There are 420,000 second homes in Switzerland, which are empty for an average of 300 days of the year. According to a study by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy, many holiday home owners only turn the heating down a few degrees, even though it would be possible to reduce it to a frost-prevention temperature. myclimate and Swisscom want to change this in future. They are now launching a program which offers the installation of remote control systems for heating at a reduced price. In the initial stage the remote control systems will be advertised in Adelboden and Scuol.
This type of device enables the heating in the holiday home to be controlled at any time via smartphone, SMS or internet. When absent, the temperature can be reduced to a minimum and then increased shortly before the start of a holiday. This remote control system saves on heating costs and energy without compromising on comfort, and thus makes a contribution towards climate protection. Depending on occupancy and the reduction in temperature, annual energy costs can be reduced by up to 50 percent. This amounts to several hundred francs per year. So the cost of the purchase and installation of the remote control system is usually recouped within a short period of time. Depending on the equipment, fitting by a local installation engineer costs between 650 and 1,500 francs with the discount.
In the first phase of the project, the devices will be offered in Scuol and Adelboden. These tourist destinations are supporting the program as pilot regions. If there is sufficient interest in the offer, it will be expanded to other mountain regions in a second stage. However in principle, second home owners from throughout Switzerland can already take part now.
More information about the program, participation requirements and registration can be found here.