Published 15 June 202612 min readMinergie 2026.1 · SIA 382/1:2025HPE/THPE Geneva · REn art. 12B/12CUpdated June 2026
Minergie 2026.1: what changes and what it means
The Minergie 2026.1 regulation marks a clean break with earlier editions: fossil fuels are now prohibited for every label, heating demand is expressed as a percentage of the MoPEC 2025 values, PV becomes mandatory from the standard label onwards, and summer comfort data moves to DRY 2035. This dossier sets out the new rules, their practical consequences, and how they map onto Geneva's HPE and THPE levels.
The 2026.1 regulation does not tweak the old criteria at the marginsMinergie lists only three changes at 01.01.2026: embodied emissions tightened by about 7-8 %, updated energy label for washing machines and dryers, extra recommendations for industrial buildings.Association Minergie — Evolutions 2016-2025 — modifications au 01.01.2026accessed 2026-08-24 — it changes the logic on three points. Reading them together stops you treating each requirement in isolation.
0 %
fossil energy allowed in primary heat generation — heating oil, gas and propane are excluded for every Minergie labelClause 8.1: "les agents énergétiques fossiles ne sont pas autorisés pour la production de chaleur pour le chauffage et l'eau chaude sanitaire", all labels, new build and retrofit.Association Minergie — Règlement des labels Minergie/Minergie-P/Minergie-A, version 2026.1, ch. 8.12026-01-01 · accessed 2026-08-24, outside the framed peak-load tolerance
60 % / 30 %
of the available roof area to be covered with PV (new build / retrofit), on a basis of 200 W/m² of roofAnnex B2: "BelGDach, taux d'occupation du toit, 60 % pour les nouvelles constructions, 30 % pour les rénovations" and "200 W de puissance photovoltaïque par m2 de toiture disponible".Association Minergie — Règlement des labels Minergie 2026.1, annexe B2 — rendement standard de l'autoproduction2026-01-01 · accessed 2026-08-24 — mandatory from the standard Minergie label onwards
DRY 2035
MeteoSwiss weather data for summer comfort calculations — all labelsClause 7: "il convient d'utiliser les données météorologiques pour la période 2035 (DRY) de Météo Suisse", with three verification routes, the third by simulation per SIA 180:2014 method 3.Association Minergie — Règlement des labels Minergie 2026.1, ch. 7 — confort thermique estival2026-01-01 · accessed 2026-08-24
1 000 m²
of reference floor area: the threshold above which monitoring is mandatory for Minergie and Minergie-PClause 14: "Les bâtiments Minergie de plus de 1000 m2 de SRE (neuf et rénovation avec nouvelles installations techniques), ainsi que les bâtiments Minergie-A de toute taille."Association Minergie — Règlement des labels Minergie 2026.1, ch. 14 — monitoring2026-01-01 · accessed 2026-08-24
Break 1 — blocking
Fossil fuels all but banned — framed peak-load tolerance
Heating oil, natural gas, propane: fossil fuels are no longer allowed either for primary heat generation or as routine backup. The regulation does tolerate peak-load cover for plant rooms of 80 kW and above (at most 10 % of total annual heat demand), connection to a district heating network whose production is at most 50 % fossilClause 8.1: peaks allowed from 80 kW of calculated output, at most 10 % of total annual demand; district heat allowed if its production is at most 50 % fossil; fossil CHP if at least 35 % electricity.Association Minergie — Règlement des labels Minergie 2026.1, ch. 8.1 — recours aux énergies renouvelables2026-01-01 · accessed 2026-08-24, and fossil-fired combined heat and power producing at least 35 % electricity. A Geneva HPE project with a gas boiler in routine use no longer complies with Minergie 2026.1.
Break 2 — systematic
PV on 60 % / 30 % of the roof — a prerequisite from standard Minergie
Photovoltaics is no longer an optional differentiator. Minergie and Minergie-P require PV covering at least 60 % of the available roof area on new builds (30 % on retrofits), on a basis of 200 W/m² of roof. Minergie-A must cover 100 % of its demand from on-site generation.
