There's no federal incentive for home storage – the one-off feed-in incentive applies to the solar system, not the battery. Individual cities and cantons pay instead: the City of Zurich has been paying storage contributions since August 2026 (a base contribution plus an amount per kilowatt-hour, including a second-life bonus), the Canton of Thurgau has a programme with an exhausted quota and a waiting list. It's a patchwork – the programme at your address is always authoritative, and almost everywhere the rule applies: apply before installation. (As of: August 2026)
Key points in brief
- No federal incentive: the one-off feed-in incentive (EIV) covers the PV system, not the storage battery.
- Individual cities and cantons offer incentives – the landscape is a patchwork with very different rules.
- City of Zurich: storage contributions since 1 August 2026 (base contribution + amount per kWh, second-life bonus for reused cells).
- Canton of Thurgau: programme exists, quota currently exhausted (waiting list).
- Golden rule everywhere: check incentive conditions before purchase – the application often has to be submitted before installation.
Why does the federal government support the solar system but not the storage battery?
Because from an energy-policy perspective, the two have different jobs. The federal one-off feed-in incentive aims at adding production capacity – every supported kilowatt produces additional renewable electricity. The home storage battery produces nothing; it shifts electricity from midday to evening. That primarily benefits the owner's self-consumption, which is why the federal government hasn't so far seen grounds for an incentive here.
You can share this logic or not – for planning purposes, the consequence counts: the storage battery fundamentally has to pay off without a federal contribution. The honest weighing-up of this is provided in the article Is a battery storage system worthwhile?; the pricing context in the article on storage costs. A local incentive then improves the calculation where it exists – it should be allowed to be the tipping point, but not the foundation of the investment.
Worth mentioning is the indirect exception: anyone who builds the storage battery together with the system benefits from shared installation costs – and the system itself is, after all, supported. The most economical «incentive contribution» for the storage battery is often simply the right timing for installation.
Where are there concrete contributions – as of summer 2026?
The overview for our region – with the explicit note that this landscape is constantly shifting:
| Programme | What applies | Details |
|---|---|---|
| City of Zurich | since 1.8.2026: base contribution CHF 1,000 + CHF 100 per kWh (max. 1.5 kWh/kWp, max. 100 kWh; +CHF 100/kWh second-life bonus; grid-supportive EMS mandatory) | All details on the programme |
| Canton of Thurgau | Contribution CHF 1,000; quota currently exhausted, waiting list | Thurgau overview |
| Other municipalities | isolated municipal programmes – overview below | ask the municipality/utility at the system address |
| Federal government | no storage incentive via the EIV | — |
Guideline values, as of: August 2026. The currently applicable regulations are binding; programmes can change, pause or become exhausted – check the status before ordering.
Two lessons are hidden in this table. First, address dependency: whether your storage battery gets supported is decided by location – the same battery receives a contribution in the City of Zurich since August 2026, and nothing two municipalities over. It's always worth asking at the municipality and utility at the system address; the programmes are sometimes small and little advertised.
Second, transience: the Thurgau quota is the textbook case – a programme can become exhausted before your project is ready. Incentive programmes are budgeted snapshots in time; we keep collecting what currently applies in the article on incentive changes.
