Supporting building heat decarbonization with heat Pumps: Analysis of subsidy schemes in Swiss leading cantons
Loading...
Author (Corporation)
Publication date
16.06.2025
Typ of student thesis
Course of study
Type
01A - Journal article
Editors
Editor (Corporation)
Supervisor
Parent work
Energy Policy
Special issue
DOI of the original publication
Link
Series
Series number
Volume
206
Issue / Number
Pages / Duration
114722
Patent number
Publisher / Publishing institution
Elsevier
Place of publication / Event location
Edition
Version
Programming language
Assignee
Practice partner / Client
Abstract
Heat pumps (HP) are a key solution for decarbonizing building heating systems. However, their adoption remains slow due to high upfront costs, technical challenges, and limited financial support. This study examines the impact of mandatory requirements to transition to HPs, combined with subsidy schemes, based on real-world case studies from two Swiss cantons. Two approaches of establishing the subsidy level are distinguished: i) LCOH-based subsidies, bringing down the levelized cost of renewable heating to the level of a gas boiler; and ii) Capital expenditure-based (CapEx-based) subsidies, which, in pure form, are designed to entirely repay the extra investment cost for installing the renewable heating system relative to a gas boiler. We find that current subsidy levels cover only a small portion of the additional investment costs compared to gas boilers and in most cases, they somewhat exceed the LCOH-based subsidy level. Today’s subsidy levels can be considered as good compromise between the two ways studied (i and ii), while opportunities are shown for some adaptations in the studied regulatory frameworks. These findings provide practical guidance for designing effective subsidy schemes for other Swiss cantons and other countries aiming to decarbonize building heating systems.
Keywords
heat pumps, decarbonization, Heizungsersatz, policy effectivnes evaluation
Subject (DDC)
Event
Exhibition start date
Exhibition end date
Conference start date
Conference end date
Date of the last check
ISBN
ISSN
1873-6777
0301-4215
0301-4215
Language
English
Created during FHNW affiliation
Yes
Strategic action fields FHNW
Zero Emission
Publication status
Published
Review
Peer review of the complete publication
Open access category
Hybrid
License
Citation
Li, X., Bolliger, R., Hall, M., & Patel, M. (2025). Supporting building heat decarbonization with heat Pumps: Analysis of subsidy schemes in Swiss leading cantons. Energy Policy, 206, 114722. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2025.114722