these obstacles which slow down adaptation to high temperatures

A report published Wednesday by the Abbé-Pierre Foundation highlights the lack of public policies to combat the phenomenon of boiler houses, poorly insulated against high temperatures. While standards exist for the construction of new housing, there are more obstacles in existing housing.

Poor ventilation and insulation, lack of shutters… “Boiler-type homes” are common in France. 55% of French people said they had suffered from the heat in their homes for at least 24 hours in 2023. This figure comes from the latest report from the Abbé-Pierre Foundation, published on Wednesday, August 21.

The number of people living in housing “too hot” has increased by 26% since 2013, the foundation also specifies in this report which compiles official data.

The construction of new housing is subject to regulations that have evolved over time: the latest, RE 2020, for “Environmental Regulation”, came into force on January 1, 2022. It aims to significantly reduce the energy consumption of buildings and includes measures to combat high temperatures in summer. These include better thermal insulation of walls, better ventilation, solar protection systems, and even heating and cooling networks to do without individual air conditioning.

“But new construction only represents about 1% of the increase in total housing per year”relativizes Danyel Dubreuil, coordinator of Rénovons, expert in energy efficiency within the Cler network. The problem concerns above all existing housing, since there are no binding standards to combat high temperatures.

“The basic answer is to install air conditioning. The problem is that by doing this in an uncontrolled and widespread manner, we make the problems worse.deplores Danyel Dubreuil. Air conditioning, which releases hot air, produces heat island effects in urban areas and aggravates the phenomenon of overheating. And this creates mass energy insecurity since the energy needed to operate the air conditioning is significant and not free.”

“We need to support a specific public policy for adaptation to heat, similar to what was done for thermal sieves for the cold.”

Danyel Dubreuil, coordinator of Rénovons

to franceinfo

“The issue of heat is still insufficiently taken into account” by the public authorities, he believes. The report of the Abbé-Pierre Foundation recalls, for example, that housing must be rented with a “minimum regulatory temperature of 19 degrees on average. (…) No maximum temperature is indicated for the rental”. Work by Ademe (the Agency for Ecological Transition) is looking into the issue of the proper use of air conditioning. “Is there a maximum acceptable temperature? Should we say that if we set a heating standard at 19 degrees, we set a cold standard at 26 degrees, as Ademe seems to be telling us?” There is no “commonly accepted result”, continues the expert.

In addition, he said, other obstacles could hinder some renovation work on the exterior of buildings. “We need to revisit a certain number of cultural approaches that we have in France, in particular the place of the Architects of Buildings of France (ABF) in the decision-making process to intervene in this or that way on this or that building which, very often, is an obstacle to the carrying out of adequate work.” The ABFs are responsible for monitoring construction projects or works carried out in protected areas, some of which are located near historic monuments. They issue opinions that may be binding.