Summer barometer “The French, summer heat and energy renovation”

More and more French people are feeling too hot in their homes. 74% of them express this, an increase of 10 points compared to September 2023. A proportion which rises to 82% among young people aged 18 to 24, who are more affected by precariousness. Tenants are more impacted by heat than owners: 78% versus 70%. Unsurprisingly, it is in the South-East of France that people suffer the most from the heat in their homes, with 80% of those questioned.

The French ready to carry out energy work… but not without support

One in two French people would like to carry out work in their home to adapt it to heat waves. Energy renovation thus appears to be a long-term response to household problems. A third of those questioned (33%) say they do not have the financial means. Furthermore, if 49% of those interviewed are ready to carry out renovations, 40% of them would do so provided that the proposed solutions have a rapid return on investment (savings on the bill for example) or that they can benefit from 'financial help. In short, we could wonder if those who declare that they do not have the financial means to carry out work would be ready to undertake it if aid were offered to them. In a word: renovation support systems are essential for the energy renovation of housing. Especially since French ambitions are strong. The objective of the National Housing Agency (ANAH) is to achieve 140.000 overall renovations and 500.000 renovations per gesture in 2024.

RGE craftsmen, key players in energy renovation

The study reveals that 27% of French people would call on an RGE (Recognized Environmental Guarantor) certified craftsman for their energy renovation work, followed by “companies specializing in insulation” (17%). This figure reveals the fact that the necessary qualification of craftsmen is beginning to take root in people's minds. These results are in line with those of the “The French and energy renovation” barometer carried out by OpinionWay for TEKISAL in 2023, where 60% of French people expressed a need for support for these renovations.

However, let us note a worrying trend: 25% of households would consider carrying out this work without calling on qualified professionals. In fact, 15% would be ready to carry out the work themselves, while 10% would seek help from those around them. This approach could compromise the effectiveness of renovations and access to financial aid, generally conditional on the intervention of RGE craftsmen. It is crucial to emphasize that energy renovation requires the expertise of qualified craftsmen, guarantors of the quality of the work, their compliance with standards, and eligibility for financial aid. Their intervention is essential to ensure the effectiveness and sustainability of energy renovations.

Heat: a significant subject with or without a heatwave

Despite the absence of a major heat wave this summer in France to date, the issue of thermal comfort in homes remains a major concern. A third of French people (33%) use fans to try to cope with high temperatures in their homes, for lack of a more lasting solution. Another striking observation is that 23% of those questioned say they have to wait until nightfall to find some fresh air. However, these figures are down 20 points compared to September 2023. A decrease which can be explained by temperatures sometimes lower than seasonal averages when the study was carried out, on July 10 and 11.

Despite these variations, the fact remains that heat in homes has become an important subject for many households, often with a direct link to that of the energy bill. Only 12% of those interviewed were able to invest in air conditioning, a so-called “active” solution that is certainly effective in the short term but not without impacts. On the other hand, 10% of French people have undertaken energy renovation work to sustainably improve their comfort.

For Alice Monnet, Director of Public Affairs at TEKSIAL: “To achieve the ambitious energy renovation objectives, it is essential to give households the means to carry out their work at their own pace and without excluding anyone. We must encourage concrete and sustainable actions, by offering the French a range of solutions compatible with their needs and their means: improvement of comfort in winter, summer, large-scale renovation, insulation, low-carbon heating systems, etc. Today, if certain solutions are indeed promoted, we still observe areas that are little addressed through support systems such as that of the sustainable adaptation of housing to heat waves. »

OpinionWay survey methodology

Sample of 1012 people representative of the French population aged 18 and over. The sample was constituted according to the quota method, taking into account the criteria of sex, age, socio-professional category, urban category and region of residence. The interviews were carried out from July 10 to 11, 2024. The sample was interviewed by self-administered online questionnaire on the CAWI (Computer Assisted Web Interview) system.

OpinionWay carried out this survey by applying the procedures and rules of the ISO 20252 standard.

The results of this survey must be read taking into account the margins of uncertainty: 1 to 2,2 points at most for a sample of 1000 respondents.

OpinionWay survey for TEKSIAL.

Illustrative image of the article via Depositphotos.com.