Break 3 — recalculate
DRY 2035 for summer comfort
Summer comfort calculations now use weather data representative of 2035 (MeteoSwiss). Studies carried out with historical data may no longer comply — worth checking on every live project.
A watch point for Geneva projects
In Geneva, HPE and THPE are legally recognised through the federal Minergie labels (REn art. 12B and 12C)REn art. 12B para. 1: new buildings holding the Minergie label or an equivalent. Art. 12C para. 1: Minergie-A, Minergie-P-Eco or an equivalent label.République et canton de Genève — rsGE L 2 30.01 — Règlement d'application de la loi sur l'énergie (REn), art. 12B et 12Caccessed 2026-08-24. The three breaks in the 2026.1 regulation therefore apply in full to Geneva projects aiming for those labels. The Minergie regulation is the reference, not the REn itself — it is what defines the certification criteria.
02 — Thermal requirements
Heating demand as a % of MoPEC 2025 — the 90 / 70 / 90 scale
The 2026.1 regulation expresses heating demand as a percentage of the MoPEC 2025 limit valuesClause 6.1: Qh per SIA 380/1:2016 against the Qh,li limit values of MoPEC 2025. New build: Minergie 90 %, Minergie-P 70 %, Minergie-A 90 %. Retrofit: Minergie-P only, at 90 %.Association Minergie — Règlement des labels Minergie 2026.1, ch. 6.1 — besoins en chauffage2026-01-01 · accessed 2026-08-24 rather than in absolute terms. This ties the Minergie threshold automatically to the baseline cantonal requirement — which varies with building type and climate zone.
Criterion
Minergie
Minergie-P
Minergie-A
Heating demand — new build (% of MoPEC 2025 limit values)
≤ 90 %
≤ 70 %
≤ 90 %
Heating demand — retrofit (% of MoPEC 2025 limit values)
No requirement
≤ 90 %
No requirement
Absolute minimum
15 kWh/(m²a)
15 kWh/(m²a)
15 kWh/(m²a)
Fossil fuels
PROHIBITED
PROHIBITED
PROHIBITED
On-site PV generation
60 % of roof (new) / 30 % (retrofit)
60 % of roof (new) / 30 % (retrofit)
100 % of demand
Calculation standard
SIA 380/1:2016
SIA 380/1:2016
SIA 380/1:2016
Source: minergie.ch, Minergie labels regulation 2026.1, checked June 2026. Reference floor area per SIA 380/1:2016. PV coverage is computed on the available roof area, on a basis of 200 W/m² of roof.
Minergie-P's 70 % historically corresponds to passive-level performance. What separates Minergie-A from Minergie-P is not heating demand (both sit at 90 % for new builds) but on-site generation: Minergie-A must cover 100 % of its demand.
The absolute floor of 15 kWh/(m²a)
This floor stops a very compact buildingClause 6.1: "Les exigences quant aux besoins de chaleur sont au minimum de 15 kWh/(m2an), même si le calcul de la valeur limite donne un résultat inférieur."Association Minergie — Règlement des labels Minergie 2026.1, ch. 6.12026-01-01 · accessed 2026-08-24 — whose MoPEC limit values would in theory be very low — from being let off insulation. Even where the MoPEC limit values for the building type are undemanding, the actual heating demand computed per SIA 380/1:2016 cannot drop below 15 kWh/(m²a) for the purposes of the relative threshold.
