Planning to install solar panels on your roof? What about roof suitability and the price of solar installations? Or maybe you're just curious and want to learn more about energy self-sufficiency. The Solar Calculator is here to help! Customized results.
With just a few clicks, you can get a first overview of your future photovoltaic system - online and free of charge.
In order to determine approximate energy production, total cost, and amortisation period, numerous factors must be considered, such as geographic location, roof orientation and slope, local electricity rates, initial cost, federal subsidies, and so on. This can get quite complex and time-consuming without expert knowledge. Our Solar Calculator is here to help you! It even incorporates your individual energy consumption and current heating system into the equation.
Our online Solar Calculator provides you with a data-based and neutral assessment of your future photovoltaic system in no time. Moreover, the analysis is free of charge and does not commit you to anything. You don't even have to give us your phone number.
The value of your home is significantly increased by a solar installation on the roof.
The federal government supports the purchase of solar systems with approximately 20 % subsidies. The investment costs can also be deducted from taxes in most cantons.
They generate income by feeding solar power into the grid. In most cases, the initial investment for a solar system pays for itself over its entire lifetime.
They produce climate-friendly electricity and contribute to a better environment.
Solar power from your own roof is cheaper than power from the public grid. You can permanently reduce your electricity costs by 30%.
With your own solar system, you become self-sufficient and are less affected when electricity price increases.
Enter the relevant key data about your property and energy consumption in just a few steps.
The annual solar potential of your selected roof and the associated cost are calculated based on your selection.
After the analysis, you will receive online access to your free solar evaluation by mail.
Compatibility with a photovoltaic system is primarily determined by solar radiation, roof orientation, inclination, shading, and roof size.
Solar radiation is the main factor for suitability. The irradiation is influenced by the geographical location as well as the orientation, pitch and shading.
The ideal roof orientation for generating energy from solar panels is to the south. However, a deviation to the south-east to south-west reduces the energy yield far less than previously assumed. In addition, solar systems are best amortized through high self-consumption. This is why photovoltaic systems on roofs with a south-east or south-west are not to be excluded.. You can check the roof orientation with our Solar Calculator.
A roof pitch of 30 to 35 degrees is ideal for the yield of a photovoltaic system. If the roof pitch deviates from these guide values, the orientation is decisive. In the case of an orientation directly to the south, the roof pitch only slightly influences the energy yield - estimated in the mid-single-digit percentage range. The further the roof orientation deviates from the south, the greater the energy losses, even if the roof pitch is optimal. We take these combined factors into account in our Solar Calculator.
The shading of individual modules of the photovoltaic system can lead to considerable losses in energy production. The reason is pretty straight forward, less light leads to less energy. The second and much more relevant reason is that photovoltaic modules are connected in series: If one module in the series runs poorly due to shading, it negatively affects the electricity production of the entire series.
The acquisition costs per square meter decrease with increasing size, which is why larger systems are often more profitable. However, in most cases the entire roof area can not be used for solar panels, as the chimney, skylight etc. are still in the way. Restrictions on the usable area of the roof are taken into account by our solar Calculator.
Based on your location, our Solar Calculator can already estimate whether one or more roof areas of your property are suitable for a solar installation.
If the roof is suitable for a photovoltaic system, the question often arises: Is the investment worth it? From a purely ecological point of view, this question can always be answered with a yes. From an economic point of view, the costs (acquisition costs, operating costs), the subsidy contributions, the local electricity prices, the local feed-in tariffs, self-consumption etc., are decisive. Our Solar Calculator calculates the amortization period and shows you neutrally whether the investment is worthwhile.
Solar systems combined with high self-consumption often pay for themselves after 15 to 20 years. Our Solar Calculator analyzes the profitability of a PV system for you.
A solar power system is an investment that usually pays off and can generate profit over the entire service life of 30 years. Due to the increasing number of solar systems produced, prices are falling steadily.
An average single-family house in Switzerland has an annual electricity consumption of around 4,500 kilowatt hours (kWh). For a single family home, for example, a solar power system with an output of around 8 kilowatts peak (kWp) could be installed. An annual output of around 900 kWh is calculated per kWp. In this example, this would result in an annual electricity production of 7200 kWh per year.
The costs - before subsidies and tax benefits - for such a photovoltaic system in Switzerland amount to around CHF 20,000. PV systems are subsidized by the state, with a one-off payment being made for the purchase, which in this example is around CHF 4,000. With additional tax savings, the deductions add up to around CHF 5,000. Ultimately, the net investment costs in this example are CHF 15,000.
Our Solar Calculator gives you a first overview of the costs to be incurred for the installation of your solar panels.
The operating costs for maintenance and insurance amount to approximately 1% of the acquisition costs. For example, it is possible that the inverter fails.
