While residential and tertiary buildings represent 44% of the energy consumed in France according to the Ministry of Ecological Transition, a study by HomeServe (carried out online from May 4 to 8, 2022 on a sample of 2,004 French people representative of the population French woman aged 18 and over), a company specializing in repairs, works and maintenance of household equipment, shows that the French do take the environment into account in their choice of equipment and home installations, but this criterion still remains secondary, notably relegated behind priorities linked to comfort or the cost of living.
An ecological awareness that is gradually taking its place in the habitat
According to the HomeServe study, 88% of French people consider it important to live in sustainable housing, which for them means insulation, energy saving, waste reduction or quality materials.
But they are an almost equivalent proportion (84%) to think that having a housing respectful of the environment is expensive.
Four typical profiles of French people facing sustainable housing
The survey identifies “converts to sustainable housing”, ie 22% of French people, who know what sustainable housing entails and who are very vigilant about it.
The “sensitive to the maintenance of housing more than to its durability” are 23%. They are vigilant with their equipment and facilities to avoid overspending.
The “ecologists little involved in their interior”, or 29% of French people, are attentive to the environment, but less sensitive to the comfort of their accommodation and its facilities.
The “refractory to sustainable housing”, 26% of French people, are very little oriented towards eco-practices and have a low ecological awareness.
French people reluctant to repair their equipment
Three-quarters of French people consider that repairing equipment or an installation costs more than replacing it (76%). They are even 80% to share this opinion among 25-34 year olds.
For Guillaume Huser, President of HomeServe France and Belgium, “the challenge is to make French people aware of the fact that with “green” equipment, it is possible to reconcile durability, comfort, performance and protection of purchasing power. The installation of a heat pump, for example, involves a significant initial investment but which reduces the household’s CO2 emissions by 50% and the annual energy bill by €900. »
A budget of €3,403 for renovation work
Only a third of French people have carried out insulation work for their home in order to optimize their energy consumption and 20% are ready to do so (mainly older people living in a house).
In the next 12 months, 55% of them intend to do renovation work in their home. A greater proportion of them will carry out painting work (for 39% of them), rather than work directly linked to energy savings such as insulation (16%) and heating work (13%). They are going to spend a rather high budget of €3,403.