Thermal kettle: 38% of households in social housing suffer from the heat

This summer discomfort is mainly linked to the presence of shutters and/or sunshades outside homes: "1 in 3 households with shutters and sunshades say they suffer from the heat, compared to 1 in 2 among those without any protection of this type", notes the study.

Among the 2.300 households that responded to the Ancols survey, 13% said they had neither shutters nor sunshades, 4% only sunshades, 62% only shutters and 21% were equipped with both.

The inability to create drafts also degrades summer thermal comfort: 55% of households living in this type of housing say they suffer from the heat.

"In the same vein, households living in a one-room apartment more frequently admit to having an unpleasant temperature in their home during heat waves," adds Ancols.

On the other hand, "summer discomfort is not linked to the year of construction of the dwelling", unlike winter discomfort. Thermal colanders where it is cold in winter nevertheless tend to also be thermal kettles in summer.

Ancols states that "the results in the social housing stock seem better than those of the entire residential stock, with only 4 out of 10 households satisfied", according to a 2022 barometer from the energy mediator, compared to 6 out of 10 satisfied households in social housing.

The proportion of households reporting suffering from the heat is higher in the south of France: 51% along the Mediterranean coast, compared to 36% in the northern part, including the Ile-de-France region.

Tenants of social housing in some overseas communities suffer more from high temperatures: 74% of households in social housing in Guyana say they suffer from the heat, 57% in Martinique and Guadeloupe, but 34% in Réunion.

These disparities illustrate the differences in climate, "equatorial and humid in Guyana while it is tropical in Martinique, Guadeloupe and Reunion", according to Ancols.

Illustrative image of the article via Depositphotos.com.