The French and energy insecurity: current situation, trade-offs and levers for action

Energy insecurity: an alarming situation that demands swift action

Since the end of the price cap, energy prices have risen sharply, representing a significant portion of French household expenses and weighing more heavily on them each day during this winter season. Although a certain stagnation of these prices is expected in 2025, the risk of price volatility remains, given the economic, climatic, and geopolitical context.

Daikin France, a leading player in the climate engineering market, wanted to gather the opinions of the French on their heating and air conditioning consumption habits in order to measure the impact on their behavior and their feelings regarding energy insecurity.

This study, entrusted to the Ipsos bva institute, was administered in November 2025 to 1.000 people aged 18 and over, corresponding to a representative sample of the French population, through an online questionnaire of 30 questions.

Regarding the heating equipment of the people surveyed:

• 44% indicated that they were equipped with boilers, mostly running on gas,
• 28% heat their homes using electric radiators (39% of whom are young people aged between 18 and 30).
• 17% have heat pumps,
• 5% have had pellet stoves installed.

The results reveal a palpable concern about their energy consumption related to their thermal comfort, since a third of those surveyed consider themselves to be in a situation of energy insecurity, and many admit to having to cut back on other expenses, particularly food and medical, to pay their energy bills.

Through this study, Daikin wishes to highlight the lived reality, raise awareness and enlighten public opinion at a time when the MaPrimeRenov' scheme has been suspended by the French government.

31% of French people feel they are in a situation of energy insecurity

While a recent survey conducted by the National Observatory for Energy Poverty (ONPE) reveals that in 2023 just over 10% of French people were experiencing energy poverty, the Ipsos BVA study for Daikin paints a far more alarming picture. Indeed, 31% of those surveyed feel they are experiencing energy poverty, meaning they struggle to heat their homes adequately at an affordable price.

Logically, it is the youngest people (42% of 18-30 year olds) and those belonging to the lower socioeconomic category (41%) who feel the weight of heating costs more in their monthly expenses.

Energy insecurity is no longer a distant concept: it is entering the homes, conversations and budgetary decisions of many French people.

It forces the French to adapt daily during the winter to reduce their heating bills:

• Lowering the thermostat below their comfort level (e.g., aiming for 19-20°C instead of 20-21°C): 54% do this often, 77% do it at least occasionally
• Preferring to heat certain rooms rather than the entire home: 54% do this often, 73% do it at least occasionally
• Wearing multiple layers of clothing at home: 56% do it often, 85% do it at least occasionally

The obligation for many French people to make sacrifices in order to pay their heating bills

65% admit to having to cut back on at least one expense to pay their energy bills. While these cuts mainly involve leisure activities (44%) and vacations (37%), some more sensitive areas such as voluntarily reducing food (26%) and healthcare (14%) were also mentioned.

For 85% of the panel, adequate heating is considered a luxury.

The French believe that the ability to heat their homes comfortably is not available to everyone. The increase in energy prices has become so significant that it has a considerable impact on the French standard of living. 49% of respondents confirmed an increase in their heating bills during the winter of 2024 compared to the winter of 2023, and 41% reported a bill equal to or exceeding €150 per month.

59% of respondents even feel concern when they receive their energy bills and 15% admit to having difficulty paying their energy bills.

This observation is shared mainly by women, young adults, people renting a home and the lower socioeconomic categories.

The cold weather has negative consequences on the health, social life and morale of the French.

74% of respondents acknowledge that the cold impacts the quality of their sleep, with difficulties falling asleep in particular, generating fatigue or even exhaustion during the day (74%).

