Switzerland

How the Swiss market works

The regulator is ElCom, the Federal Electricity Commission. The Federal Office of Energy (BFE) publishes the reference market price used for solar exports, and the Federal Electrical Inspectorate (ESTI) supervises electrical installations, including solar systems and storage. Pronovo handles the applications for the federal one-off payment for solar systems. The main laws are the Energy Act and the Electricity Supply Act, which were changed by the Mantelerlass (the federal act on a secure electricity supply with renewable energies), partly from 1 January 2025 and further from 1 January 2026.

Your electricity reaches you through a local network operator, usually your municipal or cantonal utility. It owns the grid, sets your tariff, takes your exported power and decides how your battery is connected. The cantons add their own energy laws, building codes and support programmes, so what applies to you depends on where you live.

Electricity prices and tariffs

ElCom publishes tariffs for typical households every September. For 2026 the median for the reference household H4 (4,500 kWh a year, basic supply) is 27.7 Rp. per kWh, about 4% lower than in 2025 (Federal administration: 2026 electricity tariffs, 9 September 2025). For 2027 the news service SRF reports a further fall of about 4% lower on average, about CHF 50 a year for a typical household (SRF: 2027 tariffs, 8 September 2026). Tariffs differ a lot between municipalities, because each utility sets its own.

A battery does not change your tariff, but it can reduce how much you buy at the full price. How much depends on your solar surplus and your use in the evening. We explain the arithmetic in how a home battery saves money, and how to size one in what size home battery you need.

Time-of-use tariffs and smart meters

Under the Electricity Supply Ordinance, households below 50 MWh a year that have a smart meter form a basic customer group, and the utility has to offer standard tariff models for them. For customers without a smart meter the tariff must have a working-price (per kWh) component of at least 70%. Dynamic tariffs are only mentioned briefly in the ElCom guidance we read, and tariffs have to be published in machine-readable form. Which time-based or dynamic tariffs you can actually choose depends on your network operator, so ask yours (ElCom FAQ on the Mantelerlass, updated 10 February 2026).

Our guides explain dynamic energy contracts and negative electricity prices.

Getting paid for exports

The grid operator takes your surplus solar power and pays for it. If you and the operator do not agree on a rate, the reference market price published by the BFE applies from 1 January 2026. Operators may pay more than this reference price. For systems under 30 kW a minimum of 6 Rp. per kWh applies regardless of self-consumption, and splitting a system artificially to reach a higher rate is not allowed (ElCom FAQ).

A trade report from June 2026 says that from 1 January 2027, with a one-year transition, operators may pay the hourly spot price at the time of feed-in instead of the quarterly reference price. It presents batteries as one way to avoid exporting at low midday prices, and it also mentions collective self-consumption and local electricity communities (energiezukunft.eu, 3 June 2026). We could not read the final ordinance, so check the BFE announcements before you plan around it.

Since 1 January 2026 local electricity communities (LEG) are allowed. A community must stay within one municipality, and a battery in a community may not sell more electricity inside the community than it draws from it during a billing period. Collective self-consumption within a building or estate (ZEV) has no such statutory limit for storage, and the terms are set by the contract between the participants (see the ElCom FAQ above).

VAT and tax

The standard VAT rate in Switzerland is 8.1% (Federal Tax Administration: Swiss VAT rates). We found no reduced or zero rate for solar panels or batteries, so expect 8.1% on a quote unless the installer states otherwise.

Income tax is mostly cantonal. A Swissolar tax guide from October 2023 says that private owners can deduct solar investments on existing buildings as property maintenance in all cantons, with occupancy rules that differ by canton. It says a retrofitted battery neither saves nor produces energy, so deductibility depends on the canton, and that several cantons (Aargau, Bern, Zurich, St. Gallen, Solothurn, Obwalden and Schwyz) explicitly allow it as an environmental measure. Feed-in income is taxed differently from canton to canton, and the one-off federal payment is VAT-free (Swissolar: cantonal and federal tax practice). That guide is from 2023, so check the current practice of your tax office.

Federal payment, cantonal grants and local support

The federal support is the one-off payment (Einmalvergütung), applied for through Pronovo after the system is commissioned. Swissolar says the current amounts come from the Energy Promotion Ordinance and are given by Pronovo's tariff calculator (Swissolar: PV funding). An installer's guide from September 2026 lists no base contribution since 1 April 2024, CHF 360 per kW for a mounted or freestanding system and CHF 400 per kW for an integrated one, with a typical wait of two to three months after a complete application (Solarfusion guide). We could not confirm these amounts on an official page, so use Pronovo's calculator. For systems decided from 2025, the operator must run the system for 20 years (Pronovo FAQ).

