Heating replacement in Geneva: rules, solutions, cost and subsidies
Heating replacement in Geneva means changing a building's boiler or any other heat generator, and the revised cantonal rule now requires a renewable energy source for it.
Depending on this obligation, the cost and the available subsidies, villa owners, condominium owners under PPE (condominium ownership) and landlords choose the new installation.
This article covers the cantonal rules and their exceptions. It presents the renewable solutions, including the district heating network. It details the cost, subsidies and steps, and the cases of electric heating, insulation, rent and taxes.
What does the law say about heating replacement in Geneva?
The law on heating replacement in Geneva requires renewable energy or waste heat for any heat-producing installation that is put in place, replaced or converted.
This obligation, based on the Energy Act (LEn, L 2 30, art. 21), is found in Article 13M of its implementing regulation (REn, L 2 30.01). Resulting from the revision of the REn of 13 April 2022, this rule applies to applications filed from 1 September 2022.
What the law says (art. 13M para. 1 REn): “When a heat-producing installation is put in place, replaced or converted, it must be supplied primarily and as far as possible by renewable energy or waste heat.”
The cantonal energy office (OCEN) monitors its application: the owner contacts it before works begin. Federal law prohibits neither oil nor gas: the Federal Constitution (art. 89 para. 4) delegates building energy matters to the cantons.
Which works count as a replacement?
The works that count as a replacement are the installation of a new heat generator and, on an installation that is 20 years old or more, the replacement of the burner or another ancillary component (REn, art. 13M para. 3).
According to the cantonal energy office (OCEN), on a boiler these components notably include the following.
- The burner.
- The controller.
- The boiler body.
Replacing valves, nozzles or fixings does not count.
Can you still install an oil-fired or gas boiler?
Yes, you can still install an oil-fired or gas boiler in Geneva, but only with the authorisation of the cantonal energy office (OCEN) and in 2 exemption cases.
- Technical or economic impossibility: no renewable resource can be used at a cost that is not disproportionate (REn, art. 13N para. 2).
- Local neighbourhood plan (PLQ): the boiler breaks down in a villa or a small residential building located in a PLQ that has been adopted or put to public consultation.
The fossil-fuel boiler that is allowed is subject to 3 conditions (REn, art. 13N para. 4 and 29B).
- Technology: condensing boiler with a low flow temperature.
- Building: class D of the CECB (cantonal energy certificate for buildings), or the 1988 SIA 380/1 standard (Swiss Society of Engineers and Architects) with 30% renewable energy.
- Fee: 10 francs per kilowatt (250 francs for 25 kW).
Outside these 2 cases, the OCEN accepts, on request, temporary fossil-fuel heat production in the event of a breakdown in the middle of winter. The renewable installation must be operating before the next heating season.
What can replace an oil-fired or gas heating system?
In Geneva, an oil-fired or gas heating system is replaced by one of four families of renewable solutions: the heat pump, the district heating network, wood and supplementary solar thermal.
Each option depends on a constraint of the building.
- Air-to-water heat pump: an outdoor space and noise that the neighbours accept.
- Ground-to-water heat pump: a subsoil where drilling is permitted.
- District heating network: a pipe available at the address.
- Wood and pellets: a storage room, for example that of the former oil tank.
- Solar thermal: a well-exposed roof; according to SuisseEnergie, it covers about 60% of a villa's hot water.
The decision tree starts from the presence of a district heating network, then from the space available for an outdoor unit or a borehole, and leads to a fossil-fuel solution only as a last resort, after an exemption.
The implementing regulation of the Energy Act (REn, art. 12I para. 3) limits the flow temperature to 50 °C for new or refurbished radiators and to 35 °C for underfloor heating, a regime in which the heat pump achieves better efficiency.
Is connection to the district heating network compulsory?
Yes, connection to the district heating network is compulsory when replacing a heating system within the zone of influence of a structuring district heating network (RTS), the district heating mapped by the canton.
The REn (art. 13P para. 2) exempts villas and small buildings whose substation stays below 50 kW.
The map of the Geneva territorial information system (SITG) shows whether an address is within the zone of influence. According to the cantonal energy office (OCEN), the Services industriels de Genève (SIG) reply by email to the thermal information request (DITH) within 30 days at most.
How much does heating replacement cost?
Heating replacement costs from 40 000 to 80 000 francs for a villa in Geneva, depending on the renewable solution chosen and before subsidies, based on SuisseEnergie's Swiss orders of magnitude.
Based on the costs published by SuisseEnergie (2024/25) and the SIG (2026), the table applies the 2026 GEnergie scales to a villa of 10 kW and 200 m² of energy reference area.
| Solution | Installation cost (villa, CHF) | GEnergie cantonal subsidy (CHF) | Estimated net cost (CHF) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air-to-water heat pump | 45 000 to 60 000 | 7 000 | 38 000 to 53 000 |
| Ground-to-water heat pump, drilling included | 55 000 to 80 000 | 11 000 | 44 000 to 69 000 |
| Connection to a SIG district heating network | 70 000 | 10 000 | 60 000 |
| Pellet boiler | about 40 000 | 0 (villa excluded) | about 40 000 |
According to SuisseEnergie, the drilling of the probes (15 000 to 25 000 francs on its own) and the adaptation of the radiators to a low flow temperature make the bill vary.
