Due to the sharp rise in energy costs, some classes in Breton high schools will make sure not to overheat.
The temperature in class in high schools in Brittany should not exceed 19°C due to the sharp rise in energy costs, the president of the region Loïg Chesnais-Girard announced on Tuesday. “We will make sure to lower the temperatures and ensure that they are always below 19°C. In some establishments, depending on the humidity and comfort, we can even go a little beyond “, declared Mr. Chesnais-Girard (various left) during a press conference in Rennes on the start of the school year on Thursday.
About 78,000 young Bretons must go back to school in 115 public high schools. Nearly 55% of high school operating expenses are devoted to heating, while a one-degree drop in temperature reduces energy consumption by 7%, depending on the region.
“High schools, which are part of the public services in the Brittany region, must take this new fact into account and make even more efforts. The idea on which we are working is to involve the educational community and the students in this work. “, added Mr. Chesnais-Girard, president of the region since 2017.
The additional cost of the energy bill for high schools in 2022 was described as “significant” and estimated at nearly ten million euros while the park includes 1,500 buildings, many of which were built in the 1950s and 1960s, for a surface area nearly two million m2. “And I’m not talking to you about the 2023 bill. There are real challenges to continuing to invest, to isolate, to improve energy performance, to invest to get out of fossil fuels and to manage these financial shocks in a frank and serene debate with the government, because the local communities in France depend greatly on the financing implemented by the State”, estimated “LCG”.