Federal building program breaks record again
Published: Tuesday, Aug 27th 2024, 11:30
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In 2023, the federal government's building program for energy-efficient renovations broke the previous year's record for the fourth time in a row. Around 528 million francs in subsidies were paid out. That is 25 percent more than in 2022.
The funded measures will reduce the energy consumption of Switzerland's building stock by 11.2 billion kilowatt hours and CO2 emissions by 3.4 million tons over their lifetime, as announced by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) on Tuesday.
At CHF 216 million, the lion's share went to building technology projects, 55% more than in the previous year. This meant that 26,560 oil, gas and electric heating systems were replaced, 87 percent of which were replaced by heat pumps. Thermal insulation received 139 million francs, and 98 million francs went to system renovations.
CHF 30.7 million went towards the central heating supply. The rest was provided by the federal government for information, communication, education and quality assurance as well as for 389 highly efficient new buildings.
Energy prices as a driver for refurbishment
According to the SFOE, the high energy prices led to an increase in heating renovations in 2023. In addition, cantons increased their subsidy budgets and, in some cases, subsidies.
In 2023, funding commitments for the next five years also almost reached their 2022 peak again at CHF 587 million. According to the SFOE, this corresponds to practically all of the available funds.
In addition to the cantonal funds of CHF 271 million, the federal government paid CHF 226 million as global contributions to the cantons' CO2 earmarking. This means that CHF 607 million will be available in 2024 to reduce energy consumption or CO2 emissions.
By voting yes to the Climate and Innovation Act, Switzerland committed to becoming climate-neutral by 2050. Within this framework, the federal government is implementing a stimulus program with CHF 150 million to 200 million per year for the replacement of larger heating systems and for greater energy efficiency. It will distribute the additional funds from 2025. They are limited to ten years.
©Keystone/SDA
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