Guide · Switzerland
What does self-sufficiency mean?
Buying less electricity from a supplier is an important reason to go solar. Self-sufficiency puts a number on part of that ambition. It does not mean your home can operate without the grid at every moment.
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What does self-sufficiency mean?
Self-sufficiency shows the share of total electricity demand covered by PV and the battery. On its own it says nothing about return or winter supply.
How much of your demand do you cover yourself?
This measure starts with the household: how much of its consumption comes from its own panels, directly or through storage? That differs from asking how much solar generation stays at home. Both figures can help, but they tell different stories. Generated, self-used and purchased kilowatt-hours make them easier to understand.
The last few percentage points can be expensive
More storage can reduce grid purchases, but not every extra unit of capacity gets the same amount of use. Compare the gain in self-sufficiency with its cost. Remember the seasons too: a good annual figure can combine large summer exports with substantial winter purchases. Backup during a grid outage is a separate technical question.
The key considerations
Formula: solar energy used on site divided by total demand. A high annual figure can hide summer surpluses and winter grid purchases, so also examine exports, imports and the monthly profile.
Official and specialist sources
- SFOE: photovoltaic market – 2025 price study
- ElCom: electricity tariffs 2026
- Pronovo: one-off payment calculator
- SwissEnergy: home battery storage
- SwissEnergy: self-consumption
- European Commission: PVGIS
- WattBilanz: Pronovo, exports, guarantees of origin and tax
Sources and price assumptions last checked on 18 September 2026.
Continue with your own data
Compare self-sufficiency, grid purchases and additional cost together, rather than choosing on one high percentage.