It’s a reality that’s become hard to ignore: summers in France are getting hotter, and even sooner… This week, several departments across the Hexagon are facing the season’s first heatwave, with local temperatures exceeding 38°C. In these conditions, maintaining any level of thermal comfort at home can seem impossible, especially when you do not have an appropriate cooling system or proper insulation. However, it might be possible to gain a few precious degrees by performing this action at home as soon as the thermometer climbs outside…
Heatwave: French people increasingly anxious about their homes
The Actibaie Group, in partnership with Ifop, has just unveiled the second edition of its study “the French, heat and their housing“. And the results are telling: 9 out of 10 French people say they are worried about their domestic comfort in the face of the increase in heat waves and heatwaves anticipated by Météo France by 2050. “Heat is a real concern for the French and it’s not surprising because it affects almost the entire metropolitan territory, particularly the most densely populated urban areas“, says Vladimir Luzbhin-Asseev, technical head of the Actibaie Group in a press release. It must be noted that the higher the outside temperatures rise, the harder it is to feel comfortable at home – unless you own a state-of-the-art air conditioning system, which is moreover not very ecological. So what solutions should be prioritized to no longer suffer from heat every summer in the house?
These home improvements to achieve maximum comfort in summer
Of course, the priority remains to carry out the appropriate works to better insulate the house, especially if it is an old construction, and thus quite ill-suited to the new climatic conditions. “Poorly performing insulation, exposures not aligned with the principles of bioclimatic architecture, the absence of blinds or shutters contribute to making certain homes virtually uninhabitable during the summer period. Even homes that are highly efficient for winter thermal performance can be very uncomfortable during periods of intense heat,” assures Vladimir Luzbhin-Asseev. These homes that are impossible to refresh have moreover been the subject of a recent report from the Abbé Pierre Foundation, which worried about their prevalence and lamented a lack of specific government aid.
However, due to a lack of corresponding budget, most French people do not plan to undertake major renovations soon, according to the Actibaie study. Only 30% of respondents envisage energy renovation work within the next 5 years to improve summer comfort in their home…
This action to take immediately to lower the temperature at home
So, in an attempt to refresh their dwelling, the French rely on a few simple gestures: 69% of respondents say they close the blinds and shutters when the sun is beating down. A practice that would, according to Vladimir Luzbhin-Asseev, reduce the interior temperature by up to 5°C compared to outside temperature, and by 10°C when it comes to automated solutions. But “it still depends on the dwelling being equipped with solar protections, and that they are appropriate and effective“, notes the technical head.
Among the other gestures praised by French households to gain a few degrees at home without undertaking major work, the study notes:
- Ventilation of rooms at night, for 67% of respondents
- The closing of windows during periods of sun, for 47%.
- The fan and the air conditioning, for 15%
- The greenery around their dwelling, for 19%
Furthermore, 17% of French people would consider carrying out work and 7% moving to fight against rising temperatures at home.