03 — Envelope and systems
Airtightness and SIA 382/1:2025 ventilation
Minergie 2026.1 keeps the air permeability thresholds for the P and A labelsClause 6.2, table: Minergie-P and Minergie-A, qE50 of 0.8 for new builds and 1.6 for retrofits. Measurement is required only for those two labels.Association Minergie — Règlement des labels Minergie 2026.1, ch. 6.2 — étanchéité de l'enveloppe2026-01-01 · accessed 2026-08-24 — and adopts the new ventilation standard SIA 382/1:2025The regulation cites SIA 382/1:2025 for air heating (clause 8.3) and for the IEQ II and IDA 2 categories in non-residential buildings.Association Minergie — Règlement des labels Minergie 2026.1, ch. 8.3 et ch. 102026-01-01 · accessed 2026-08-24. The standard Minergie label still carries no imposed airtightness requirement.
Airtightness — qE50
Label
Type
qE50 threshold
Measurement standard
Minergie-P / Minergie-A
New build
≤ 0.8 m³/(h·m²)
EN ISO 9972:2015 + SIA 180:2014
Minergie-P / Minergie-A
Retrofit
≤ 1.6 m³/(h·m²)
EN ISO 9972:2015 + SIA 180:2014
Minergie (standard)
New or retrofit
Not imposed
—
qE50 = leakage flow Q₅₀ referred to the thermal envelope area Aₑ. Independent of building shape, unlike the n₅₀ used by the Passivhaus Institut (PHI)Clause 6.2: "selon les normes SIA 180:2014 et SN EN ISO 9972:2022 (norme SIA 180.206)". The reference kept on this site remains the 2015 edition of ISO 9972.Association Minergie — Règlement des labels Minergie 2026.1, ch. 6.22026-01-01 · accessed 2026-08-24. Source: minergie.ch, 2026.1 regulation, checked June 2026.
For Geneva THPE projects (which correspond to Minergie-P or Minergie-A, see section 05), the requirement is therefore qE50 ≤ 0.8 m³/(h·m²) on new builds. It belongs in the airtightness specification from the concept design stage, not only in the certification file.
Ventilation — SIA 382/1:2025
Label
Ventilation requirement
Standard
Minergie (standard)
Automatic air renewal required
—
Minergie-P
Compliant heat-recovery ventilation
SIA 382/1:2025
Minergie-A
Compliant heat-recovery ventilation
SIA 382/1:2025
Geneva — REn art. 12E and 12G
Geneva's REn (L 2 30.01) lists SIA 382/1:2025 among the applicable reference standards (art. 12E)REn art. 12E para. 1: "les normes SIA 180 édition 2014, SIA 380/1 édition 2016 et SIA 382/1 édition 2025 sont respectées". Art. 12G para. 1 also cites it for ventilation.République et canton de Genève — rsGE L 2 30.01 — Règlement d'application de la loi sur l'énergie (REn), art. 12E al. 1accessed 2026-08-24, creating direct consistency with the Minergie regulation. REn art. 12G para. 3 also requires heat recovery on any mechanical extract above 1,000 m³/h running more than 500 h/yrREn art. 12G para. 3: heated rooms, controlled fresh air supply and heat recovery from 1,000 m³/h extracted and more than 500 h/yr; several units in one building count as one.République et canton de Genève — rsGE L 2 30.01 — Règlement d'application de la loi sur l'énergie (REn), art. 12G al. 3accessed 2026-08-24 — regardless of the label being sought.
Check the SIA 382/1 edition in your specifications
On live Minergie-P and Minergie-A projects, check that the ventilation specifications actually cite the 2025 edition of SIA 382/1 and not the 2014 edition. The exact transitional conditions are published on minergie.chMinergie: "un délai transitoire d'une année est toujours prévu avec l'introduction de nouvelles exigences réglementaires".Association Minergie — Evolutions 2016-2025 — des standards qui évoluentaccessed 2026-08-24.
04 — Monitoring and weather data
Monitoring and summer comfort — DRY 2035 data
Monitoring — mandatory above 1,000 m² of reference floor area
Label
Threshold
Monitoring required
Minergie
Reference floor area > 1,000 m²
Required
Minergie-P
Reference floor area > 1,000 m²
Required
Minergie-A
All buildings
Required with no threshold
Monitoring has to be anticipated from design onwards — cabling, sub-meters, communication gateways. A system added at the end of construction in a concrete building means expensive rework, sometimes impossible without partial dismantling.