The cold also causes other problems affecting their well-being and their social/professional life, including:

• 72% may feel more easily irritable,
• 70% are more susceptible to illnesses (colds/bronchitis),
• 65% experience more frequent muscle pain (knees, back),
• 42% indicate that the cold has at least one negative aspect on their lives.
• 38% focused on their social life, specifically the following items:
  • I have fewer guests at my house – I have seen fewer of my relatives – my guests have told me they are cold at my house.
• Among those who have teleworking (based on 29% of respondents), 15% have increased their presence at work to take advantage of more comfortable temperatures during the winter and 11% have reduced their time working from home to save on their energy expenses.

Energy efficiency projects are among the priorities of the French.

When asked about carrying out energy-efficiency improvements, 61% of respondents stated that they had undertaken at least one type of work aimed at improving the performance of their home (mostly those aged 60-75 at 71%). Within this context, replacing the heating and/or hot water system was the second most common response (30%), after replacing windows (34%).

35% are considering energy-related work within the next three years, involving at least one type of work: changing the heating and/or domestic hot water system (11%), wall insulation (10%), window replacement (9%).

Reducing monthly heating bills: the main motivation for French people to replace their heating systems

Unsurprisingly, the French cite cost savings as their top priority (53%) when considering a heating system replacement project. Therefore, their new equipment must enable them to reduce their energy bills.

Comfort appears in second place in the expectations of the French (27%), ahead of ecological criteria (10%) and the origin of the technology in France or Europe (10%).

Regarding heat pumps, of the 171 owners of this technology, 88% find that this equipment has contributed to improving their thermal comfort, 85% declare themselves confident that the heat pump contributes to reducing the environmental impact of their home and 82% that it sustainably lowers their energy bills.

It is rather reassuring to note that these advantages are also perceived by a majority of the sample, not concerned with the installation of a heat pump:

• 75% believe that a heat pump improves the thermal comfort of a home
• 66% that the heat pump reduces the environmental impact of the building
• 66% that the heat pump sustainably reduces the energy bill of a home.

In fact, the reduction of energy bills is the main driver of the acquisition of a heat pump (49% of the sample and 54% of heat pump owners) ahead of the advantage of having more modern and efficient equipment for 35% of the sample and that of enjoying the comfort of gentle and homogeneous heat for 44% of heat pump owners.

57% of the sample and 50% of heat pump owners cite "the cost of a heat pump and its installation" as the primary obstacle to acquiring this technology.

Government financial support: the main catalyst for driving energy efficiency projects

The survey carried out on behalf of Daikin shows that the French have a fairly good knowledge of the different existing financial aid schemes: 83% know at least one of the aids presented, notably MaPrimeRenov' (61%).

19% of them acknowledge having already benefited from it as part of energy improvement work on their home.

Financial aid remains, logically, the top incentive for French people undertaking energy-efficiency renovations, cited by 84% of those interested in at least one incentive. Zero-interest loans come in second among the most common responses (55%). (Base = 69%: are receptive to at least one incentive).

It is also important to note the significance of the guarantees offered to convince the French to undertake energy-related work: 50% expect guarantees regarding the savings achieved and 42% want to benefit from long-term guarantees on the equipment installed and on the installation.

Meanwhile, the high initial cost of the work forces 72% of respondents to abandon their energy efficiency projects, out of the 82% who identified at least one factor that could deter them from undertaking this type of work. Administrative complexity (42%) and doubt about the savings achieved (41%) follow.

According to François DEROCHE, Marketing, CSR and Public Affairs Director of Daikin France: “Daikin’s mission is to offer its residential customers high-performance, sustainable heating solutions that guarantee significant energy savings, optimized thermal comfort, and a reduced carbon footprint for buildings. Daikin has made proximity to its operations a priority, building a large R&D center in Belgium, responsible for designing future heat pump technologies for all of Europe. Its residential, commercial, and industrial heat pumps are manufactured in various factories located across Europe: Germany, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Poland, and the Czech Republic. To confidently embark on an energy renovation project, Daikin advises homeowners to conduct an energy audit of their property to identify priority actions and to request at least three quotes from installers with RGE certification.”

Illustrative image of the article via Depositphotos.com.