In-roof solar in the Canton of GlarusNotify 30 days before

Solar roofs in historic core zones and protected townscapes

In the Canton of Glarus, you notify sufficiently well-adapted solar systems on roofs and facades in writing to your commune’s building authority 30 days before work starts. You enclose a project description, roof plan or elevation plan, section and site plan. Simplified rules have applied since 1 May 2025, and in work zones even systems that are not sufficiently well adapted no longer need a building permit. Systems on cultural objects and in protected townscapes remain excluded. The canton provides working aids and interactive maps, which we use to check in advance for your building whether a notification is enough. The three communes of Glarus, Glarus Nord and Glarus Süd each have their own form for this, which we fill in. The canton names no separate rule for in-roof systems.

Subsidies

For integrated systems, the federal government pays a higher one-off payment (Einmalvergütung, EIV) through Pronovo than for add-on systems. In 2026 the canton’s subsidy programme focuses on thermal insulation and replacing heating systems, and has a tilt-angle bonus for photovoltaics. We only name amounts once we can back them up from the current programme. On tax, the canton is clear. The tax administration’s information sheet lists on-roof and in-roof systems, and for existing buildings held as private assets the actual investment costs can be deducted. Electricity for your own use is not taxable, and the amount taxed is the net income generated by the system.

Plan the roof renovation and solar roof together

In the Canton of Glarus, 73% of residential buildings date from before 1980, and 46% heat with oil or gas. Many owners therefore face a roof renovation and a heating replacement at the same time. An in-roof system replaces the tiles on the covered area, and a heat pump uses the electricity directly. In the Glarus valleys, snow and slope shading shape the planning. We check this at the site visit.