Design
Identify the required measurement points
Heating, hot water, ventilation, PV output, and lighting in commercial buildings — put sub-meters and gateways into the electrical schematic at concept design. Detailed specifications are published on minergie.ch.
Construction
Install the meters during construction
M-Bus, LON, KNX or integration into the building management system, depending on project scale. Do not wait for handover — every meter fitted afterwards means rework on the installation.
Certification
System operational when the file is submitted
Monitoring must be working and logging by the time the Minergie certification file is submitted. Check compliance against the Minergie technical documentation available on minergie.ch.
Geneva's designated significant buildings are usually above 1,000 m²
Geneva's REn defines significant buildings from 3,000 m² of reference floor area (housing) or 2,000 m² (other uses, REn art. 13B)REn art. 13B para. 1: 3,000 m² for buildings used for housing, 2,000 m² for buildings in other uses.République et canton de Genève — rsGE L 2 30.01 — Règlement d'application de la loi sur l'énergie (REn), art. 13B al. 1accessed 2026-08-24. These buildings systematically exceed the Minergie threshold of 1,000 m² — so monitoring is doubly required on such projects.
Summer comfort — DRY 2035 weather data
The 2026.1 regulation requires MeteoSwiss DRY 2035 reference weather data for summer comfort calculations — for every label. The DRY (Design Reference Year) is calibrated on MeteoSwiss climate projections for 2035: it carries higher summer temperatures and more frequent heatwaves than the historical DRY sets.
Studies carried out with historical data may no longer comply
A building sized against earlier DRY sets can fall outside the Minergie criteria once recalculated with DRY 2035. The most exposed: top-floor dwellings, large west-facing glazed façades, lightweight construction with no thermal mass. Certified Minergie calculation software takes up DRY 2035 on its own update schedule — check the version in use.
In Geneva, HPE and THPE are legal standards set out in the energy act (LEn, L 2 30) — not labels issued by the canton. The implementing regulation (REn, L 2 30.01) recognises the federal Minergie labels as a route to demonstrating compliance.
HPE — REn art. 12B
High energy performance
Equivalent federal label (new build)
Minergie®
Equivalent federal label (retrofit)
Minergie® Rénovation
Equivalent CECB Plus
B / B (new) · C / B (retrofit)
Heat supply
Non-fossil and local; a district network is accepted if its non-fossil and local share reaches 50 %
Floor area ratio bonus (LCI art. 59 para. 1)
25 % → 27.5 % in zone 5
Mandatory for
Every private new build (LEn art. 15 para. 1)LEn art. 15 para. 1: the minimum requirements apply to the construction, fitting-out and operation of a new building or an extension, which "respectent des standards de haute performance énergétique".République et canton de Genève — rsGE L 2 30 — Loi sur l'énergie (LEn), art. 15 al. 1accessed 2026-08-24 · major retrofit of a public building (LEn art. 16 para. 2)
THPE — REn art. 12C
Very high energy performance
Equivalent federal label (new build)
Minergie®-A ou Minergie®-P-ECO
Equivalent CECB Plus
A / A (new) · B / A (retrofit)
Heat supply
Non-fossil and local; a district network is accepted if its non-fossil and local share reaches 80 %
Floor area ratio bonus (LCI art. 59 para. 1)
25 % → 30 % in zone 5
Mandatory for
Every public new build or public-law foundation (LEn art. 16 para. 1)LEn art. 16 para. 1: public authorities, public-law institutions and foundations except pension funds, and their building-right holders. Para. 2: retrofits of those buildings fall under HPE.République et canton de Genève — rsGE L 2 30 — Loi sur l'énergie (LEn), art. 16 al. 1 et 2accessed 2026-08-24
Sources: LEn L 2 30, REn L 2 30.01, LCI L 5 05 art. 59, texts in force consulted in the Geneva systematic collection of legislation.