We found no federal payment for a battery. The federal sources we read are about the solar system and do not mention batteries.

Cantons, municipalities and utilities decide on battery support, and it varies. Canton Thurgau pays CHF 1,000 once per battery of at least 10 kWh usable capacity, capped at 25% of the investment, if you apply before installation. Its 2026 quota of 700 approvals was already reached, so new applications go on a waiting list, with approval likely in 2027 (Canton Thurgau: 2026 energy programme). Canton Zurich's energy funding page says that solar is funded nationwide through Pronovo and its seasonal storage programme excludes battery storage (Canton Zurich: energy funding). The Zurich city utility ewz announced in June 2026 a new subsidy for solar combined with a battery, but the page we could read gave no amounts or conditions (ewz press release).

Cantonal and local differences

Four things can change from one canton or municipality to the next: the grants for batteries (some places pay and some do not, and quotas fill up), how income tax treats your solar system and battery, the building permit rules for solar and outdoor units, and the rules of the cantonal fire insurer, which may add conditions to the federal fire guidance. Network operators also differ in forms, processing times and export prices.

Before you order, ask your municipality or utility for a written answer on grants, ask your tax office how a battery is treated, and ask the installer to confirm in the quote which permits and notifications it covers.

Connecting a battery to the grid

ESTI's directive 220 (in force since 1 July 2021) covers energy generation installations that feed into the low-voltage grid, and it includes storage. Running in parallel with the grid needs a connection application and the network operator's approval, following the sector recommendation NA/EEA-NE7-CH. Installation work needs an ESTI installation permit: AC-coupled storage, which has its own inverter and can charge and discharge independently, may be installed only by holders of a general installation permit. After installation, the installer performs a first check and a qualified person issues a safety certificate (ESTI directive 220).

The owner must also arrange an acceptance inspection by an independent body. The directive names two months for grid-connected installations, and the ESTI FAQ names six months for solar systems that need no prior submission, so ask your installer which deadline applies to you (ESTI FAQ). A draft amendment to the Electricity Supply Ordinance would require smart meters on certain storage and generation systems, but we could not confirm the final text.

Your installer normally handles these steps. Ask for the company's permit number, a copy of the safety certificate and the operator's approval for your records.

Safety, wiring and fire rules

Electrical installations follow the low-voltage installation standard NIN (SN 411000) and the Low-Voltage Installation Ordinance (NIV). For fire safety, the Swiss association of cantonal fire insurers (VKF) published a fire protection leaflet on lithium-ion batteries in 2021. It groups stationary systems by energy content per fire compartment. For systems up to 15 kWh, which includes home storage, it expects a suitable room such as an electrical room, cellar, garage or attic with at least EI 30 fire resistance, not in an escape route, and recommends keeping 2.5 m from combustible materials. Systems of 15 to 100 kWh need their own fire compartment with EI 60 or an outdoor location. It also warns that aged second-life car batteries carry a higher fire risk. The leaflet is guidance and does not replace legal requirements (VKF fire protection leaflet: lithium-ion batteries).

Our guides explain fire risk and battery chemistry and whether a battery can go outside. Tell your building insurer before installation and ask whether the location of the battery affects your cover.

Plug-in solar and plug-in batteries

Plug-in solar systems are legal in Switzerland, but with a lower limit than in Germany or Austria. The sources we read report that ESTI allows up to 600 W of inverter output per household, that the system must be reported to the local grid operator with a declaration of conformity, and that it needs a residual-current protection device in the socket or cable. Above 600 W a fixed installation on its own protected circuit by a person with an installation permit is required, and tenants need the landlord's consent (homeandsmart.de, updated 27 March 2026; WEKA, 27 March 2025). We could not confirm the 600 W limit on an ESTI page. The ESTI directive excludes plug-and-play solar and points to a separate ESTI notice that we could not read, so check with ESTI or your operator.

We found no Swiss rule that allows a plug-in battery. A battery with its own inverter is AC-coupled storage under ESTI directive 220, and the directive says that only holders of a general installation permit may install it. Treat a plug-in battery as a storage system until your operator and ESTI confirm otherwise. Our guides compare plug-in and installed home batteries and explain balcony power plants with storage.

Outside Switzerland

Rules, tariffs and incentives for home batteries differ from country to country, so do not apply the figures on this page to a home elsewhere. See the other guides in this section for other countries.

Common questions about Switzerland