The buildings program saves 15,000 GWh

Homeowners who better insulate the roofs, facades, floors and windows of their buildings are helping to reduce climate-damaging CO2 emissions and energy consumption in Switzerland. In 2016, the Buildings Program, a federal funding program, provided around 93 million Swiss francs in support of such energy-saving renovations to the building envelope (Part A). Around 3.3 million square meters of building envelope area were insulated in the process. Over their lifetime, the subsidized measures reduce CO2 emissions in Switzerland by around 1.5 million tons. They also reduce energy consumption by around 7,200 gigawatt hours.

In parallel, as part of the Buildings Program, the cantons last year provided around 68 million Swiss francs in funding for further measures to optimize the energy efficiency of buildings, including the use of renewable energies, the use of waste heat, the optimization of building technology, and new buildings and renovations to the Minergie standard (Part B). In this way, around 1.35 million tons of CO2 can be avoided in the Swiss building stock in the coming decades and a further 7,200 gigawatt hours of energy can be saved.
Details on the results and impacts of the Buildings Program can be found in the new 2016 Annual Report at the following link:
Annual Report 2016

Promoting energy-efficient renovations

The Buildings Program promotes energy-related renovation measures for buildings. These are responsible for around one third of CO2 emissions and 40 percent of energy consumption in Switzerland. Around 1.5 million houses are either not insulated or hardly insulated at all and are therefore in urgent need of energy renovation. In addition, three quarters of Swiss buildings are still heated by fossil fuels or directly by electricity. With the Building Program, which has been in place since 2010, the federal government and the cantons aim to significantly reduce the energy consumption of the Swiss building stock and CO2 emissions. The Buildings Program is thus an important pillar of Swiss climate and energy policy.

The building program is financed by the CO2 tax and by subsidies from the cantons. Until the end of 2016, the program consisted of a uniform Swiss Part A with measures for the renovation of the building envelope, as well as a Part B with cantonally different additional programs for the promotion of renewable energies, the use of waste heat and the optimization of building technology.

Since January 1, 2017, the cantons have been responsible for both Part A and Part B and, on the basis of the Harmonized Funding Model of the Cantons (HFM 2015), individually determine which measures they fund and under what conditions. This allows them to tailor their support offerings even more specifically to their circumstances.

By approving the revised Energy Act on May 21, 2017, voters laid the foundation for The Buildings Program to continue beyond 2019 and to continue to receive one-third of the revenue from the CO2 levy, but now up to CHF 450 million instead of CHF 300 million.

Text: The Building Program/BFE