Minergie 2026.1 on fossil fuels versus the REn non-fossil requirement: mind the interaction
Geneva's REn requires primary heat supply to be non-fossil and local; connection to a district heating network is accepted only if that network's non-fossil and local share reaches 50 % for HPE (REn art. 12B) and 80 % for THPE (REn art. 12C). Minergie goes considerably further: fossil fuels are no longer allowed in primary heat generation, with only a framed peak-load tolerance for large plant rooms (80 kW and above, at most 10 % of total annual demand), a district network at most 50 % fossil, and fossil-fired combined heat and power producing at least 35 % electricity. In practice, for any HPE or THPE project seeking Minergie certification, it is this far stricter requirement that governs. An HPE project with a gas boiler in routine use is no longer Minergie-certifiable.
The floor area bonus: a financial lever to build into feasibility
The buildable floor area bonus (LCI art. 59 para. 1) is a direct economic advantage in Geneva: in zone 5 the floor area ratio rises from 25 % to 27.5 % with HPE and to 30 % with THPELCI art. 59 para. 1: "Ces pourcentages sont également applicables aux constructions rénovées ou agrandies qui respectent l'un de ces standards." A parallel 20 / 22 / 24 % scale applies to basements.République et canton de Genève — rsGE L 5 05 — Loi sur les constructions et les installations diverses (LCI), art. 59 al. 1accessed 2026-08-24. These percentages also apply to renovated or extended buildings that meet one of those standards. The bonus belongs in the financial feasibility study from the very start of a project — on its own it can justify the investment in certification.
06 — Concrete actions
Practical consequences for projects going through labelling
Any project whose certification request has not yet been filed with Minergie should check its position on each of the following points. The exact transitional conditions between regulations are published on minergie.ch — the reference date is generally the date the file is submitted or the date of the building permit.
Point 1 — blocking
Remove every fossil element from heat generation
Go through every planned heat source. A backup gas boiler, a fossil top-up or a temporary gas connection makes the project non-compliant. Alternatives: heat pump, district heating connection (check the operator's renewable share), wood energy. In Geneva, SIG offers district heating connections — check eligibility on sig-ge.ch.
Point 2 — systematic
Plan PV coverage of 60 % / 30 % of the roof if not already provided for
Check the available roof area and the capacity to cover 60 % of it on a new build (30 % on a retrofit), on a basis of 200 W/m² of roof. Complex or party-wall roofs need a precise calculation — the threshold is not always reachable without optimising the PV layout or adding canopies.
Point 3 — recalculate
Redo the summer comfort calculations with DRY 2035
If summer comfort studies were run on earlier weather data, recalculate them with MeteoSwiss DRY 2035. Priority to top-floor dwellings, west-facing glazed façades and construction with no thermal mass.
Point 4 — anticipate
Build monitoring into design above 1,000 m² of reference floor area
If the project exceeds 1,000 m² of reference floor area (Minergie / Minergie-P) or aims for Minergie-A, monitoring is mandatory. Check that the system is in the electrical brief and the specifications of the relevant packages from concept design.
Point 5 — verification
Cite SIA 382/1:2025 in the ventilation specifications
On Minergie-P and Minergie-A projects, check that the heat-recovery ventilation specifications and the contracts with the building services engineer actually cite the 2025 edition of SIA 382/1 and not the 2014 edition.
Point 6 — for Minergie-P and -A
qE50 ≤ 0.8 m³/(h·m²) in the airtightness specification
On Minergie-P or Minergie-A projects (THPE in Geneva), the threshold qE50 ≤ 0.8 m³/(h·m²) must be written into the airtightness specification from concept design. Plan an interim blower door test, to be carried out by an accredited provider, before the build-ups are closed — remedial work after closure can run to several days on site.
