Connected home chargers for company car drivers in Switzerland: worth it for your fleet?
Smart wallbox, connected cable or software for employees' home charging: CHF cost for 50 cars, salary certificate, condominiums and tenants in Switzerland.
Aubin Aycaguer, Chief of Staff, Voltaback3 Nov 2026
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You do not need a connected home charger to reimburse home charging of a company car in Switzerland. A connected (smart) wallbox is a charging station linked to the internet that records every session; in Switzerland it costs about CHF 3'000.– installed in the best case, and it stays on the wall of a single address.
For a company that gives its employees electric cars, the real issue is not charging comfort but reliable measurement for reimbursing the kWh the employee pays for on their own bill. There are three options: the connected wallbox, the connected charging cable and a pure software solution.
This comparison looks at what matters to fleet, HR and finance teams in Switzerland, many of them international: cost in CHF for 50 vehicles, feasibility in condominiums and rented flats, treatment on the salary certificate, data protection and what happens when an employee leaves. Voltaback, which reimburses home charging for more than 200 companies, chose software. We explain why, and when a connected wallbox is still the right call.
The essentials in 30 seconds
- Every employee still needs a suitable electrical installation: an industrial socket, a basic wallbox or a connected wallbox. The only question is whether that hardware needs to be connected.
- Connected wallbox: about CHF 3'000.– installed at best, plus maintenance. Accurate measurement, but tied to one address and often blocked in condominiums or rentals.
- Connected cable: portable, no major works if a suitable socket exists; but it measures at its own outlet and must be returned when the employee leaves.
- Software: no connected hardware, 2-minute set-up per employee, on the existing installation.
What is a connected home charger?
A connected or smart wallbox is a fixed charging point that communicates with a server or an app. It differs from a basic wallbox in three ways:
- Metering: every session is recorded in kWh, sometimes by a built-in MID-certified meter.
- Control: scheduling at the low night tariff, power modulation, remote start.
- Identification: RFID badge or app, to know who is charging.
A connected cable carries the same metering electronics in a portable mode 2 cable, plugged into an industrial T23 or CEE socket.
OCPP, load management, solar: the jargon decoded
- OCPP (Open Charge Point Protocol): an open protocol that lets a wallbox talk to a back-end platform. This is what allows an operator or a company to manage it.
- Load management: the wallbox reduces its power when the house or building draws a lot of electricity. Grid operators often require it when several charging points share one connection.
- Solar control: the wallbox follows photovoltaic output, useful in a self-consumption community (Zusammenschluss zum Eigenverbrauch, ZEV / regroupement dans le cadre de la consommation propre, RCP).
None of these features is needed to reimburse charging. They serve comfort or power management, not the evidence for the salary certificate.
MID meters and Swiss metrology
In Switzerland, the Federal Institute of Metrology (METAS) regulates meters used to bill electricity, under the FDJP Ordinance on Measuring Instruments for Electrical Energy and Power (SR 941.251). A wallbox used to sell electricity to a third party needs a compliant meter that meets at least the MID requirements.
Reimbursing an employee is not a sale of electricity, but the logic is the same: measurement must be reliable and verifiable. Voltaback relies on the home's MID-certified meter, not on a standalone cable meter. The method has been audited by an independent third party, with a relative error of 1.22 %.
Why a fleet wants to measure home charging
An electric company car spends the night at the employee's home, and the employee pays for the electricity on their own bill. The company has to reimburse it, and do so properly.
- For the employee: being reimbursed for what they actually pay. The price per kWh varies widely by municipality: 2026 median of 21.9 centimes/kWh in Zug against 30.4 in Vaud and 33.2 in Basel-Stadt, excluding VAT (ElCom).
- For the salary certificate (Lohnausweis / certificat de salaire): the Swiss Tax Conference (SSK / CSI) model expense regulations allow a flat rate of at most CHF 60.– a month for charging at home, or reimbursement of actual costs against receipts (SSK model expense regulations 2026, German).
- For the budget: every charge at home at the low tariff instead of at a public charger is a straight saving.
For a long time, connected hardware at each employee's home was the only way to measure per vehicle. Not any more: Voltaback records every home charging session and applies the actual tariff of the employee's contract, charging losses included, on any charging point, then reimburses it at actual cost.
The step-by-step roll-out is covered in our guide to managing and reimbursing fleet home charging.