Municipal Storage Programmes in the Region: The Overview
We've compiled these programmes for our service area – a selection, not claiming completeness:
| Municipality | Contribution | Distinctive feature |
|---|---|---|
| Rüti ZH | CHF 500 + CHF 50/kWh, max. CHF 2,500 | one storage unit per residential unit |
| Oetwil an der Limmat | CHF 400/kWh, max. CHF 7,200 | Minimum size 8 kWh |
| Neftenbach | rate currently published inconsistently | have it confirmed in writing by the municipality before applying |
| Lenzburg AG | CHF 1,000 one-off | from 4 kWh; expansion of an existing storage battery excluded |
| Baar ZG | CHF 1,000 + CHF 100/kWh | Second-life cells: CHF 175 instead of 100 per kWh |
| Cham ZG | CHF 1,000 + CHF 100/kWh | five fixed submission dates per year |
| Oberägeri ZG | CHF 1,000 + CHF 100/kWh, max. CHF 5,000 | municipality + canton together max. 30% of the investment |
| Hünenberg ZG | up to CHF 2,000 | application at least two weeks before the project starts |
| Küsnacht ZH | technology-dependent: saltwater CHF 300/kWh · redox flow CHF 200/kWh · other non-lithium-based CHF 250/kWh | classic lithium storage not supported; no combination with canton/federal incentives |
| Municipality of Schwyz | CHF 200/kWh, max. CHF 2,000 | 2026 budget exhausted – applications only again from 2027 |
| Canton of Thurgau (all municipalities) | CHF 1,000 one-off | from 10 kWh; 2026 quota (700 approvals) exhausted – waiting list |
| – addition Amriswil | + CHF 1,000 | a cantonal approval is usually a requirement |
| – addition Tägerwilen | + max. CHF 1,000 | 100% of the cantonal contribution |
| – addition Roggwil TG | + CHF 500 | municipality+canton+federal max. 50% of the investment |
Guideline values, as of: August 2026, according to the published municipal documents. Programmes change constantly, budgets can become exhausted – the current regulations and the incentive body's written approval are binding. Almost everywhere the rule applies: application before construction starts.
How do I proceed so I don't lose the contribution?
With the sequence that applies to almost all incentive programmes – and ignoring it is the most common avoidable mistake:
1. Check the programme before ordering. Is there a contribution at my address? What are the conditions – minimum size, control requirements, combination with a PV system? 2. Submit the application before installation. Most programmes require the application before construction starts or before installation – anyone who builds first and asks afterwards usually goes away empty-handed. This rule knows hardly any exceptions and no leniency. 3. Wait for approval, then order. Where the programme issues a confirmation, it belongs in the folder before the battery sits in the basement. 4. Meet the settlement deadlines. After installation, a completion notification and payout follow according to the programme's rules.
Zurich's programme launch on 1 August 2026 showed this exemplarily: the timing of the application submission is decisive – anyone who submitted before the cut-off date still fell under the old rules. Programmes handle such transitions differently; the incentive body gives the binding information. Exactly these timing questions belong in project planning – we put them on the table as standard with storage quotes.
Storage incentives are the topic where we most often adjust expectations – in both directions. Some believe «the state pays for everything» – and are surprised that the federal government stays out of storage. Others don't even know their city pays something, and give away a real contribution. Our routine is therefore the same for every storage project: take the address, check the programmes of municipality, city and canton, clarify the sequence – application always before installation. And we deliberately calculate the profitability first without incentives: if the storage battery only makes sense with a contribution, that's a warning sign, not an argument for buying.
Frequently asked questions
Doesn't the one-off feed-in incentive also give something for the storage battery?
No – the EIV is assessed based on the photovoltaic system's output; the storage battery isn't included in that. Anyone building the system and storage battery together receives the EIV for the system and any local contributions for the storage battery, provided there's a programme at the address.
How do I know if my municipality supports storage batteries?
Ask at the municipal administration or your utility – municipal programmes are sometimes small and hard to find. With our quotes, this check is standard: we check the programmes at the specific system address before calculating.
What happens if I install the storage battery before the incentive application?
As a rule, the entitlement lapses – most programmes only support projects whose application was submitted before installation. That's the strictest and most commonly overlooked rule in the incentive business. Application first, then order: this sequence costs nothing and saves the contribution.
Should I wait for an incentive programme before buying a storage battery?
Only if a concrete programme with a known start date is coming up – like Zurich's date in August 2026 for addresses in the city. Waiting for an unspecified future programme rarely pays off: the storage battery's profitability is decided by the consumption profile, the incentive is the bonus.
Does anyone support retrofitting a storage battery to an existing system?
Where programmes exist, they usually apply to new installations as well as retrofits – but the conditions (such as for control or minimum size) are programme-specific. Check the regulations at your address; our storage-retrofit guide covers the technical side of retrofitting.
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Programmes from the city, municipality and canton, application in the right sequence, profitability calculated honestly – with and without a contribution.
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Sources: Incentive programme City of Zurich (rates valid since 1.8.2026), incentive programme Canton of Thurgau (2026), Pronovo/SFOE (EIV scope). Guideline values – the currently applicable regulations and approvals of the incentive bodies are binding.
Last updated: 9 July 2026 · Author: ecoEn editorial team
