Frequently Asked Questions

A typical installer comes in, installs the equipment, has you sign the acceptance report—and leaves. At VITO Energies, we’re there before, during, and long after. Our role doesn’t end with commissioning: we continuously monitor your system to ensure it performs as it should. It’s fundamentally a different model.

No. VITO Energies is 100% independent of any manufacturer. We do not receive any commission on the equipment we recommend. This allows us to objectively choose the best solution for your situation—not the one that boosts our revenue. That’s one of the reasons our customers have trusted us for 20 years.

Both. VITO Energies began in the fossil fuel sector and has grown alongside the renewable energy sector. Today, we support our customers in both areas—propane, bio-propane, solar, heat pumps, and hybrid systems—because that’s the reality of most situations. We don’t judge you for your current choices; we help you make the right decisions for today and for the next 10 years.

You don’t have to manage five different contractors, search for a certified installer online, or fill out grant applications. VITO selects partners from its network, coordinates the project, handles commissioning, and activates monitoring from day one. You have a single point of contact—from assessment to dashboard.

20 years. Our parent company, Vitogaz, has served over 5,000 customers—from farmers to small and medium-sized businesses to property owners—from Geneva to St. Gallen. Our company is not a startup—it is a proven industry leader with a nationwide presence.

Monitoring involves the continuous surveillance and optimization of your system. Without active management, an energy system loses between 20 and 30% of its potential—silently, every month. Not because it’s poorly installed, but because no one is optimizing it. A study by ETH Zurich conducted on 400 systems confirmed this: 40% of Swiss heat pumps underperform.

Our platform automatically detects losses (underperforming panels, misused batteries, inefficient heat pumps), continuously optimizes the balance between solar production, storage, and grid feed-in, and provides you with a monthly performance score and a report in CHF—showing what you’ve gained or lost—rather than abstract kWh figures. If any equipment malfunctions, we dispatch a technician to resolve the issue.

Our monitoring subscription starts at CHF 15 to 20 per month. In return, our monitored clients save an average of CHF 200 to 500 per year thanks to automatic optimizations and anomaly alerts.

This is our core business—not just an option you check off at the end of a quote. We activate monitoring from day one of implementation. It’s the cornerstone of our model and the fundamental reason why our clients save money where others lose it.

Every month, you receive a performance report showing your score (e.g., “You are utilizing 72% of your system’s potential”), the CHFs recovered or lost, and concrete recommendations for recovering the remaining 28%. If an anomaly is detected, an automatic alert is generated—you don’t have to monitor the system yourself.

No, and we will never force you to make a decision that doesn’t fit your situation. You have the right—until the deadline set by your canton—to keep using heating oil, natural gas, or propane if that’s the best option for you right now. What we refuse to do is let you make a bad decision that would cost you money for 15 years.

We start with a comprehensive assessment of your situation: actual energy consumption, existing infrastructure, financial goals, and regulatory requirements. We then model your ROI over 1, 5, and 10 years, identify available grants, and recommend the best solution for you—both today and 10 years from now. All of this is done before we even touch a single piece of equipment.

Bio-propane is a renewable version of conventional propane, produced from organic materials. For customers who heat with propane and want to reduce their CO₂ emissions without completely overhauling their system, it is often a practical and cost-effective transition. We’ll assess whether this is the right option for you as part of our audit.

BIPV (Building-Integrated Photovoltaics) involves integrating solar panels into vertical facades. This is particularly suitable for sites without rooftop space, historic buildings, or industrial sites exposed to dust. Compared to a traditional horizontal installation, BIPV can increase the usable surface area by two to three times—and vertical modules capture diffuse sunlight in winter where a roof would be in the shade. We also work with Turn2Watt, which develops solar fences for parking lots and large residential or industrial complexes.

Yes, and that’s exactly what we specialize in. With 20 years of experience in both fossil fuels and renewable energy, we can design hybrid solutions that work with your existing infrastructure and evolve gradually. You don’t have to replace everything at once—we plan the transition at your own pace, taking into account the depreciation of your current equipment.

Before signing anything, we model your projected return on investment over 1, 5, and 10 years. We work with you to set performance targets (PV output, energy savings, ROI) and include them in the contract. If your system’s performance deviates from projections, our monitoring system detects it and we take action.

