2023-07-25 04:59:19
This is one of the government’s proposals to reduce CO2 emissions from our homes. From 2026, any gas boiler that breaks down will have to be replaced either by a connection to an urban heating network or by an aerothermal or geothermal type heat pump. Hybrid heat pumps (PAC) that combine gas and electricity would remain authorized.
The French have until Friday July 28 to give their opinion on this measure, as part of a online consultation “flash” on the decarbonization of the building.
At first glance, banning the sale of gas boilers seems like a good idea. At present, the use of buildings – excluding construction – represents 18% of greenhouse gas emissions in France, and 60% of this total comes from gas heating, according to the Ministry of Energy Transition.
Problem: the approximately 12 million gas-heated homes are not the best insulated. According to a study by the Ministry of Ecological Transition, 70% of them have an energy performance diagnosis ranging from D to G, of which 12% are real energy sieves (classes F and G).
Amplify the aids
However, in these poorly insulated homes, installing a heat pump is not always enough to ensure thermal comfort. According a study published in January 2023 by the Cler network for energy transition and the Négawatt association“in buildings classified F or G – often old –, the installation of ordinary heat pumps (PAC) to replace boilers without associated energy renovation action is not appropriate”. The risk : “Increase the bill for residents, while electricity prices are generally higher than those of gas and this could be avoided thanks to better insulation of buildings”, specifies Danyel Dubreuil, of the Cler network.
For the UFC-Que Choisir, the end of the marketing of boilers should therefore not apply “only in properly insulated homes, where the change is technically possible and economically relevant, this in particular imposing an amplification of aid for the purchase of alternative heating appliances”.
The revaluation of MaPrivRenov’ from 2.4 to 4 billion euros, announced for 2024, is excellent news, believes Antoine Autier, of UFC-Que Choisir, “but other devices could be considered, such as the systematization of zero-rate loans, in order to remove all the economic brakes”.
RTE’s conclusions expected for September
The association also questions the benefits of the ban on gas boilers from an ecological point of view, and this as long as, here again, the housing has not been the subject of a global renovation. For the associations, not only do the inhabitants risk paying more for heating, but in addition, this will increase the demand for electricity, and therefore the pressure on the network. Thus the UFC fears a postponement of supply to thermal power stations running on gas, fuel oil and coal, which are also polluting.
The Electricity Transmission Network (RTE) is precisely preparing a note aimed at “properly assess new electricity needs” particularly with regard to the building’s decarbonization objectives. But it will only be published in September… a month after the end of the consultation. The government’s conclusions are expected in October.
#ban #unanimous