Guide · Renovation & energy
Use GEAK Plus properly: turn renovation options into a feasible sequence
GEAK Plus can reveal energy options and stages. The report becomes an executable strategy only when component condition, use, budget, funding deadlines and technical dependencies share the same plan revision.
What GEAK Plus provides and what remains to do
GEAK is the uniform Swiss cantonal building energy certificate. It classifies building-envelope efficiency, overall energy efficiency and direct CO₂ emissions. GEAK Plus adds an advisory report with building-specific energy-modernisation options to the condition assessment.
The GEAK association states that Plus may contain up to five options, describing measures, priorities and possible staging. It may include investment and maintenance costs, operating savings and grants as decision aids. These are not execution-ready contractor quotations: awarding work still needs binding quantities, products, responsibilities, interfaces and coordinated plans.
Four levels of a reliable renovation decision
- Energy
- Understand GEAK classes, options and expected energy effects.
- Condition
- Check remaining service life, damage and components already due for renewal.
- Use
- Consider comfort, layout, occupancy and planned changes.
- Execution
- Coordinate budget, subsidies, interfaces, permissions and stages.
Define the decision objective first
Before commissioning, establish what decision the report should support: heating replacement, long-term full renovation, value preservation before sale or staging during occupancy. The same building may warrant a different sequence depending on the goal.
The time horizon also belongs in the brief. A roof due in two years calls for a different approach from an intact envelope with heating near failure. Inform the expert early about remodel wishes, layout changes or future extensions so options reflect actual use.
- Record the reason and intended decision in writing
- State budget and stages transparently
- Include planned use or layout changes
- Provide plans, consumption data and earlier renovation records
Link energy priorities with component condition
An energy-effective measure is not automatically first. Roof, façade, windows, basement ceiling, heating and distribution have different conditions and remaining lives. Moisture, leaks or safety defects may be more urgent than an attractive calculated efficiency gain.
Link every proposed measure to a condition assessment. A sound façade may be better renewed later in a coordinated package than altered alone now. A component already due can combine necessary repair with energy improvements. This separates unavoidable renewal costs from added energy measures.
Organise envelope and building-services dependencies
Envelope and heating influence each other. Better roofs, façades or windows can change heat demand. Do not select a new heat generator solely from the old unit’s rating. Envelope upgrades must also fit ventilation, moisture protection, summer comfort and existing heat emitters.
Read the sequence as a dependency plan: which choices alter later sizing, which routes or scaffolds can be shared, and which surfaces would be reopened? These questions create a technically sensible chain rather than a list of isolated measures.
Compare options on the same basis
A minimum package, phased modernisation and comprehensive renewal have different goals. Compare them using the same horizon, included components, assumptions about prices and use, associated works and final condition.
Distinguish report estimates from later quotations. Estimates support strategy; before ordering, convert them into specifications or clearly scoped quotes with quantities, quality, design, scaffolding, removal, reinstatement, fees and contingencies. Keep unknown risks visible.
- Compare options over the same horizon
- Identify included and excluded associated work
- Separate inevitable costs and additional energy costs
- State uncertainties as investigations, assumptions or contingencies
Check subsidies before binding triggers
Subsidies may influence sequencing but must not solely determine it. Current conditions for the measure, canton and municipality apply. Aargau’s funding page expressly requires application before construction begins. Zurich’s 2026 programme lists advice such as GEAK Plus and envelope and heating measures, with details in each programme brochure.
Before commissioning, ordering or starting, identify what counts as a binding trigger in the specific programme and which documents must already be filed. A calculator or report figure is not a grant commitment. Include only the checked decision in budget and programme.
Check subsidies in the right order
- 01Define the measure
Clarify building, component, system and scope enough to identify the right programme.
- 02Read conditions
Check current cantonal documents, deadlines, evidence and exclusions for the project.
- 03Submit application
Submit the complete application before the relevant binding trigger.
- 04Incorporate the decision
Only then reflect approval, conditions and evidence in the commission, programme and final records.
Plan stages around occupancy and site logistics
A calculated stage must also work in daily life. Occupied homes need access, heat, water, dust protection, room availability and seasonal planning. Roof and façade work may need scaffolding and weather protection; heating replacement needs a clear shutdown period and possibly temporary provision.
Identify repeated work. If a first stage finishes surfaces that must reopen for later pipes, the sequence is unresolved. Good staging reduces duplicate design, setup, scaffolding and reinstatement without artificially delaying necessary condition repairs.
From GEAK Plus to an approvable project roadmap
After choosing an option, turn the report into a roadmap. Give every stage a goal, investigations, responsible designer, cost status, funding and permission steps and clear approval criteria. Tender only the next sufficiently clarified stage in detail; keep later steps coordinated without prematurely fixing them.
GEAK Plus thus retains its proper role: a neutral energy decision basis with options. The executable sequence then connects condition, use, finance and construction planning. That connection turns a report into a manageable existing-building project.
Seven approvals before the first stage
- 01Confirm the goal
Record the chosen option and intended condition after the stage.
- 02Assess existing conditions
Investigate condition, damage, pollutants and hidden interfaces selectively.
- 03Secure dependencies
Document effects on later envelope, heating and interior work.
- 04Define scope
Clearly delimit design, main work, associated works and reinstatement.
- 05Clarify procedures
Schedule permissions, funding and required technical evidence.
- 06Approve costs
Confirm comparable offers, contingencies and financing for the same scope.
- 07Plan execution
Firmly coordinate occupancy, season, deliveries, tests and handover.
