A business has four ways to finance a solar system: purchase from its own funds or with a bank loan, leasing, contracting, and renting out the roof to an operator. The difference isn't the interest rate but ownership: with purchase and leasing, the system ends up belonging to the business – along with the one-off incentive, input VAT deduction, depreciation and the entire return after payback. With contracting and roof rental, a third party carries the investment and recoups it over 15 to 30 years from the electricity price or the roof's yield. For a business with daytime consumption, purchase is, as a rule, the option with the highest return; contracting and roof rental are the choice when there's no investment budget, or the roof is much bigger than the business's own consumption. (As of September 2026)
Key points in brief
- Four models, one question: who owns the system – the business (purchase, leasing) or a third party (contracting, roof rental)?
- «Without equity» is real, but it's no gift: the contractor and roof operator finance themselves from the electricity you buy or from your roof's yield – their margin is your extra cost over the term.
- With purchase, the one-off incentive, input VAT deduction and depreciation go to the business; with contracting, they stay with the contractor.
- Terms: leasing typically five to ten years, contracting 15 to 25 years, roof rental 20 to 30 years – the commitment is the real price of external financing.
- ecoEn builds, and you own: that's our core model. For properties where external financing is to be considered, we show the alternatives honestly.
The four routes compared
| Model | Who invests | Who owns the system | Who receives the incentive and feed-in revenue | Term / commitment | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Purchase (own funds or bank loan) | the business | the business from day 1 | the business | none, loan by agreement | Businesses with daytime consumption and an investment budget – the standard case |
| Leasing | Leasing company, the business pays instalments | the business after expiry (residual value) | usually the business | typically 5–10 years | Businesses that want to preserve liquidity but still want ownership |
| Contracting | the contractor | the contractor, takeover possible at the end of the term | the contractor; the business buys solar power at the contract price | 15–25 years | large roofs without an investment budget, institutional owners |
| Roof rental | the roof operator | the roof operator | the roof operator; the business receives rent or discounted electricity | 20–30 years, often secured by an easement in the land register | roof much bigger than the business's own consumption |
Overview, as of September 2026. The specific arrangement – residual value, contract price, takeover option – belongs in the respective contract.
The principle behind both forms of external financing is always the same, and it's worth stating plainly: whoever builds the system for you is not a sponsor. They finance the investment, operation and their margin out of your ongoing payments – calculated over the full term, external financing is therefore, as a rule, more expensive than purchase. It's still sensible when the capital earns more elsewhere or simply isn't available. The comparison of the models from a homeowner's perspective is in the article Renting, buying or contracting a solar system; here we're looking at the business perspective.
Purchase: what the business gets from tax
If a business builds the system on its operating building, it's an investment in operating equipment. Three points make purchase more attractive for businesses than for private individuals:
Input VAT. A VAT-registered business can deduct the VAT on the system as input VAT within the rules – on an investment of CHF 120,000, an amount that a private homeowner simply pays as part of the price. The exported electricity is then taxable turnover. The edge cases – a system on a mixed-use building, a ZEV with resale – are covered in the article on VAT on solar systems.
Depreciation. The system is depreciated over its useful life; the federal government allows accelerated depreciation for energy-saving and environmental-protection investments, and cantonal practice varies. The fiduciary clarifies the specific rates – but the order of magnitude is clear: part of the investment comes back through tax savings in the first few years.
One-off feed-in incentive. The federal one-off feed-in incentive – around CHF 360 per kWp for the part of the system up to 30 kWp and around CHF 300 per kWp above that, plus a base contribution (as of August 2026) – goes to the business on purchase; for 100 kWp, in the order of CHF 30,000. From 100 kW, the application can be submitted as GREIV before construction, which brings the incentive decision into financial planning.
Whether the purchase runs via own funds, an investment loan or an increase in the mortgage on the operating property is a question of the balance sheet, not of the system. The bank sees an investment with a predictable return over 25 years – usually a straightforward conversation. What applies to private financing routes is set out in the article Financing a solar system.