Maintenance
Photovoltaic systems have no moving parts and are made of durable materials. Well-built solar panels function perfectly without regular maintenance and have an expected service life of 30 years. Nevertheless, annual maintenance costs of 1% of the acquisition costs should be expected on average. With acquisition costs of CHF 20,000, an average of around CHF 200 is added per year, which sounds like little at first. Over the entire service life of 30 years, however, these costs can add up to CHF 6,000.
Cleaning
There are different opinions as to whether and how often photovoltaic modules should be cleaned. Minor contamination does not significantly affect the energy production of the solar system. In addition, the solar modules on the roof are cleaned by the precipitation. Smaller photovoltaic installations in particular for self-consumption usually do not need cleaning, which means that there are no costs.
Insurance
An additional insurance for a photovoltaic system is not necessary. Possible damage to the system (natural hazards and fire) are covered by the mandatory building insurance. After the installation and commissioning of the system, only a report needs to be made to the responsible insurance company. This increases the building insurance premium, but only by a few francs a year.
You should expect annual operating costs of around 1% of the acquisition costs.
Solar panels are heavily subsidized by the federal government. Around a third of the investment costs are reimbursed in the form of a small one-off payment (KLEIV in german) for PV systems up to 100 kWp. The amount of the KLEIV varies depending on the output of the PV system. The individual KLEIV amounts are taken into account in our calculator. In addition, the funding is only distributed after the system has been commissioned. In addition to the small one-time payment, there is also the large one-time payment (GREIV). However, this only applies to systems from 100 kWp and is therefore hardly relevant for private homeowners.
In addition to subsidies, homeowners also receive tax breaks. In almost all cantons, the investment costs of a photovoltaic system are tax deductible.
All financial subsidies are taken into account by our calculator so that you can see directly how much money you are receiving and saving from the federal government.
Private individuals usually benefit from the small one-off payment and tax advantages.
You can sell electricity that you do not use yourself to your energy supplier and feed it into the grid. For every kilowatt hour, you will receive a feed-in tariff from your local energy supplier. The local feed-in tariffs vary greatly from region to region. The reason for the different tariffs are the respective providers per region, who set the prices. However, as a private person, you cannot choose the provider to whom you sell the electricity, but are tied to your place of residence. These tariffs can have a strong influence on whether and when your photovoltaic system will pay off. In our solar calculator you can see which feed-in tariffs apply in your region.
The electricity tariffs in your municipality are decisive for the amortization calculation. Our Solar Calculator indicates them.
A normal solar power system for an average single-family home in Switzerland costs around CHF 15,000 after subsidies and tax savings.
The higher the self-consumption and the proportion of solar energy produced in the total energy requirements, the faster the solar system pays for itself.
In addition to the costs of the photovoltaic system and the subsidies, the self-consumption of the electricity produced plays an important role in calculating the profitability of your system. Self-consumption means that the electricity that your PV system produces is consumed by you and does not flow back into the power grid.
The higher the proportion of self-produced electricity in your total consumption, the more money you save. The reason for this is that your solar electricity is cheaper than electricity from the grid.
In our Solar Calculator, you can capture your annual energy needs. Based on this, we suggest a suitable PV system. Self-consumption is included in the bill.
In addition, you can simulate what your own consumption could look like and how you could increase it with a heat pump, a solar-optimized boiler, a battery storage system or an electric vehicle charging station.
Our digital Solar Calculator combines different databases, so you can get an all-in-one result. Based on your location, we calculate the solar potential of the house.
The data you enter is sufficient to provide you with a first estimate of the annual electricity production and consumption as well as the costs. This enables you to assess whether a photovoltaic system is a sensible investment for you and your needs.
The digital solar calculator from Houzy analyses the solar potential as well as the costs of a photovoltaic system with just a few entries - completely free of charge and without obligation. The analysis is based on all relevant criteria of a solar analysis and shows you the investment costs, operating costs, subsidies, tax savings, feed-in tariffs, etc. in detail. In just 2 minutes and after a few clicks, the solar calculator is ready and you can see all the relevant information about the photovoltaic system in an overview. The results are completely neutral - Houzy is an independent platform and does not pursue any third-party interests.
To find out whether your house is suitable for a photovoltaic system, we need the address. This allows us to obtain relevant information from publicly accessible databases and directories, such as the geographical location, roof area or roof orientation. Some key data about the house and your energy requirements help us to fine-tune the calculations. Afterwards, you will immediately receive online access to your digital solar analysis on Houzy by email.
Houzy is a start-up and finances itself by brokering third-party services and through advertising partnerships with national and regional partners. However, you as a user always decide for yourself when you want to share which data with whom, and thus always retain data sovereignty. The use of our solar calculator tool and the entire homeowner platform is permanently free of charge for you. However, if required, you can request free quotes for the installation of a photovoltaic system from one of our recommended tradesmen in your region.