Connected wallbox, connected cable or software: the comparison
Criterion | Connected wallbox | Connected cable | Software solution |
|---|---|---|---|
Electrical installation | Included in the fitting | Industrial T23 or CEE socket needed | As needed, often existing |
Connected hardware | Wallbox with meter | Cable with metering | None |
Hardware and fitting | About CHF 3'000.– at best | Price of the cable, plus socket if missing | Only the missing installation |
Maintenance | Inspection, about CHF 200.– a year | Low | No hardware to maintain |
Lead time | Several weeks: site visit, quote, notification to the grid operator, fitting | A few days | 2 minutes per employee, then manufacturer validation |
Condominium or rental | Consent of co-owners or landlord | Suitable socket needed | Any compliant charging point |
Data | Wallbox sessions, often in the manufacturer's cloud | Cable sessions | kWh and tariff, never geolocation |
Employee leaves | Wallbox stays at the old address | Cable to recover | Deactivated online |
What is measured | kWh at the wallbox outlet | kWh at the cable outlet | Every session, losses included |
Tariff applied | Entered manually or flat | Entered manually or flat | Employee's contract tariff |
Price sources: device CHF 500.– to 2'000.–, fitting CHF 500.– to 1'500.–, inspection about CHF 200.– a year (Zurich Insurance); installation costs of about CHF 3'000.– in the best case (Zürcher Wirtschaft, with Treuhand Suisse). For cables, see our comparison of connected charging cables.
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Accuracy: where is the measurement taken?
A wallbox or connected cable measures energy at its own outlet. That is accurate, but it is not exactly what the employee pays: some energy is lost between the home meter and the car.
Manufacturer apps do worse. They count the energy that reaches the battery and ignore conversion losses, about 5 to 7 % on an 11 kW wallbox according to ADAC tests, and more on a household socket (ADAC study).
The right tariff for the right vehicle
Measuring kWh is not enough: they must be multiplied by the right price. A wallbox knows neither the municipality nor the HT/NT tariff nor an internal ZEV tariff. The company has to enter a tariff or apply a single price that matches nobody's bill.
Another blind spot: a wallbox charges whatever is plugged in. If a partner charges their private car there, those kWh mix with the company car's, unless a badge identifies each user. Voltaback assigns every session to the right vehicle, with no double reimbursement.
Employer-funded wallbox: how is it taxed?
All three options allow clean reimbursement of the electricity. But a wallbox paid for by the employer raises an extra question: is the wallbox itself a taxable benefit?
Situation | Treatment | Certainty |
|---|---|---|
The wallbox becomes the employee's property | A benefit in money's worth (geldwerte Leistung / prestation appréciable en argent), declared on the salary certificate; the employee pays tax on roughly CHF 3'000.– extra in the first year | Practitioners' consensus |
The wallbox stays the employer's property and is recovered on departure | In practice often treated as a work tool | No official text: have it confirmed by the tax authority of the company's seat canton |
Source: Zürcher Wirtschaft.
The electricity itself is simpler. The 0.9 % monthly private-use charge for a company car assumes the employer bears the vehicle's costs, energy included, except for longer private trips at weekends or on holiday. Reimbursing everyday charging therefore creates no additional benefit (salary certificate guidelines 2026, margin note 21, German).
In short: a wallbox left with the employee creates a tax question; electricity reimbursed at actual cost does not. If you still fund wallboxes, put ownership, return and removal in writing in your car policy, and have the treatment confirmed by the seat canton, for example as part of your expense regulation.
Condominiums and tenants: when a wallbox is not an option
This is the obstacle that quotes leave out. Many of your employees, and most expats in Geneva, Basel or Zurich, do not live in a detached house.
In a condominium (Stockwerkeigentum / propriété par étages)
Fitting a wallbox in a condominium car park is a building measure. According to the Swiss Federal Office of Energy guide, it is generally a useful measure that requires a double majority: a majority of co-owners who also represent the larger share of the property (Art. 647d Swiss Civil Code), unless the condominium regulations provide otherwise. Between notice, meeting and quotes, this often takes months.
Source: SFOE / SwissEnergy guide to charging in condominiums (German).
As a tenant
Tenants need the landlord's written consent to alter the rented property (Art. 260a Code of Obligations). There is currently no right to charge. In June 2025 Parliament adopted motion 23.3936 on charging electric cars in residential buildings, and the Federal Council put an amendment to the Energy Act out for consultation until 12 October 2026: owners of residential buildings could be required to install the basic charging infrastructure if tenants or condominium owners ask for it. Nothing is in force yet.
Source: Federal Council, opening of the consultation.
The procedures are explained in our article on charging in condominiums and rented homes. An employee who already charges from a suitable socket in their own parking space needs no further consent as long as nothing is installed: that is the advantage of software-based measurement.
