Requirement to equip French homes with programmable thermostats postponed

An obligation for all properties in France to be equipped with programmable thermostats has been postponed to 2030, the government announced yesterday (December 4). 

The change was outlined by Finance Minister Roland Lescure after opposition from politicians and local authorities, with Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu also in favour of pushing back the measure from its original January 1, 2027 deadline. 

The original timeline was created as part of plans in 2022 to reduce France’s – and Europe’s – energy consumption, and decrease dependency on Russian gas imports. 

A 2023 decree complying with EU directives on the matter set the original deadline and regulations. However, reports suggest around 27 million homes are yet to install a device. 

Critics point to the high cost of the thermostats, between €60 and €250 and a further €150 to €300 for installation, as a reason why the project should be abandoned altogether. 

However, government officials say regulations of home temperatures can reduce household energy consumption by around 15%, decreasing national gas and electricity usage and cutting individual bills.

Mr Lecornu hinted that financial aid would be made available for installation costs, however no concrete information is available as yet.

What constitutes a programmable thermostat? 

The decree requires all properties and commercial businesses to install a ‘programmable’ thermostat. 

The device must “automatically regulate, at a minimum hourly interval, the heating temperature per room or, if justified, per heating zone,” it says. 

Thermostats must have four settings – comfort, reduced, frost protection, and off – and be able to manually or automatically switch between these. 

However, the decree does not provide a specific style of thermostat as long as it can programme a heating schedule. 

This means property owners are given the option of a range of devices, including those connected to smartphone apps or set to fully automate heating of a home when a person is away.

You can read our explainer of the rules here.

Some of the criticisms about the obligations surround the aforementioned price.

“With the purchase price of this type of device… the equipment required in each home will represent an enormous burden for many homeowners,” said far-right MP Marine Le Pen. 

“The French, already crushed by energy prices and the relentless rise in taxes, can no longer cope with these regulatory and ideological absurdities,” she added in comments posted to social media. 

Others see the decree as an encroachment upon personal freedoms. 

“The imagination of bureaucrats knows no bounds!,” said former Interior Minister and head of right-wing Les Républicains Bruno Retailleau on social media.

“At this rate, there will soon be checks on the thickness of sweaters, a commission tasked with verifying the energy efficiency of duvets, and an obligation to cultivate optimal body hair to reduce our energy bills. Or we decide to stop bothering the French,” he added. 

Elsewhere, local officials announced their opposition to the regulations, and wider disagreement was voiced in a public consultation on the matter.

Manufacturers against postponement 

Despite disapproval elsewhere, some groups argue the measures should not be postponed. 

Manufacturers say they have spent several months stockpiling products to deal with the expected influx of requests. 

The postponement “would constitute a major environmental setback by depriving us of an opportunity for immediate reduction of our carbon emissions,” said manufacturing organisation Ignes at the end of November. 

Likewise, the Conseil supérieur de l’énergie (High Council for Energy) “strongly opposed the postponement in the residential sector, at the initiative of consumer associations.”