Leasing: ownership in instalments
Capital-goods leasing is everyday practice in business for machinery and vehicles, and works the same way for solar systems: the leasing company finances the system, the business pays instalments over typically five to ten years and takes over the system at the residual value at the end. The difference from contracting: the system is designed for the business from the outset, the yield stays with the business, and the commitment is considerably shorter.
What matters: whether the one-off incentive and input VAT deduction end up with the business or with the leasing company is regulated by the contract – both belong in it explicitly. And the instalments must match the yield: a system that replaces CHF 15,000 a year in electricity purchases can carry a leasing instalment of that order; a shorter term means higher instalments but earlier ownership. Anyone comparing offers should calculate the sum of all instalments plus the residual value against the purchase price.
Contracting: when it pays off for businesses
With contracting, a contractor plans, builds, operates and maintains the system on your roof and sells you the electricity produced at a contractually defined price – usually below your grid purchase price, over 15 to 25 years. You invest nothing, carry no operating risk and have a lower electricity price from day 1. The incentive and the revenue from feed-in stay with the contractor; a takeover option usually applies at the end of the term.
Four points belong before you sign:
1. Term and exit. Contracting is rarely offered for under ten years, because the contractor has to amortise their investment through the electricity price; anyone wanting a short commitment is better off with leasing or purchase on credit. What happens on business closure, sale of the property or a change of tenant needs to be settled. 2. Pricing formula. A fixed rate per kWh, indexed, or linked to the grid tariff? A contract price that rises along with grid purchase costs takes away the main advantage of your own system – independence from the electricity market. 3. Roof renovation. Who bears the cost of removal and reinstallation if the roof needs renovating in twelve years – and who bears the lost production? That's the most common point of conflict in such contracts. 4. End of term. Takeover at residual value, extension or dismantling – and at what price. A system that passes into your ownership after 20 years is worth more than one that gets dismantled.
Contracting plays to its strength with large roofs and institutional owners – property companies, cooperatives, businesses with many sites that don't want to operate systems themselves. For a manufacturing business with a single roof, it's rarely the most profitable choice.
Roof rental: when the roof is bigger than consumption
The fourth model turns the logic around: it's not the business that uses the electricity – instead, a roof operator builds a full-export or auction system on your roof and pays you rent for it, or supplies discounted electricity. This suits cases where the roof is much bigger than the business's own consumption – the 5,000 m² warehouse with 40,000 kWh of annual consumption – or where the business simply doesn't want anything to do with operating a system.
The return is modest, the risk small, the commitment long: contracts run for 20 to 30 years and are often secured with an easement in the land register that also binds future owners. For systems from 150 kW without self-consumption, the incentive route via PV auctions comes into play – one reason why roof operators are specifically looking for large halls. What must be in the contract – roof renovation, a sale, end of term – is set out in the article Renting out roof space for solar.
Worked example: 100 kWp – purchase versus contracting
A workshop with 120,000 kWh of annual consumption, a purchase price of 20 Rp./kWh, 100 kWp on the hall roof, a yield of around 100,000 kWh, 65 percent self-consumption. All figures are guideline values, not a quote.
| Purchase | Contracting (typical arrangement) | |
|---|---|---|
| Investment | CHF 110,000–140,000, minus one-off feed-in incentive of around CHF 30,000, minus input VAT if VAT-liable | CHF 0 |
| Annual benefit | replaced purchases of around CHF 13,000 plus feed-in of around CHF 1,500–2,000, minus operating costs | difference between grid purchase price and contract price on the solar power bought – typically a fraction of the purchase benefit |
| Ownership | from day 1 | with the contractor; takeover at the end of the term |
| Commitment | none | 15–25 years |
| After payback | full return stays with the business for 15+ years | contract price continues |
Guideline figures, as of September 2026; costs according to published Swiss market data (July 2026), one-off feed-in incentive according to Pronovo (August 2026). The calculation for your business depends on the load profile, purchase price and contract terms; the purchase figures are covered in more detail in the article on Solar systems for businesses and SMEs.
