Planning a heating replacement in Lausanne

This guide explains the steps of a planned heating replacement in Lausanne, what the Vaud cantonal law requires, and where to read the Programme Bâtiments conditions. It helps you prepare a written quote request and compare the quotes you receive.

1. What the new Vaud energy law changes

The new Vaud energy law (LVLEne) was adopted on 3 February 2026 and takes effect, with its implementing regulation, on 1 January 2027. It is a cantonal rule that applies in Lausanne as in the rest of the canton.

According to the canton, an oil or gas heating system that reaches the end of its life will have to be replaced by a renewable system (heat pump, wood heating or a district-heating connection): by 2042 if it was installed before 2020, by 2047 if installed after 2020.

The canton says the replacement follows the usual renewal cycle, with an estimated heating-system life of 20 years, and advises owners to plan ahead rather than wait until the last moment.

2. The options, and who decides

The canton lists district heating where a connection is possible, heat pumps and wood-pellet heating; the choice is made case by case, depending on the building's location and technical characteristics.

In Lausanne, the city's industrial services (SiL) run a district-heating network that is still expanding and invite owners to ask about connection options. Their request covers the building address, annual fuel consumption, requested power and a plan of the boiler room: useful details to gather before asking for any quote.

For an air/water or air/air heat pump, the city says a permit exemption is possible under certain conditions (ground-source probes excluded). The Municipality decides whether an authorization is needed, based on an online request; that request carries a fixed fee of CHF 150 since 1 November 2025.

When work touches building elements or the envelope, the cantonal energy law applies; in Lausanne, the contact for these questions is the SiL energy service.

For a listed or protected building, the city requires a prior opinion from the municipal heritage delegation (or a cantonal authorization for the highest-ranked objects), attached to the request.

3. The Programme Bâtiments: where to read the conditions

The Programme Bâtiments of the Confederation and the cantons supports envelope insulation and the replacement of fossil or electric heating by renewable heating or a heat-network connection. Each canton sets its own measures and conditions.

For the canton of Vaud, the official page states that no subsidy is granted once work has started, that the application must be approved before work begins, and that funding is limited to the annual budget. Payment follows a completion notice filed on the programme's portal.

This guide does not say whether a project is eligible: only the conditions published on the cantonal page and the cantonal processing center are authoritative.

4. Preparing a written quote request

The canton recommends starting with an energy assessment of the building (for example a CECB), getting professional support, planning the work in stages, and filing any subsidy application before the work starts.

A clear written request makes quotes comparable: type and age of the current heating, annual consumption, heated area, boiler-room access, photos, the building's protection status and your preferred period for the work.

5. Reading and comparing quotes

Compare what each quote includes: permit steps, removal of the old oil tank, commissioning, making good, and whether VAT is included. A quote that leaves these out is not necessarily cheaper.

If the work needs an authorization and the building dates from before 1991, the canton requires a full asbestos survey, and advises one in other cases too; check who arranges it.

In the canton, the authorization request is filed with the municipality's technical service, which stays the main contact and issues the final decision; an incomplete file can add several weeks.

In Lausanne, no work that noticeably changes a building may start before it is authorized, and the owner files the request. The city offers questions, a paid preliminary analysis or a meeting before filing.

6. What the commercial register shows, and does not show

The commercial register is an official source of economic information on businesses, searchable on Zefix. It shows that a business exists and how it is registered; it says nothing about its technical competence or the quality of its work. Ask the firm for its own evidence.

What Elegant Lists is, and is not

Elegant Lists publishes independent, sourced guides. We do not yet offer introductions to firms, and we do not rank any firm.

Found an error in this guide?

If a fact in this guide looks wrong or out of date, report it with the form on the Report an error page, giving the sentence concerned and, if you can, an official source.

We review every report within 10 business days. Every substantive correction is dated in the change log below.

Change log

30 October 2026: first published.

Sources

Written by Elegant Lists

Reviewed by Native English reviewer (English) on 22 October 2026

Sources checked on 1 November 2026