Insulating, switching your heating system, installing solar: in 2026, these works are subsidised in Switzerland. The main scheme is called the Buildings Programme, co-financed by the Confederation and the cantons. Here is how it works, who can benefit, and how to estimate your grants.
What is the Buildings Programme?
The Buildings Programme is the national support scheme for energy renovation, funded by a share of the CO₂ levy (Confederation) and by the cantons. Each canton implements it with its own rates and its own annual budget.
It mainly supports:
- insulation of the building envelope (roof, façade, windows, floors);
- the replacement of fossil-fuel heating systems with renewable energy;
- the production of renewable energy in the building;
- comprehensive renovations and CECB / CECB Plus.
How much can you get?
Amounts depend on the measure, the surface area concerned and the canton. Here are some publicly available ballpark figures for 2026:
| Item | 2026 ballpark | Source to confirm |
|---|---|---|
| National budget | ~607 million CHF announced | SuisseEnergie |
| Comprehensive renovation | up to ~30 % of the investment | Buildings Programme |
| Vaud | ~74 million (34 canton + 40 Confederation) | vd.ch |
| Geneva | ~80 million (+10 vs 2025) | SIG |
How to apply (in the right order)
Estimate your grants
Use the subsidy calculator: an address is enough for an initial estimate of the grants available for your property.
Have a CECB drawn up (often required)
Many subsidies, particularly for a comprehensive renovation, require a cantonal building energy certificate (CECB) produced by an accredited expert.
Apply BEFORE starting the works
The application must generally be submitted and approved before works begin. Starting too early can forfeit the right to the subsidy.
Apply early in the year
Cantonal budgets are limited and can run out. An application submitted early in the year has a better chance of being funded.
Subsidies and potential: two questions not to confuse
Subsidies answer the question 'how much will my renovation cost, once grants are deducted?'. They say nothing about what your plot allows you to build. Yet the two go together: a major energy renovation is sometimes the occasion for an added storey or an extension, which in turn depends on the zone, the utilisation index and the building envelope.
Before undertaking any works, it is therefore worth clarifying the real building potential of your property — what is confirmed, what is constrained, what remains to be checked — in order to size a coherent project rather than half-subsidising a renovation that should have been thought bigger.