Heat pump in the Canton of ZurichFrom Zumikon, for Zurich.

Permit: notification for air-to-water, permit for boreholes

In the Canton of Zurich, a notification to the commune is enough for most air-to-water heat pumps. This applies to units inside the building and to outdoor units up to 2 cubic metres in volume. The basis is the Planning and Building Act (PBG) and the Building Procedure Ordinance (BVV). You submit the notification through eBaugesucheZH or the commune’s form. It includes a site plan, the technical data sheet and a noise protection assessment. If the commune raises no objections within 30 days of confirming receipt, you may build. Outdoor units in historic core zones and within the scope of townscape and heritage protection inventories still need a permit.

Boreholes (ground probes) always need a water protection permit. The application goes through the commune to the AWEL. The canton’s heat use atlas shows whether drilling is allowed at your site. We clarify the site and the procedure before the quote, and we submit the notification and the application for you.

Replacing your heating system: what the Energy Act requires

Section 11 of the Energy Act has applied since 1 September 2022. In existing buildings, renewable energy must be used when the heat generator is replaced, if this is technically possible and the lifecycle costs are no more than 5 percent above those of a fossil heating system. A new oil or gas heating system is only allowed if one of these two conditions is not met. In that case you must also save 10 percent of your energy consumption or cover it from renewable sources. For the cost comparison, the canton provides the heating cost calculator EN-LCC-ZH.

Subsidies in the Canton of Zurich

The 2026 subsidy programme supports replacing oil, gas and electric heating with heat pumps. Up to 15 kW thermal output, an air-to-water heat pump receives CHF 2,900, and CHF 160 for each further kW above that. A ground-source heat pump (borehole) receives CHF 6,800 up to 15 kW, and CHF 420 per kW above that. Up to 15 kW, the canton requires the heat pump system module (Wärmepumpen-System-Modul).

Timing matters. The application must be submitted through the application platform before work starts: before installation for air-to-water, and before drilling for boreholes. In a district heating zone (Verbundgebiet) that is not eligible for subsidies, the heat pump is not supported. We submit the application and first check whether your property is affected.

Grid operator and electricity price

The cantonal median is 24.8 ct./kWh excluding VAT, below the Swiss median of 27.7 ct. EKZ supplies 131 of the 160 communes, at 24.1 ct. on average. There are also smaller utilities such as Infrastruktur Zürichsee AG, Energie Uster and EW Wald. The heat pump is registered with the grid operator through a technical connection application. Some utilities have their own tariffs or blocking times, and we clarify this for your utility.

A special feature: many older buildings with oil and gas

In the Canton of Zurich, 55.1 percent of residential buildings are still heated with fossil fuels, and 59.5 percent date from before 1981. For these houses, we measure the required flow temperature during the site visit and check whether the existing radiators are sufficient. A suitable solar system further lowers the electricity costs of the heat pump.