Region Rhone-Alpes

With the economic and social crisis and the continuous rise in energy costs, fuel poverty is constantly increasing. Over 300 000 households in Rhône-Alpes are affected by energy poverty.

60% of public housing was built before 1975 and the first Thermal Regulations. On average, public housing stock in Rhône-Alpes consumes 227 kWh/m²/year in heating and hot water. Under the terms of the Grenelle environment agreement, 130 000 homes are energy inefficient (E, F and G energy classes), that is 33% of social housing.

In private sector, 300 000 co-owned properties built between 1950 and 1975 are aging and energy inefficient, with energy consumption between 335 and 400 kWhep/m²/year.

There is a strong potential of energy savings which could be reached through a renovation programme. Support retrofitting of social housing is therefore the best answer to reduce energy costs of tenants and improve health and comfort of livings.

Regarding national Grenelle objectives, the targets in Rhône-Alpes would be by 2020:>(10 000 in class D, 50 000 in class E, 20 000 in class F&G)>kWh/year/m²).

Energy policy and legislation

Through its new national legislation “Grenelle” adopted in 2007 and 2010, France commits to divide by 4 its carbon dioxide emissions by 2050 (Factor 4). For existing buildings, energy consumptions will have to be reduced by 38% by 2020 and 800 000 public housings will have to be renovated at national scale and reach the energy class C ((between 150 and 91 kWh/year/m²).

Some measures also concern co-owned properties: mandatory energy audit for buildings > 50 units and with collective heating and obligation, max. 5 years after the audit, of putting on the general assembly’s agenda an energy saving works plan or an energy performance contracting.

Rhône-Alpes Climate and Energy Plans are boosting again its actions to reduce by 40% greenhouse gas emissions, raise energy efficiency to 20% and raise the amount of renewable energy consumed to 23% by 2020. 
 

Actions on Energy and Housing matters

Existing actions

Since 2007, Rhône-Alpes Regional Council, ADEME (French Agency for Environment and Energy Management) and ARRA-Habitat (association of Rhône-Alpes housing organisations) have committed together in a voluntarist approach aiming to promote environmental quality and energy efficiency in social housing. In order to promote among housing associations a thermal regulation ahead of time towards the actual one or the next to come, a technical reference document called Building Environmental Quality (“Qualité environnementale du Bâti” - QEB) was developed by this regional partnership for the new buildings. On 2008-2010 period, 4 000 houses construction have been supported with a regional financial support amounting to 8,9M€.

For social housing construction, Region supports training programs opened to all actors in the production process and provides assistance to project managers. A “hotline” & an Internet site www.logementsocialdurable.fr have been dedicated to the QEB approach.

ERDF (12,9M€), managed by the Managing Authority, has been mobilised very quickly by housing associations and co-owned properties and has been totally affected at the end of 2010. About 4000 housings have been refurbished: 3500 in public housing and 500 in private sector. On average, 40% of energy savings is forecasted.

In accordance with the regional QEB reference on new social housing, for the first time in 2009, Rhône-Alpes Region launched a call for projects with a budget of 1,7M€ to support energy renovation projects for the existing public housing. The retrofitting of this housing stock was intended to raise their rating from class D to at least a class C. 7 projects were retained, representing almost 600 homes to renovate.

Each year over a hundred co-owned properties are assisted to some extent depending on their difficulties and the project phase (upstream, during or post-renovation). In 2009 on a regional level, 14 OPAH (Opération programmée d'amélioration de l'habitat – programmed housing improvement operation) for co-owned properties and 15 safeguard plans were in progress (a total of 7580 homes concerned).

Planned actions

The Rhône-Alpes region intends to work on the:

Development of a regional renovation programme in public and private social housing (assistance and financial support for retrofitting operations with the QEB technical frame)

Setting up of a regional observatory of social housing renovation and energy costs management

Setting up of an energy performance monitoring system to efficiently run the maintenance of the buildings and to support changes in tenants’ behaviour

Financial mechanisms to support renovation operations in social housing

Planning of actions aiming at raising tenants awareness on energy efficiency

Support of innovative actions in terms of eco-housing and self-renovations in social housing

Production and dissemination of a collective knowledge at regional scale on energy efficiency and housing renovation