Energy renovation: aid and the rest to be paid by households in a situation of energy poverty

Energy renovation works are the cornerstone for achieving this objective, but they remain out of reach for the most precarious because of the sometimes colossal remaining costs depending on the position. At the same time, aid exists, MaPrimeRénov' and Energy Savings Certificates (CEE) for the best known, but they are regularly subject to regulatory changes, sometimes upwards but also downwards.

To draw up an inventory of the variations from January 2021 to July 2022, Hellio, a key player in energy management, took an interest in the evolution of premiums and the rest payable by low-income households[1 ] and precarious[2] on the main work items (overall renovation, wall insulation, attic insulation, biomass boiler, air/water heat pump and gas boiler), taking into account the various regulatory changes.

[1 ]Corresponding to the yellow color of the MaPrimeRénov' scale
[2] Corresponding to the blue color of the MaPrimeRénov' scale

Hellio study methodology

To carry out its study on energy poverty, Hellio relied on the 2019 Ademe study to estimate the cost of work for wall insulation (100 m2), attic insulation (100 m2), the heat pump, the gas boiler, and on its own sites for the overall renovation[3] (house of 150 m2) and the biomass boiler[4]. The increase in the cost of construction sites observed since March 1, 2022 is estimated on the basis of field feedback from Hellio.
The amount of the premiums, including MaPrimeRénov' and the CEE, is calculated using the average data from Hellio.

Focus on global renovation and ENR heating

Considered to be THE priority for the work to be carried out, overall renovation is supported by several aids: MaPrimeRénov'[5] and the High-performance Renovation Boost for single-family homes[6]. But its remaining charge remains very high: between €35.253 and €41.664 on July 1, 2022, after 2 regulatory changes.

On January 1, 2022, there was a drop in aid granted (-29% for precarious and –24% for low-income), linked to changes in the calculations of the High-performance Renovation Boost, resulting in an increase in the remaining charge of €5.292 for those in precarious circumstances and €3.565 for low-income families[7]. An increase which has been accentuated since March 2022 with the increase in the cost of construction sites due to the war in Ukraine (rise in raw materials, increase in energy prices, etc.).

Conversely, thanks to the now possible combination of MaPrimeRénov 'Sérénité and the CEE Boost since July 1, 2022, aid has increased by 116% and 95%, respectively for fuel-poor and low-income households. An evolution that allows precarious people to return to the level of co-payments for 2021, around €35.000, but which remains too high and inevitably prevents low-income and precarious households from taking the plunge.

In practice, it may be difficult at the moment to obtain MaPrimeRénov' Sérénité assistance. Indeed, this is conditioned by the evaluation of a Mon Accompagnateur Rénov' interlocutor, the terms of which are still unknown: the regulatory text has still not been published at this stage.

[3] Outside of the Living Better Serenity program
[4] The costs estimated by Ademe for the overall renovation and the biomass boiler seemed underestimated compared to the average observed by Hellio in the field
[5] Provided you achieve at least 35% energy savings
[6] Provided you achieve at least 55% energy savings
[7] Calculation based on 40 Hellio global renovation work sites (excluding the Habiter Mieux Sérénité program)

On the heating side, the biomass boiler and the air/water heat pump do well.

Stable since January 1, 2021, aid for the installation of a biomass boiler has undergone a single change: the increase of MaPrimeRénov' by €1.000 on April 15, 2022. Estimated at €1.629 for precarious workers and €4.703 for modest, the remainder to be paid for does not decrease due to the impact of the war in Ukraine, which has caused an increase in the price of works.

The trend observed for the air/water heat pump is identical. The only change concerns the increase of €1.000 MaPrimeRénov' on April 15, 2022, bringing the amount of the bonuses to €9 for precarious and €000 for the modest. This additional aid does not make it possible to lower the rest at average expense, estimated at €8.000 for the precarious and €4.681 for the modest. It is only enough to absorb the rise in the price of materials, households even having to pay a little more in July 5.681 compared to February 2022.

Aid for single-step insulation and gas boilers at half mast

Yet considered essential if not yet carried out, wall insulation work is less and less subsidized, the rest to be paid for is rising very sharply: + 400% for precarious households and + 81% for low-income households between January 2021 and July 2022.

This work item was impacted by 2 downward revisions to aid. The CEE bonus for precarious workers ended on December 31, 2021 with a first significant drop in aid of nearly 1% and an increase in the remainder to be paid by €21.

The second reduction in EEC aid for wall insulation work and the increase in the cost of construction sites linked to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict then caused a doubling of the remainder to be paid between January 2, 1 and July 2022, 1 for precarious households , and almost doubling for low-income households.

Aid for attic insulation work suffered 2 successive reductions linked to the evolution of the Insulation Booster. The average OOP jumped from €1.200 to €3.395 between January 2021 and July 2022 for the precarious and from €1.700 to €3.955 for the modest.

The 1st revision on July 1, 2021 resulted in a reduction in aid of nearly 18% (precarious) and 25% (modest) and therefore, in parallel, an increase in the average remaining charge of €800 for precarious and of 1.000 € for the modest.

Lastly, more recently, the discontinuation of the Insulation Booster since July 1, 2022, coupled with the context of rising material prices due to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, led to a further increase in the average remaining charge.

Unlike equipment using renewable energies, and in the current geopolitical context, the gas boiler is no longer on the rise!

The cessation of the Gas Heating and Transmitters Boost on June 30, 2021 led to a drop in aid of nearly 41% for precarious people and 36% for low-income people. Between the drop in the bonuses granted and the increase in the prices of materials observed, the average remaining charge increased by more than 48% for the precarious and by 27% for the modest between January 2021 and July 2022.

Aid for the gas boiler will come to a new halt on December 31, 2022 with the abolition of MaPrimeRénov'.

This study confirms the strategic orientations given to energy renovation: putting an end to single actions considered ineffective in favor of more global works. At the same time, support for ENR heating solutions testifies to the desire to get out of gas energy to no longer depend on Russia.

For Pierre Maillard, CEO of Hellio: “The CEE system, the leading energy renovation aid tool, must be strengthened to achieve our energy renovation objectives and accelerate the energy transition. Let's be ambitious, get out of our comfort zones, have high standards. The massification of energy renovation and the achievement of our common energy savings objectives can only be achieved through virtuous devices and allowing the achievement of real energy savings. We must work on the CEE system in this direction”.