How to read this: with purchase, payback for such businesses typically falls in the range of six to nine years, after which the full return stays with the business. With contracting, the benefit is there from day 1, but it's small – and it stays small. That's not an argument against contracting; it's the price tag for the capital you don't put in.
Where does ecoEn stand on financing?
We build, and you own – that's our core model, because it creates the most long-term value for the owners. We're not a contractor or a leasing company and hold no stake in either. What we do: prepare the indicative quote so a bank, fiduciary or lessor can work with it – system size, yield forecast based on the load profile, incentive route, operating costs. And if external financing is to be considered for a property, we show the alternatives honestly instead of talking them down.
The financing question comes up in almost every commercial enquiry as the second one – right after «what fits on the roof?». What strikes us: many businesses underestimate how much purchase gives back through tax, and overestimate how cheap contracting really is, because they compare the contract price with today's grid tariff instead of with the full cost of their own system over 25 years. Our advice is therefore always the same: look at the indicative quote with your fiduciary before the first contracting offer is on the table.
Frequently asked questions
Can a business build a solar system without equity?
Yes, via contracting or roof rental: a third party invests and finances itself through the electricity price or the roof's yield. Leasing also gets by without a large capital outlay. None of the models is free – calculated over the term, external financing is, as a rule, more expensive than purchase, but it does preserve liquidity.
Is there contracting with terms under ten years?
Rarely. The contractor amortises their investment through the electricity price, which usually takes 15 to 25 years. Anyone wanting a shorter commitment is better off with capital-goods leasing (typically five to ten years) or purchase with a bank loan – both come with ownership at the end.
Who gets the one-off incentive with contracting?
Usually the contractor, because they own and operate the system – as does the revenue from feed-in. With purchase, and usually with leasing too, the one-off incentive goes to the business. With leasing, this should be stated explicitly in the contract.
Can a business reclaim VAT on the solar system?
A VAT-registered business can deduct the VAT on the system as input VAT within the rules; the exported electricity is then taxable turnover. Edge cases – mixed-use buildings, a ZEV with resale – are a matter for the fiduciary.
How is a solar system depreciated within a business?
As operating equipment, over its useful life; the federal government allows accelerated depreciation for energy-saving and environmental-protection investments, and cantonal practice varies. The fiduciary clarifies the specific rates – the tax savings of the first few years belong in every financing calculation.
Does ecoEn offer contracting or leasing?
No. We build, and you own – that's our core model. We prepare the indicative quote so a bank, fiduciary or lessor can work with it, and show the alternatives honestly if external financing is to be considered for a property.
Free initial consultation
An indicative quote your fiduciary can actually work with.
Send us your annual electricity statement and roof dimensions – we'll provide the system size, yield forecast, incentive route and operating costs as the basis for purchase, credit or leasing. A direct specialist company from Zurich, not a broker.
Want to calculate yourself first? Solar calculator with official roof data →
Prefer to talk? +41 78 830 83 35
Commercial and industrial roof: indicative quote from a specialist company →
Swissolar-certified specialist company · ESTI installation authorisation (Art. 14 NIV) · in Zurich since 2017 · over 150 systems completed · a personal answer from the specialist company, no call centre
Sources: guideline costs according to published Swiss market data (as of July 2026); one-off feed-in incentive according to EnFV Annex 2.1 / Pronovo (as of August 2026); VAT according to the VAT Act (MWSTG) / Federal Tax Administration (ESTV); accelerated depreciation according to ESTV fact sheet A 1995 (energy-saving and environmental-protection investments); contract terms and model comparison based on market observation and customer enquiries at ecoEn GmbH. As of September 2026.
Last updated: 9 July 2026 · Author: ecoEn editorial team
