Summer energy poverty, i.e. living in too hot accommodation without being able to remedy it, is still too neglected by the public authorities, judges the Abbé Pierre Foundation in a study published on Monday.
A public health issue that will worsen with global warming, which increases the frequency and intensity of heat waves.
The extent of the problem is not precisely known, but the people concerned are numerous, notes the Foundation, which cites recent polls revealing certain aspects of the phenomenon.
In 2021, 37% of French people said they often or systematically suffered from heat in their homes, according to an OpinionWay survey, with precarious urban populations being more affected, as were young people and the elderly.
Working-class neighborhoods particularly affected
Modest people are more concerned, explains the Foundation. Working-class neighborhoods, often with little vegetation, are in fact more vulnerable to the urban heat island phenomenon, caused in particular by the lack of vegetation.
In addition, the households that live there are more often confronted with situations of overcrowding, live in less well insulated, less ventilated housing, notes the NGO. The protection of housing against heat, or summer comfort, is not sufficiently taken into account in the law, she regrets.
For new construction, this has only been the case since 2022. And for the existing stock, the mandatory energy performance diagnostics must take this into account, but the parameters on summer comfort have no effect on the energy label. Aid for renovation does not target devices aimed specifically at improving summer comfort.
In some cases, heritage protection or condominium regulations even prevent the installation of shutters or solar protection on the facade, observes the Foundation. If the law imposes on lessors a minimum temperature in their accommodation (19 degrees), there is no maximum temperature.
To remedy this, the Abb Pierre Foundation is issuing a series of 19 recommendations, most aimed at integrating protection against heat into energy renovation policy. It also suggests changing the rules for condominiums in order to encourage the installation of solar protection (shutters, green roofs, etc.).
Other more general recommendations relate to urban planning and aim to fight against heat waves by reducing artificial surfaces or car traffic, or by avoiding the massive installation of air conditioning units, which displace and aggravate the problem.
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