Worked example: 50 company cars across Switzerland
A company based in Zug has 50 electric company cars, with employees living in Zug, Zurich, Basel, Geneva and Vaud. Assumption: hardware written off over 4 years.
Option 1: a connected wallbox for everyone
Item | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
Wallbox and fitting | CHF 3'000.– × 50 | CHF 150'000.– |
Depreciation over 4 years | CHF 150'000.– ÷ 4 | CHF 37'500.– a year |
Inspection and maintenance | CHF 200.– × 50 | CHF 10'000.– a year |
Annual hardware cost | CHF 47'500.– a year, excluding back-end subscription |
That figure assumes all 50 installations are possible, which is rarely the case in condominiums or rentals.
Option 2: installation as needed plus software measurement
Assumption, to be replaced by your own inventory: 20 employees already have a suitable charging point, 30 get a basic wallbox at the low end of the market (device from CHF 650.–, fitting CHF 500.– to 1'500.–).
Item | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
Missing installations | 30 × CHF 1'150.– to 2'150.– | CHF 34'500.– to 64'500.– |
Depreciation over 4 years | ÷ 4 | CHF 8'625.– to 16'125.– a year |
Hardware therefore costs CHF 21'000.– to 29'000.– less every year, before the maintenance of connected wallboxes; the software subscription comes on top. Run your own figures in the home charging solutions simulator, and prepare quotes with our guide to home charger installation costs.
Reimbursement shows the same gap. An employee in Basel driving 20,000 km a year charges about 4,000 kWh at the meter: at 33.2 centimes/kWh that is about CHF 1'328.– a year excluding VAT, well above the CHF 720.– a year flat rate. Actual-cost reimbursement pays exactly what is due, no more, no less.
When a connected wallbox is still the right choice
A connected wallbox is not a bad buy. It makes sense in several cases:
- Shared car park at the office or in a building: with several users, badge identification and load management are essential.
- Pool cars: several drivers on the same vehicle and the same charging point.
- High-mileage drivers: a 3.7 kW socket delivers about 37 kWh in 10 hours overnight, roughly 200 km at 18 kWh/100 km. Beyond that, a 7.4 or 11 kW wallbox becomes useful, connected or not.
- Solar panels or a ZEV: solar control requires a compatible wallbox.
In these cases, keep the wallbox and let software do the measuring: Voltaback works with any wallbox, connected or not. Voltaback does not install chargers, but helps you obtain quotes from licensed electricians for what each employee actually needs.
Tip: do not choose hardware for the sake of measurement. Choose the charging point for the power the employee needs, then the measurement for your reimbursement needs. And if an employee does not have a smart meter yet, that is no obstacle: see our article on charging without a smart meter.
Frequently asked questions about home chargers for employees
A smart home charger is a wallbox connected to the internet that records each charging session and can be controlled remotely. It can schedule charging at the low tariff, adjust power and identify users by badge. It is not required to reimburse home charging.
An installed wallbox costs roughly CHF 1'000.– to 3'500.– in Switzerland. The device itself costs CHF 500.– to 2'000.– and fitting CHF 500.– to 1'500.–, depending on changes to the installation. For a connected wallbox, expect about CHF 3'000.– in the best case.
Yes, if it becomes the employee's property: it is then a benefit in money's worth that must be declared on the salary certificate. If it remains the employer's property and is recovered when the employee leaves, it is often treated as a work tool, which the cantonal tax authority should confirm.
Yes, as a rule. Fitting a wallbox is a useful building measure that requires a double majority of co-owners and ownership shares under Art. 647d of the Civil Code, unless the condominium regulations say otherwise.
Not today. Tenants need the landlord's written consent under Art. 260a of the Code of Obligations. An Energy Act amendment, in consultation until 12 October 2026, could oblige owners to install basic charging infrastructure on request, but it is not in force.
No. No rule requires hardware to reimburse home charging of a company car. The employer either pays the SSK flat rate of at most CHF 60.– a month or reimburses actual costs against evidence, whether the measurement comes from a wallbox, a cable or software.
What changes in practice
With Voltaback, every home charging session is recorded and reimbursed at actual cost, at the employee's contract tariff, charging losses included, with no connected wallbox and no smart cable.
- Audited accuracy: relative error of 1.22 %, audited by an independent third party.
- Protected data: ISO 27001 certified and compliant with the nDSG / nLPD; the company never receives employees' geolocation.
- Telematics without a box: mileage, consumption, eco-driving, alerts and maintenance for every vehicle, including combustion cars.
- Public charging: the Electra card covers charging on the road alongside home charging.
Want the calculation with your own vehicles, municipalities and existing installations? Request a demo: it starts from your real fleet.
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