From the decision to the first electricity produced: the 8 essential steps to succeed in your solar installation project in Switzerland.
A solar project in Switzerland involves specific steps in a specific order. Here is the complete roadmap.
Step 1: Assess your roof (Weeks 1-2). Check the orientation, pitch, shading and structure of your roof. Tools: pvgis.jrc.ec.europa.eu (free), or ask an installer for a pre-visit. Minimum recommended surface area: 20 m² of well exposed roof.
Step 2: Request for Offers (Weeks 2-4). Solicit at least 3 comparable offers. Each offer must specify: brand/model of panels, inverter, total power (kWp), estimated annual production (kWh/year), price excluding tax and including tax, installation time.
Step 3: Prepare Pronovo and local support (Week 4). For a typical residential installation, PRONOVO is finalized after commissioning, but the technical data must be ready from the quote. Also check the municipal aid or Building Program which may have their own calendar.
Step 4: Prior municipal announcement. Your installer submits the prior announcement to the municipality or checks whether a procedure is necessary. The deadline and the documents requested vary depending on the municipality, the area and the type of building.
Step 5: Contract Signing and Scheduling (Weeks 5-8). Sign with your chosen installer. Installation planning and equipment ordering. Allow 4-8 weeks for delivery of panels and availability of teams.
Step 6: Installation (D-Day, 1-3 days). Physical installation: mounting structure, installation of panels, DC wiring, installation of the inverter, AC wiring to the electrical panel. A good installer leaves the site clean for you and shows you the monitoring interface.
Step 7: GRD connection (Weeks 1-12 after installation). The installer submits the connection request to the GRD. The DSO installs/parameterizes the bidirectional counter. Delay varies greatly depending on the DSO: 4 weeks (SIG Geneva) to 12 weeks (certain local DSOs).
Step 8: Pronovo certificate and payment. The installer or agent submits the installation report on mysolar.ch. Pronovo pays the RU after checking the file, according to its schedule.