
- Production: provide a monthly estimate with orientation, shading, losses and weather assumptions.
- Investment: separate material, installation, safety, scaffolding, connection, procedures and options.
- Aids: distinguish confirmed amount, estimate and deposit liability.
- Contract: specify guarantees, calendar, deposit, exclusions, maintenance and after-sales service.
Rules from your home country may not apply: check the municipality, grid operator and Pronovo for your Swiss project. In the comparison table, keep one column for the stated value, one for the evidence provided, and one for the effect of a less favorable hypothesis.
Cautious scenario
Test the project with slightly lower production, an unconfirmed grant and less favourable surplus remuneration. This scenario shows whether the decision remains sound based on self-consumption, roof quality and a controlled installed cost.
The main references used are ElCom - Slight drop in electricity prices in 2026, Pronovo - Submit a photovoltaic subsidy application, Energiefranken - Search for energy aid by municipality, SFOE - support for photovoltaic installations. They frame the method, but the local amounts and contractual conditions must be rechecked at the time the offer is signed.
Risks to be managed
A good plan keeps an option for heat pump, battery or terminal without oversizing the first site. Ask who assumes this risk, what proof will be provided and how a change is handled after ordering.
A more expensive solution should meet a specific need in your project. Ask for a documented benefit and a separate price for each option.
Next step
Gather the address, annual consumption, future electricity uses and building documents. Then check the grid operator's conditions, available grants and site constraints; request quotations covering the same scope.
Rules from your home country may not apply: check the municipality, grid operator and Pronovo for your Swiss project. You can then decide with a documented net price, clear responsibilities and assumptions that each company can explain line by line.
Points to check
- Tariffs: Compare the tariff for your address with the Swiss ElCom median for 2026, keeping local prices separate from the national benchmark.
- Grants: Check the programme, eligibility, documents and deadlines with Pronovo, the canton or municipality. Include only confirmed contributions in your budget.
- Roof potential: Sonnendach is presented as a public pre-diagnosis, to be validated by a technical visit.
- ROI: the method separates self-consumption, injection, installed price, taxation and payment schedule.
- The plan must specify the sequence and deadlines for the roof assessment, notification or permit, connection, installation, commissioning and Pronovo procedures for the system type.
- The schedule must separate what the owner decides, what the installer files and what the network manager validates.