Proposed increase in the one-time payment in April 2027: compare the additional assistance, lost savings and the timing of your solar installation.
Should we wait until 2027 to install solar?
Not only for announced aid. Compare the additional subsidy actually accessible with the electricity that you could produce before this date, the evolution of the estimate and the constraints of the site. An increase of a few hundred francs can count, but it does not alone decide the best time to equip a house.
As of September 28, 2026, we distinguish the applicable scales from the proposal for April 2027. The SFOE preparatory document describes an increase of CHF 40/kW in the power band below 30 kW, with envisaged contributions of CHF 400/kW for added or isolated installations and CHF 440/kW for integrated. This document concerns a revision dated November 2026: it should not be presented as a decision that has already entered into force.
Why is this increase being discussed?
In its communication of July 9, 2026, Swissolar requests a greater increase in the single remuneration than that proposed for April 2027. The debate focuses in particular on the uncertainties encountered by new producers. A request from the branch remains different from the scale that the authority will ultimately adopt.
For your project, avoid mixing a political announcement, a draft ordinance, the current tariff and a decision concerning your installation. Ask the company preparing the quote to provide the source, scale date and status of each amount. A “to be confirmed” column is more useful than a net total presented as certain.
Single remuneration and injection income: two calculations
The single payment concerns investment support. The recovery rate concerns the kWh that you then inject. A modification of one does not automatically deduce the other. An installation can receive aid while remaining sensitive to the price of exported electricity and the share consumed in the building.
Prepare two separate tables in your personal budget: investment and operation. The first includes panels, inverter, installation, connection, aid and taxation. The second includes production, self-consumption, injection, maintenance and possible subscriptions. Our guide to solar retribution in 2027 addresses operating income, which should not be confused with this timing decision.
How much would CHF 40/kW represent for your roof?
For an illustrative installation of 10 kW entirely located in the section concerned, CHF 40/kW represents additional CHF 400. For 6 kW, the same calculation gives CHF 240; for 15 kW, CHF 600. These are multiplications of the proposed supplement, not promises of grant nor the total amount of the subsidy.
The retained power, installation category and other conditions must correspond to the Pronovo calculation. Do not mechanically multiply all the power of a large project by the addition of a single tranche. Also, do not classify a system as “integrated” just because it is discreet or installed close to the tiles: the category must be established according to the program criteria.
A reliable quote shows the gross amount before any help. It then gives the hypotheses used for the calculation, with a variation if the proposal changes. The difference in support is often easier to compare than two net prices where no one explains the assumptions.
Example: the real cost of waiting
Let us assume that delaying commissioning results in the loss, during the period considered, of 600 kWh of self-consumption valued at CHF 0.28/kWh and 900 kWh of injection valued at CHF 0.06/kWh. The values are chosen only to illustrate the method; they constitute neither an official price nor a production forecast.
The avoided purchases would have represented CHF 168, and the sales CHF 54, or CHF 222 in total before other costs. If the additional aid was ultimately CHF 400, there would remain CHF 178 in favor of waiting at the same installation price. But if the new offer costs CHF 300 more, the expectation becomes unfavorable by CHF 122 in this simplified scenario.
The season can reverse the outcome. Six months between October and March does not give the same production as six months between April and September. Have the kWh of the period actually lost calculated, with the orientation and shading of your roof. An automatic division of annual production by two would be a bad basis.
When to install now can be rational
Installing earlier can make sense when the roof is ready, the connection is feasible and the offer is competitive. A household consuming a lot during sunshine hours can quickly add value to part of its production. An already planned renovation can also make it possible to share scaffolding and coordination without organizing a second project.
However, ask for a realistic date for commissioning, not just installation. Panels installed but not connected do not produce the savings predicted in your comparison. Payments, receipt and necessary documents must follow an understandable schedule. Also compare warranties and after-sales service, as a small initial saving can disappear with an incomplete offer.
When waiting can be justified
Waiting may make sense if the roof first requires a study, if a PPE decision is missing or if the connection cannot be made sooner. In these cases, a later date mainly comes from the project itself. Possibly more favorable aid becomes a complementary element, without having to artificially cause the delay.
You may also want to gather consumption data before sizing a battery or coordinating a new heat pump. This preparation time is useful if it improves the quote. However, set a review date with the conditions to check: scale adopted, availability of the company, revised quote and expected production.
What date counts for aid?
Do not assume that the signing date reserves a future scale. Have the rules of the program, the determining date and the necessary documents specified. The type of installation and support regime may result in different procedures. For a small installation, our guide Pronovo step by step helps to prepare the file; the official instructions applicable to the deposit remain decisive.
Local aid may follow another schedule. Certain steps must be checked before ordering or starting work. Ask separately for the conditions of the canton, municipality and supplier. A future federal change does not allow the deadline of an existing local program to be ignored.
Articulate 2027 with the 2029 tax reform
The proposed increase for 2027 and the change in housing taxes in 2029 are two separate events. It would be misleading to merge them into a simple “wait” or “hurry up” instruction. Your ability to deduct certain expenses depends on your situation and applicable law, while investment support follows its own schedule.
So compare the cost after aid and taxes for the really possible dates. Our analysis of solar before the end of rental value explains the questions to ask. A non-personalized tax estimate should not be added as a guaranteed discount to the quote.
Questions to ask before deciding
- Is the amount of aid used applicable today, proposed or confirmed for my project?
- What power and category were entered in the calculation?
- What date determines the scale and what documents prove it?
- How many kWh will be lost during the actual wait, month by month?
- Does the offer keep the same price, the same components and the same guarantees?
- What is the effect of local aid, taxation and financing?
- What does the contract provide if the rule changes or if the connection is delayed?
Choose the schedule that holds with conservative assumptions. A ready and profitable project should not be blocked by a promise of subsidy; a technically incomplete project should not be rushed for a handover. The written comparison allows you to review the decision as soon as the final scale is published.