ProKilowatt 2026 — which lighting refurbishments qualify for funding

The federal funding programme covers up to 30% of the investment, but only under clear conditions. Which lighting refurbishments qualify, why public street lighting is excluded and which mistakes cost you the grant.

ProKilowatt is the Swiss federal funding programme for measures that save electricity but would not pay off without support. For lighting refurbishments it can be worthwhile, provided you know the conditions. Not every LED retrofit qualifies, and some grants are lost before the application is even assessed.

Who funds it and how

The Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) puts ProKilowatt out to competitive tender every year, based on Art. 32 of the Energy Act and Art. 19–22 of the Energy Ordinance. The money comes from the grid surcharge; in 2026 up to CHF 70 million is available in total. The programme office is run by CimArk.

There are two forms: projects, in which a company or organisation implements the measure itself and receives the grant directly, and programmes, in which a sponsoring body bundles many smaller measures. Programmes that fund lighting measures are not admitted in the 2026 call. For a lighting refurbishment, that leaves a project application of your own.

The key conditions

• The grant is at least CHF 20,000 and at most CHF 6 million, and no more than 30% of the investment.
• The payback period, meaning the investment divided by the annual electricity cost savings, must be at least 4 years. Anything that pays back faster is considered economic and is excluded.
• Cost-effectiveness must not exceed 8 Rappen (centimes) per kilowatt hour: the requested grant divided by the eligible electricity savings accumulated over the service life.
• Measures required by law and measures directly linked to a new building or replacement building are excluded.
• Additional funding, for example from the canton, municipality or utility, is not permitted. Exceptions apply to funds that are not tied to energy or CO2 savings, such as Swisslos contributions to sports facilities.

What qualifies in lighting

Indoor lighting qualifies if the specific electricity demand of the new installation is below the ProKilowatt maximum value. This lies halfway between the limit value and the target value of the SIA 387/4:2023 standard.

Outdoor lighting, by contrast, is generally not eligible, explicitly including public lighting of streets, parks and pedestrian zones. Exceptions are sports grounds and stadiums as well as outdoor workplaces under EN 12464-2, such as car parks, petrol stations or industrial and storage areas.

All lighting refurbishments must also meet technical requirements:

• Illuminance levels under EN 12464-1 or -2 may be exceeded by no more than 20%. This must be verified by measurement and documented in a signed measurement report.
• For sports facilities and outdoor workplaces, the upward light output ratio (ULOR) must not exceed 0.5%.
• Outdoor workplaces generally require control via daylight or person or vehicle detection; any deviation must be justified in the application.

Procedure in 2026

Project applications can be submitted at any time until 1 November 2026. The SFOE selects them in competitive rounds according to their cost-effectiveness and usually issues a ruling two weeks after each round. The grant is paid out only after the project is completed and the final report has been approved.

Common pitfalls

• Ordering too early: implementation may start only after the funding decision. An unconditional decision to proceed or placing the order already counts as the start.
• No second attempt: an application that is not funded may not be resubmitted in the same call year. The key figures should therefore be right the first time.
• Forgetting the final report: it must be submitted no later than six months after implementation is completed.
• Missing the savings target: if electricity savings fall short of the application, the grant is generally reduced in the same proportion.

Smaller projects: Lightbankplus

For refurbishments below the ProKilowatt threshold, the Lightbankplus funding programme is worth a look. It runs until the end of 2027 and supports indoor lighting as well as outdoor lighting and outdoor sports grounds, but explicitly not street lighting, with up to 30% of the investment or CHF 30,000 per project. Here too, the order may be placed only after provisional admission.