Summer energy poverty still too neglected, judges the Abbé Pierre Foundation

A public health issue that will worsen with global warming, which increases the frequency and intensity of heat waves.

The extent of the problem is not precisely known, but the people concerned are numerous, notes the Foundation, which cites recent polls revealing certain aspects of the phenomenon.

In 2021, 37% of French people said they often or systematically suffered from heat in their homes, according to an OpinionWay survey, with precarious urban populations being more affected, as were young people and the elderly.

"The modest people are more concerned", explains the Foundation.

Working-class neighborhoods, often poorly vegetated, are in fact more vulnerable to the urban heat island phenomenon, caused in particular by the lack of vegetation.

"In addition, the households that live there are more often faced with overcrowding, live in less well insulated, less ventilated housing," notes the NGO.

The protection of housing against heat, or summer comfort, is not sufficiently taken into account in the law, she regrets.

For new construction, this has only been the case since 2022.

And for the existing stock, the mandatory energy performance diagnostics must take this into account, but the summer comfort parameters have no effect on the energy label.

Renovation aid does not target devices specifically aimed at improving summer comfort.

“In some cases, heritage protection or condominium regulations even prevent the installation of shutters or solar protection on the facade,” observes the Foundation.

If the law imposes on lessors a minimum temperature in their accommodation (19 degrees), there is no maximum temperature.

To remedy this, the Abbé Pierre Foundation is issuing a series of 19 recommendations, most of which aim to integrate protection against heat into the energy renovation policy.

It also suggests changing the rules of condominiums in order to encourage the installation of solar protection (shutters, green roofs, etc.).

Other, more general recommendations relate to urban planning and aim to combat heat islands by reducing artificial surfaces or automobile traffic, or by avoiding the massive installation of air conditioning devices, which displace and aggravate the issue.