What subsidies are available for replacing your heating in Geneva?
The subsidies for replacing your heating in Geneva are those of the cantonal GEnergie programme, run by the cantonal energy office (OCEN), and of some municipalities. The 2026 GEnergie scale provides for 4 main cantonal subsidies.
- Air-to-water heat pump (M-05): 3 000 francs + 400 francs/kW.
- Ground-to-water or water-to-water heat pump (M-06): 3 000 francs + 800 francs/kW.
- Connection to a district heating network (M-07): 8 000 francs + 200 francs/kW.
- Replacement of decentralised heating (IP-19): 15 000 francs up to 250 m², which can be combined with the 3 previous subsidies.
The chart plots the three subsidies according to the subsidised capacity: at 10 kW, a villa receives 7 000 francs for air-to-water, 10 000 francs for a district heating network and 11 000 francs for ground-to-water, with the ground-to-water subsidy overtaking that of the network at around 8.3 kW.
GEnergie limits the subsidised capacity to 50 W per m² heated, without exceeding the costs incurred. The municipality of Cologny, for example, grants an extra 400 francs/kW, with a cap of 10 000 francs, for a heat pump in a villa.
The application must reach the OCEN before the works start: the OCEN grants no subsidy after the fact.
What steps are needed to change your heating?
The steps for changing your heating in Geneva are 6 in number, in this order.
- Have the building assessed by a CECB expert or an energy adviser.
- Compare several quotes from certified installers.
- File the subsidy application, which the OCEN must receive at least 14 days before the works.
- Notify the OCEN of the heat pump under the simplified procedure (indoor, or outdoor under 20 kW, excluding a protected building), otherwise apply for a building permit from the building permit office (OAC), which replies within 30 days under the accelerated procedure.
- Send the notice of start of works 14 days before the works, 30 days if a permit is required.
- Complete the works within 24 months of the subsidy decision, then submit the declaration of completion.
The timeline sets out the six steps in order, from the energy assessment to commissioning, with the subsidy application placed before the works are ordered.
In PPE, the owners' meeting votes on the replacement before the works are ordered.
Do you have to replace electric heating in Geneva?
No, you do not have to replace electric resistance heating in Geneva as long as it works: Geneva law sets no deadline.
Under Art. 15B of the Energy Act (LEn), the installation of new or renewed fixed electric resistance heating requires an exceptional permit, limited by the REn (art. 13E) to temporary installations. The rule applies to any fixed resistance installation, supplementary heating included; it tolerates without formalities installations of less than 2 kW per electricity customer, provided the building meets the insulation requirements.
Replacement is carried out with a heat pump or a district heating network (with the GEnergie IP-19 subsidy for decentralised electric heating).
Should you insulate before changing your heating?
No, insulating before changing your heating is not compulsory in Geneva, but this order reduces the capacity to install and the cost of the new generator.
According to SuisseEnergie, improving insulation and replacing windows more than halves the heat demand. An IDC (heat consumption index) is calculated for every heated building in the canton, except where exempt below 5 heat users; above 125 kWh/m².year, the REn (art. 14) requires an audit. SuisseEnergie recommends not separating the building envelope from the heating and including both in an overall energy renovation.
Which heat pump should you choose to replace a boiler?
To replace a boiler, the heat pump to choose is the air-to-water type if drilling is ruled out, the ground-to-water type if the subsoil allows a geothermal probe.
The geology, soils and waste department (GESDEC) gives its opinion on every borehole and keeps up to date the map of prohibited areas, above drinking water aquifers. The outdoor unit of an air-to-water heat pump must comply, at the neighbours' premises, with the planning values of the federal Noise Abatement Ordinance (OPB).
Can the landlord raise the rent after a change of heating?
Yes, the landlord can raise the rent after a change of heating, only for the share of the works that creates added value or an energy improvement.
Under Art. 14 of the ordinance on residential and commercial leases (OBLF), the share that maintains the original condition is excluded from the increase and the subsidies received are deducted from it. The State limits the new rent for 3 years where a building permit is issued under the law on the demolition, conversion and renovation of residential buildings (LDTR).
Are heating works tax deductible?
Yes, heating works are tax deductible as maintenance costs of a private property, for both cantonal and federal tax.
The subsidised share cannot be deducted and the unabsorbed balance is carried over to the 2 following tax periods (art. 34 of the Geneva law on personal income tax [LIPP], art. 32 of the federal law on direct federal tax [LIFD]). From tax period 2029, the deduction of maintenance costs disappears for owner-occupied housing; the Geneva Council of State is considering keeping, for cantonal tax alone, the deduction for energy investments.