Point 7 — update the balance
Check the SIA 380/1:2016 balance against the MoPEC 2025 values
The heating demand balance must demonstrate compliance with the required MoPEC 2025 percentage. Projects whose balance was drawn up under an earlier version of the rules need an update before the Minergie file is submitted.
07 — Key questions
What project teams ask
My project is going through labelling — does the fossil fuel ban apply to it?
It depends on when your file is submitted to Minergie. Minergie generally sets a reference date (often the building permit date or the date of the certification request) beyond which the new regulation applies. The precise answer for your project is in the transitional documentation for the 2026.1 regulation published on minergie.ch. If in doubt, contact the regional Minergie agency directly.
What is MoPEC 2025 — and where do I find the limit values that apply to my project?
The MoPEC (the cantons' model energy regulations) is drawn up by the Conference of Cantonal Energy Directors (EnDK). The 2025 editionMoPEC 2025 was adopted by the EnDK plenary assembly on 29 August 2025; it is the fifth revised edition. Its introduction across the cantons is planned over three to seven years.Conférence des directeurs cantonaux de l'énergie (EnDK) — Les cantons adoptent le Modèle de prescriptions énergétiques 20252025-08-29 · accessed 2026-08-24 sets the baseline requirements for buildings in the Swiss cantons that have adopted it. Limit values vary with building type and climate zone — they can be consulted on endk.ch. The SIA 380/1:2016 calculation inside the certification software (LESOSAI and others) picks up those values automatically.
Are HPE and THPE labels or legal obligations in Geneva?
They are legal obligations — not voluntary labels. For any private new build in Geneva, HPE is mandatory (LEn art. 15 para. 1). For public buildings and public-law foundations, THPE is mandatory (LEn art. 16 para. 1). Minergie certification is the usual route to demonstrating HPE or THPE compliance, but it is a means of demonstration — not the obligation itself.
Does the PV coverage requirement apply to retrofits too?
Yes, but at a reduced threshold: the 2026.1 regulation requires 60 % of the available roof area to be covered on new builds against 30 % on retrofits, for Minergie and Minergie-P (on a basis of 200 W/m² of roof). Exemption conditions for retrofits where the roof does not belong to the client (co-ownership, party-wall buildings, heritage constraints) should be checked in the full regulation documents on minergie.ch. For Geneva retrofit projects, also check SIG's support for PV installations.
What is the difference between Geneva's REn non-fossil threshold and the Minergie 2026.1 ban?
Geneva's REn requires primary heat supply to be non-fossil and local, and accepts a district heating network only if its non-fossil and local share reaches 50 % for HPE and 80 % for THPE. Minergie goes further: fossil fuels are no longer allowed in primary heat generation, with a framed peak-load tolerance for plant rooms of 80 kW and above (at most 10 % of total annual demand), a district network at most 50 % fossil, and fossil-fired combined heat and power producing at least 35 % electricity. For any project seeking Minergie certification — the normal route to HPE or THPE in Geneva — it is this tighter requirement that governs. The REn is more permissive than Minergie on this point, but an HPE or THPE project without Minergie certification will have to demonstrate compliance through the CECB route (B/B for HPE, A/A for THPE)REn art. 12B para. 2 let. b: class B/B in the CECB Plus or technical note SIA 2031:2016. Art. 12C para. 2 let. b: class A/A. For retrofits: C/B for HPE, B/A for THPE.République et canton de Genève — rsGE L 2 30.01 — Règlement d'application de la loi sur l'énergie (REn), art. 12B al. 2 let. b et art. 12C al. 2 let. baccessed 2026-08-24, which is less common in practice.
Sources and references (22)
Every figure and every claim in this dossier links back to its source. Hover or tap a footnote marker to see it.
Compliance checks, revision of the energy brief, coordination with the design engineers — advice on bringing live HPE or THPE labelling projects up to standard. Geneva, French-speaking Switzerland, neighbouring France.