Must all properties in France have a ‘smart’ thermostat?

Reader Question: Someone told me I need to install a thermostat in my property (we only have manual valves for the heaters) due to a new rule. Is this true?

You are correct that a 2023 decree requires most properties in France to eventually have an automatic thermostat installed – although not necessarily a ‘smart’ one.

This decree, made to comply with EU energy and climate directives, gave an original deadline of 2027 for all homes to install a thermostat capable of automatic temperature control.

However, the deadline for properties to comply was recently delayed to 2030 via an updated decree published on December 26, 2025. 

The postponement was made amid debate on the topic, and to “give households more flexibility [to comply with the regulations],” said Finance Minister Roland Lescure at the time. 

Reports suggest around 27 million homes are yet to install a compliant thermostat, with critics pointing to high purchase and installation costs (estimated between €60 and €300 and a further €150 to €300 for installation) as a barrier for many households to install a device. 

However, many others may already be compliant with the incoming regulations and therefore do not need to undertake any action. 

Since 2018, it has been mandatory for all newly-installed heating systems to be equipped with a programmable thermostat, meeting the minimum requirements for the new law. 

If you have updated your heating system since then (or even before this with an advanced model) you are probably already compliant.

What are incoming requirements?

The decree states that all residential properties must include heating (chauffage) with a ‘local control system’ (système de régulation locale). 

This applies to detached/semi-detached houses as well as flats in a shared block.

In short, the device must be able to automatically change the temperature of the heating system, as opposed to manual-only heating systems (for example, valves attached to radiators which must be turned by hand to increase/decrease heat). 

The thermostat must be able to automatically update the temperature in one of two ways, either: 

• By time – at hourly intervals or less (the most common)

• By heating zones – separate temperatures for rooms or floors

In addition, the thermostats must also allow for manual heating control and come with a minimum of four settings – off, comfort, reduced, and frost protection. 

Despite some reports suggesting that ‘smart’ thermostats are required, this is not strictly speaking correct as long as the above requirements are fulfilled.

France’s Ecological Transition Agency (Ademe) gives three examples of suitable thermostats:

• Programmable thermostats (thermostats programmables): These allow users to manually set up heating throughout the day even when absent. For example, to turn radiators off at 10:00 and then back on at 17:00

• Smart thermostats (thermostats connectés): Devices that are connected to a smartphone or other digital app and can be controlled remotely with more flexibility. For example, someone who has their radiators set to come on at 18:00 but is arriving home early at 15:00, can use the app to switch on the heating early

• ‘Intelligent thermostats (thermostats intelligents): More advanced, these can automatically set temperatures, using data such as current room temperatures or weather conditions to predict what is best and most cost-efficient

In all cases, more advanced thermostats, for example those with multiple settings or more frequent intervals, are also compliant as long as they meet the minimum settings plus time/zone control criteria. 

Note that homes with a heat pump (pompe à chaleur) or gas or oil boiler, a manual system with thermostatic radiator valves must also remain in place alongside the automatic thermostat.

In addition, homes with an alternate heating method where “the fuel supply is not automated due to a technical impossibility,” – namely wood-burning stoves and fireplaces – are exempt, provided this is the only method of heating and no other chauffage system is in place.

Potential financial aid

The 2023 decree stated that the rule was only in place where “technically or economically feasible”, leaving potential interpretation over the installation cost of such systems. 

The rules allow for an exemption where owners can prove that the return on investment from installing a system (the money saved from the thermostat compared to the initial outlay of installation) does not break even within 10 years. However, this requires proof from a feasibility study, which itself may be expensive. 

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced the possibility of financial aid for low-income households to help comply with the rules when the deadline was postponed, however no further information has been provided as of February 2026.

While it is possible for some households to benefit from Energy Certificates (certificats d’économie d’énergie or CEE) when installing thermostats, these are rare and only cover a portion of the full cost, usually around €30.