The Government has repeated it: there will be no “heating police” to check that homes and businesses comply with one of the key measures of the energy sobriety plan: limit heating to 19°C this winter.
But for the French, it will be necessary to punish those who do not respect this rule. According to a survey* carried out by Rothelec, more than 68% believe that it would be beneficial to sanction all those who do not play the game, 27% are against this type of practice and 5% prefer not to give an opinion on the matter.
If the majority, that is, 41%, think that both individuals and companies should be punished, 21% believe that only professionals should be punished and 12% only individuals.
Punish but how high? Gravity is in order as 54% of respondents want a fine greater than or equal to 1,500 euros (including 22% who want to go to 2,500-3,000 euros).
Recommendations not followed?
It should be remembered that the decree of July 25, 1977 and article 241-25 of the Energy Code set a limit of 19°C in the premises. Companies that do not comply with this regulation can theoretically be sanctioned with 1,500 euros and 3,000 euros in case of recidivism.
If the French are in favor of sanctions, almost half declare at the same time that they will not comply with the government’s demands.
In an earlier study published in September, 45% of people surveyed said they would turn down the heating in their homes by a few degrees this winter, but 44% said they wouldn’t, and 11% hadn’t made a decision yet.
Only a third of French people (33%) will set the comfort temperature in their living room between 18 and 20°C this winter. For 31% it will be between 20 and 22° and even between 22 and 24° for 29%.
“It seems, therefore, that the recommendations to lower temperatures between 18°C and 19°C are not fully respected in practice”, we can read. The reasons may be many, but the persistence in France of many poorly insulated houses, the famous thermal screens, surely encourages the French to push the heating.
*: Survey carried out among 1002 people representative of the French national population aged 18 or over. Survey conducted online from the BuzzPress panel of respondents (27,000 people in France). between 3 and On October 7, 2022, an electronic survey was sent via email and posted online on the social networks Facebook and LinkedIn. Then, the responses were collected and weighted according to pre-established quotas in order to ensure the representativeness of the sample and obtain representativeness of the target population. All weights are based on administrative data and data collected by INSEE.
Source: BFM TV
