For the Coénove association, which represents the gas sector in the building industry, we must not be mistaken, no fight: it is not the device that must be banned but the gas that must be green! Prohibiting the installation of new boilers would be a historic misconception, at the very moment when they display their compatibility with green gas - storable, renewable energy produced in France.
Strong disappointment in the face of a brutal and uncoordinated announcement which concerns 1 in 2 French people
The Minister of Housing and several Ministers, in response to oral and written questions from many parliamentarians, had clearly indicated that no decision to ban gas boilers could be taken without an intense phase of prior consultation with all the stakeholders and professionals involved.
What is the consistency of an uncoordinated announcement, even though contrary commitments have been made by members of the Government, some of whom have been expressed in writing until very recently?
Deep concern about a decision with deleterious and counterproductive consequences
For the Coénove association, which brings together the major players in energy efficiency in buildings, the implementation of a project to ban boilers would constitute a worrying decision, both for 1 in 2 French people whose homes are equipped with a boiler only for employees and companies in the gas professional sector, which today has several hundred thousand jobs.
This measure would not only be counterproductive to reducing France's dependence on fossil fuels, but it would reinforce eco-delinquency, which feeds on bans, and it would also be likely to cause significant economic damage for households and for the community as a whole, even though other much more relevant levers can be activated as part of the building decarbonization policy.
Concretely, the implementation of such a measure would have many harmful effects:
- Accentuation of social and territorial inequalities and impacts on the purchasing power of the French
While gas supplies nearly 12 million households (one house in three and one dwelling in two), the exclusion of gas boilers would further reduce the range of solutions available to households and encourage them to rush in an anarchic fashion, without improving the building, on heavily subsidized equipment, even though there is a clear desire to reduce public spending.
An electric solution such as the Heat Pump costs around €10.000 more than an efficient gas boiler, with a shorter lifespan and higher maintenance costs.
Low-income households, which are often those occupying the least well-insulated dwellings, would therefore be unable to install heat pumps adapted to their needs and could be encouraged to extend the life of their boiler as much as possible. , or even to switch to Joule effect heating, which is not very efficient, contributing to making them more precarious.
- Weakening of the energy system and counterproductive effects on the country's decarbonization trajectory
In the absence of "new nuclear" for at least 15 years, the replacement, now, of gas heating by alternative electrical solutions will create new tensions on the French electricity system.
RTE, in charge of the balance of the electricity network, has also announced that it will publish a detailed study, in September 2023, on the impact of massive electrification of uses. Why anticipate announcements without knowing the opinion of experts on the subject?
- Loss of industrial sovereignty and threat to jobs and skills
While boilers are mainly produced in France and Europe, a large majority of electric heat pump components come from Asia. French industrial sites will have to adapt, resulting in a threat to local jobs and know-how developed over decades. For installers/maintainers, the rapid conversion of technicians to the electric heat pump is complex and will lead to an immediate shortage of qualified resources, even though the profession is already facing recruitment difficulties.
- Technical impossibilities of implementing the measure
The use of solutions for replacing gas boilers with electric heat pumps is not possible in all cases and will come up against numerous technical and regulatory constraints, including in individual houses: installation difficulties and noise pollution outdoor units, diameters of heating water distribution pipes, sizing of the electrical network, etc.
Misunderstanding of the contradictory positions expressed by the Government
Even though the President of the Republic, relayed by several of his Ministers, insisted a few days ago on the need to implement the rules that already exist and to take a "pause" in the new European standards , this plan to ban the boiler seems to be in strong contradiction with the commitments made by the Head of State.
This announcement seems to constitute a new illustration of punitive ecology by promoting bans, ukases and overtranspositions in anticipation of European decisions.
Let's trust energy efficiency professionals in the building sector and support renewable gases, a virtuous alternative
Another strategy is possible and professionals in the building sector have alternative proposals to make to achieve decarbonization objectives, without going through abrupt and counterproductive bans.
The development of green gases and their local and direct use by end consumers is a safer, fairer and less costly path to decarbonization than a massive electrification of gas uses, in particular for the production of heat in buildings.
France has a significant renewable gas production potential that can be mobilized, in the order of 320 TWh by 2050. Renewable gas production deposits will therefore be able to guarantee quantities of green gas greater than total gas consumption. scheduled for 2050 and will ensure the country's energy independence, while decarbonizing all sectors, including the building sector.
For Jean-Charles COLAS ROY, Chairman of Coénove: "Let's not put the French in technical and economic dead ends! Achieving the decarbonization objectives set by Europe "Fit for 55" is possible while allowing France to preserve the country's energy resilience, purchasing power and public finances. This requires chosen and sustainable sobriety, the acceleration of efficient and comprehensive renovation of buildings and support for the development of renewable gases to reach 20% biogas by 2030. device that must be banned but the gas that must be green. »