The ecological question is the current burning issue – awareness is collective, both global, European but also Swiss and individual. What about the impact of these measures on individual property? How to make greener transformations with the right path? The Confederation offers numerous solutions and advice for private individuals. At the global level, the Paris climate agreements signed in 2015 represent an important step in the fight against global warming. Its goals are to reduce global temperature to achieve a climate-neutral world by the second half of the century, to drastically reduce carbon emissions and, above all, to implement the necessary adaptations to these changes and finance them.

Switzerland joins these reflections as several actions are planned in the field of ecology. After the nuclear disaster in Fukushima in 2011, the Federal Council decides on the country’s gradual phase-out of nuclear energy. The Swiss share this vision as the revised Energy Act is adopted in 2017 – introducing measures to reduce energy consumption, improve energy efficiency in general and prioritise renewable energy. A long-term strategy, the Energy Strategy 2050, is being introduced to achieve these goals.

The Federal Council has introduced various measures to support homeowners with energy-efficient renovations. The SwissEnergy website developed by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy provides them with many answers. It offers tools with which you can calculate your heating energy consumption, simulate the costs of a solar system or find out the production of your solar system. The federal government’s building programme subsidises homeowners who want to convert their heating to renewable energies – heat pumps, wood or solar systems – or comprehensively refurbish their property for energy efficiency. Owners who want to build a new Minergie-P house can benefit from this or when renovating the thermal insulation. Having a building energy certificate (GEAK) drawn up for a house makes it possible to draw up an energy balance and plan renovations based on existing energy losses. Accredited experts can be found on the website of the respective certificate.

If you replace an old heating system with an energy-saving version now, you can make valuable savings. Defining a sensible global renovation strategy based on the age of the components and the construction logic is essential. Ecology and economy can therefore rhyme if the renovations are planned and carried out at the right time and not in the rush of a change that has become necessary. In the long run, too, it is more tax-efficient to stagger the renovations and not renovate everything at once. And above all: those who own a more environmentally friendly and energetically well-maintained property will fetch a higher price when they sell it. The new owner does not have to make any major investments to be able to live there. Your house will most likely be sold at the stated price. It is therefore crucial to be well informed and to be accompanied in energy renovations!