What is the Tertiary Eco-Energy decree (DEET)?
Resulting from the implementing decrees of the ELAN law of 2018, it is a regulatory device that aims to gradually reduce energy consumption in tertiary buildings. The stakes are high because this represents 20% of energy in France, and a significant share of greenhouse gas emissions. This decree applies to offices as well as public services, educational establishments, shops, hotels and restaurants, sports and entertainment venues, stations, parking lots ... In short, all buildings tertiary. DEET also concerns all buildings when all of its areas for tertiary use are equal to or greater than 1000 m2. This therefore involves industrial buildings which most often include storage areas, air-conditioned or refrigerated warehouses, dining rooms or even offices.
What is the timetable for the implementation of this virtuous decree?
The DEET aims to reduce energy consumption by 40% by 2030, 50% by 2040 and 60% by 2050. The timetable is therefore progressive, which is a guarantee of its good application in the field. But this goal must be based on a starting point. The first declaration of consumption must be registered no later than September 30, 2022.
DEET leaves the owner free to choose an absolute or relative goal. In the first case, it is determined according to the type of building. In the second, the objective of reducing the energy used responds to the actual consumption observed over a defined period. Adapted to old buildings, this method offers the advantage of setting the reference point to take into account, as of today, the investments made in recent years in terms of energy efficiency. The objective is not to penalize the actors already engaged in a virtuous approach. They will thus be able to take a reference year prior to major work carried out in recent years, such as the revision of the insulation or the installation of a boiler room. Thus, it will be possible to prevent the requested effort from not taking them into account in order to achieve the objective of reducing consumption in 2030, 2040 and 2050.
Are there any obstacles to meeting this new regulatory obligation?
DEET is a decree. As often, the administrative aspect is substantial. Given the energy, environmental and economic challenges, monitoring its implementation will require method and expertise. In addition to the strategy adopted by each actor concerned, it will be necessary to collect, identify, list and allocate all the information necessary to validate the indicators. Many factors will have to be taken into account: the composition of the building, its history, the history of its maintenance and its renovation. To facilitate and harmonize these demanding procedures, the OPERAT digital platform is made available.
It will be possible to model consumption through well-argued studies justified by technical and operational mastery of the solutions deployed. This type of scientific approach must be carried out by energy performance experts. EQUANS has been working on this since 2019 and the ELAN law can provide a reliable and tailor-made response. In terms of energy efficiency in the tertiary sector, there are as many possible situations as there are buildings concerned. It is therefore imperative to be agile to best meet the requirements of DEET, with a solution across the entire value chain.
The decree must be seen as an opportunity to accelerate very concretely the energy transition but also industrial, because the field of application is vast. There is a tremendous source of savings to be transformed, in particular thanks to digital technology. Support in this triple transition is precisely at the heart of EQUANS 'DNA.
Tribune by Marc-André Merlet, Energy Performance Director at EQUANS France and expert in the Tertiary Eco-Energy System (LinkedIn).