Heat pump in Upper ValaisHeating system, Valais.

Permit: air-to-water and borehole

For air-to-water heat pumps inside the building zone, the communes are responsible. They check whether noise protection is met. If the heat pump replaces an existing heating system, the cantonal Building Ordinance provides for a notification procedure. If the project does not meet the criteria, an ordinary building permit is needed. We prepare the noise assessment and clarify with your commune which procedure applies.

Boreholes (ground probes) need a water protection permit from the Environment Service. Inside the building zone the application goes to the commune, outside it to the Cantonal Building Secretariat. For more than four boreholes per plot or depths over 200 metres, the canton requires a hydrogeological feasibility study.

Replacing your heating system: what the Energy Act requires

The new cantonal energy legislation has applied since 1 January 2025. When an oil or gas boiler is replaced, a heating system using renewable energy is to be installed. A fossil heating system remains possible if the heat demand falls by at least 20 percent or the building reaches GEAK class D. The Energy and Hydropower Service examines such cases in advance. Central electric heating systems must be replaced by renewable systems within 15 years of the law coming into force.

Subsidies in the Canton of Valais

The canton’s Buildings Programme subsidises replacing oil, gas and electric heating with electric heat pumps up to 70 kW. In a single-family home it is CHF 9,000 for air-to-water units and CHF 13,000 for boreholes and water-to-water units. For apartment buildings and other buildings, the canton calculates CHF 45 (air-to-water) or CHF 65 (borehole) per square metre of energy reference area, with a correction factor.

The application is submitted digitally on the Das Gebäudeprogramm platform. Work only starts after the Energy and Hydropower Service has confirmed approval by email. Up to 15 kW, the heat pump system module (Wärmepumpen-System-Modul) is required. We submit permit and subsidy applications.

Grid operator and electricity price

In Upper Valais, several utilities supply the electricity, including EnBAG Netze, RELL, VED Visp Energie Dienste and EVTL in the Lötschental. At 24.6 ct. per kWh, the median of the communes is below the Swiss median of 27.7 ct. (excluding VAT, household category H4, ElCom 2026). We register the heat pump with the grid operator. Blocking times and tariffs differ by utility, and we clarify them in advance.

A special feature

The higher a house lies, the colder it gets in winter. The heat pump must be designed for the lowest outdoor temperatures at the site, and we clarify this during the site visit. The oil share of heating systems in Upper Valais is 35 percent.