The grants available depend on your canton, the type of system, and your profile (residential, SME, farmer). In 2026, cantonal and federal programs will cover heat pumps, solar systems, BIPV, and energy efficiency measures, among other things. We identify and manage all grant applications for you—this is included in our support services.

Yes, for eligible projects, we design tailored financing structures, including energy leasing or zero-CAPEX solutions. For SMEs in particular, we model the direct impact on EBITDA and propose structures that allow the project to be financed using the savings generated.

Dynamic rates are energy contracts where the price varies depending on the time of production and consumption. Some utilities, such as BKW (Bern) and Groupe E (Fribourg/Neuchâtel), already offer them. In 3 to 5 years, this will be the norm in Switzerland. Our monitoring system prepares your system to automatically optimize your energy consumption based on these rates—you’ll be ready before anyone else.

Because they are designed with technical considerations in mind rather than financial ones. Most estimates overlook four essential dimensions: financial (ROI, cash flow, grants), technical (actual energy consumption, compatibility), regulatory (state standards, certifications), and temporal (what is appropriate today and in 10 years). Our audit systematically incorporates these four dimensions.

We work with all of them. Homeowners (houses, apartments), farmers, small and medium-sized businesses, property managers, and industrial sites—our approach is tailored to each client’s needs. What remains consistent is our method: independent audits, customized recommendations, and ongoing monitoring.

Absolutely. Farmers make up a significant portion of our client base. Energy is often a major cost for farms (poultry houses, greenhouses, milking equipment, drying facilities). We analyze your energy usage patterns by equipment and production cycle, and we continuously optimize them to reduce your energy bill without interrupting production.

Energy efficiency is a key factor in increasing the value of your real estate assets. We help you identify the least energy-efficient buildings, prioritize improvements based on their ROI, access available grants, and document the improvements for your reporting. Continuous monitoring allows you to demonstrate the savings achieved to your tenants and investors.

Yes. For small and medium-sized businesses, energy is a direct driver of EBITDA. We model the full financial impact of your project, identify available grants, structure tailored financing solutions, and implement auditable CO₂ reporting—which is increasingly required by stakeholders and banks.

No, and in fact, that’s often where we create the most immediate value. A system without active monitoring loses between 15% and 30% of its potential in the first year alone. We connect your system to our monitoring platform, identify existing losses, and start recovering them. The first performance report is available within 30 days.

You fill out an online form with the key details of your energy usage. A calculator analyzes this data, and then an expert in your area reviews it and contacts you. The audit takes into account your detailed energy usage, your existing systems, your financial goals, regulatory requirements, and your timeframe. It’s free and requires no commitment.

The process consists of five steps: audit and analysis (weeks 1–2), recommendations and reporting (week 3), implementation and coordination (weeks 4–12, depending on the project), commissioning and activation of monitoring (starting on day 1), and ongoing optimization. You’ll be kept informed at key milestones—without having to coordinate the various stakeholders yourself.

VITO Energies relies on a network of certified installation partners built up over 25 years, covering all of Switzerland—from Geneva to St. Gallen, from Ticino to Valais. We select the partner best suited to your project, whose work quality we have personally verified. You don’t have to search for or compare contractors.

Yes. Your VITO dashboard is available 24/7. It provides a real-time overview of your production, consumption, storage, and grid feed-in—with smart alerts in case of anomalies. Each month, you’ll receive a summary report showing your performance score and the CHF you’ve earned or lost.

Our monitoring platform automatically detects any deviations or underperformance. An alert is generated, and if necessary, we dispatch a technician from our network of installation partners. You don’t have to wait until you notice a problem yourself—we’ll notify you before losses pile up.

Yes. Our network of certified partners and regional experts covers the entire country—from Geneva to St. Gallen, from Ticino to Valais, in both German-speaking and French-speaking Switzerland. No matter which canton you’re in, we have an expert and a network of installers nearby.

Our contractual targets include guaranteed PV output with a maximum deviation of -10% from projections, a target ROI with a maximum deviation of -15%, and minimum contractual energy savings. In the event of a confirmed malfunction, we assess and document the losses. These are not sales promises—they are measurable commitments.