Utilities' tariff calculators mainly answer one question: what does your electricity consumption cost? For solar owners that's only half the equation – feed-in usually isn't in the calculator but in the utility's separate tariff sheet or feed-in product sheet. Anyone who knows both sides and picks the right tariff category can follow their electricity bill and calculate their own system realistically. (As of: July 2026)
Key points in brief
- The utility's tariff calculator usually shows the consumption tariff – feed-in is a separate document.
- For the solar calculation you need both figures: what consumption costs and what feed-in brings in.
- Watch for the right category: tariff product, peak/off-peak times and the components of the price.
- The consumption price consists of energy, grid usage and levies – for the solar value, the total is what counts.
- The official comparison basis for consumption tariffs is ElCom's electricity price website.
What does the tariff calculator show me – and what not?
The tariff calculator on your utility's website answers the question the utility hears most often: "What will electricity cost me?" You enter your location, consumption and possibly the product, and the calculator shows the price per kilowatt-hour and the annual cost. For a normal household, that's the whole story.
For solar owners, it's half. The second half – what do I get for the electricity I feed in? – isn't in most calculators. Feed-in is published separately: as a feed-in tariff sheet, a producer product sheet, or a price list for producers, often in a different corner of the website. Anyone who only consults the calculator simply doesn't know their solar numbers.
There's also a quirk of the market-price models: where the utility passes on the reference market price, the value changes every quarter – a static calculator can never reflect that permanently. The current values from utilities in the region and their models are gathered in the large tariff overview.
How do I read the consumption tariff correctly?
With an eye on three levers that change the result more than you'd think:
The tariff product. Most utilities offer several electricity products – from the standard product to eco variants with a surcharge. The calculator shows what you've selected; for comparisons the standard product counts. For ZEV operators it's even legally relevant: the internal solar price may not exceed the external standard product.
Peak and off-peak tariffs. Many tariffs differ by time of day. Doubly interesting for solar owners: the electricity your system replaces during the day often falls in the more expensive peak period – so the consumption it replaces tends to be the pricier kind. That's exactly why the right, not the averaged, consumption price belongs in the cost-effectiveness calculation.
The price components. The total price per kilowatt-hour is made up of energy, grid usage and levies. For the question "what does my own kilowatt-hour save me?", the total is what counts – because self-consumed solar power replaces the whole consumption price, not just the energy share. That's the core of the calculation in the article Self-consumption or feed-in.
For a neutral comparison across utility boundaries, incidentally, there's an official point of reference: ElCom's electricity price website shows the published consumption tariffs of all grid areas – useful for orientation, even though the grid operator itself can't be chosen.
Where do I find the feed-in rate – and what should I watch for there?
Search your utility's website for terms like "feed-in", "Rücklieferung", "feeding back energy" or "producers" – that's where the relevant document sits. When reading it, four points matter:
| Check point | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Model | Fixed price, seasonal price or reference market price? Determines whether your yield is stable or fluctuates quarterly |
| GO remuneration | The guarantee of origin is often remunerated separately – and almost never flows in automatically |
| System category | Many tariffs apply "up to 30 kW" or "up to 100 kW" – your own system has to fall in the right row |
| Validity/date | Tariff sheets carry a date; fixed prices are republished annually |
Orientation, as of: July 2026. Tariffs are adjusted periodically by grid operators – check your utility's current publication.
A note on expectations: the feed-in documents are often prepared less comfortably than the consumption calculator – PDF instead of calculator, technical terms instead of sliders. That's not an accident but a priority the utilities set; all the more reason to identify your own row cleanly once. How these items later appear on the statement and how to check them in five minutes a year is shown in the article on Electricity bills with PV.
How do I use both figures for system planning?
As a pair – because only together do they give the value of your solar power. The short formula: self-consumed electricity is worth as much as the replaced consumption price, fed-in electricity as much as the feed-in tariff. Between the two there's typically a factor of two to four – which is why self-consumption dominates every cost-effectiveness calculation.
For practice that means three things. First: anyone checking a quote should compare the tariffs used there against the utility's own publications – reputable providers calculate with the tariff at the system's address, not regional averages. Second: for market-price models, a conservative range belongs in the calculation, not the best quarterly value. Third: the figures change – consumption tariffs annually, market prices quarterly. The tariff check is a recurring exercise, not a one-off.
In consultations we regularly see the same moment: someone knows their electricity price "roughly" – and when we look together at the tariff sheet and the statement, it turns out the system was calculated with the wrong figure. Sometimes it was the energy price without grid and levies, sometimes an outdated tariff year, sometimes the GO line was missing entirely from the feed-in. Our routine is therefore unspectacular: for every quote, we place the responsible utility's current publications side by side – consumption and feed-in, both with a date. Five minutes of effort, and the calculation rests on the right foundation.
Frequently asked questions
Why doesn't my utility's tariff calculator show feed-in?
Because the calculators are built for the large majority – consumers. Utilities publish feed-in separately as a tariff sheet or product sheet for producers. Search for "Rücklieferung" or "Einspeisung" on your utility's website, or use the linked overviews per utility.
Which price counts for the saving from self-consumption?
The full consumption price – energy plus grid usage plus levies. Self-consumed solar power replaces the whole kilowatt-hour you'd otherwise buy, including all its price components. Anyone who calculates with only the energy price clearly underestimates the value of their own system.
Can I use the tariff calculator to compare and switch utilities?
Compare, yes – for example via ElCom's official electricity price website. Switch, no: the grid operator is tied to the address. The comparison serves expectation management and orientation, not choosing a provider.
How often do the tariffs change?
Consumption tariffs are published annually, each autumn for the following year. For feed-in it's: fixed-price models annually, market-price models quarterly. An annual look at both publications belongs to every system's operating routine.
Do the figures in the calculator match my statement?
They should – if the product, category and tariff year match. If the bill and the calculator diverge, the reason is usually a different product, a different time-of-use split, or a missing GO registration. The five-minute check of the annual statement uncovers that.
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Sources: Tariff publications and tariff calculators of regional grid operators, ElCom (electricity price comparison page), empirical data from ecoEn GmbH's quoting and consulting practice, Zurich region.
Last updated: 9 July 2026 · Author: ecoEn editorial team
