So we’ve put in an offer on a building plot in Correze. I want to build something that basically requires no energy for heating, has a compost toilet, rain water harvesting. I’ve been reading up on passivhaus standards and I like the general idea but I’m put off by the software (not because I don’t like computers, more because I know programming and can see how error prone their software is) so then I looked at Canadian housing energy software, which includes value for money calculations which suits me much better. Then I read an article by one of the key authors of the software describing how often and how much the resulting houses differ from the predictions.
Finally, I decide to look at French building requirements. I didn’t previously, because having seen a few new buildings here, I assumed that what I wanted to build was far above what would be required.
RT2020! I’d never heard of it. But basically, it seems the minimum standard house I’d want to build is what I’m required to build. The new house has to be net zero. RT2020 doesn’t just affect new house builders either. It will effect every house owner especially when it comes to selling the house.
Since no-one I’ve met in France ( expat house owners, French neighbours and estate agents) had mentioned this to me, I’m wondering if this change in regulations has really gone through? And if so, how come no-one has mentioned it and I haven’t come across it at all in all my years of eco research?
RT2020 is an update on RT2012.
I recall that there was a fair bit of upset when RT2012 was first introduced, particularly with the insulation requirements for major conversions, but since then this policy has become part of the building landscape. The idea was for the regulations to tighten up in stages, first requiring buildings to be low carbon, then carbon neutral, then carbon negative. Presumably you were aware of RT2012 and I guess the reason RT2020 has not caused any great waves is because the policy is progressing as announced, so people were expecting revised regulations in 2020…
Yes, the RT are updated from time to time, this is just the latest. RT 2012 is what’s been used until the begining of this year when the RT2021 (dite RT 2020) came into force
Yes, our house is RT2012. Although built in late 2011, the draft for RT2012 was available and it was built to that.
As far as I understand, it’s mandatory for new houses.
You’re saying that these things were announced years ago and acted upon, and it was also announced that the regulations would change and progress, and this has been acted upon, and so no-one is surprised.
Well, you have to imagine my surprise then. I’ve been living in England.
No I hadn’t heard of rt2012, but then I wasn’t planning to build a house in France.
Hi Pir8ped
When you submit your house plans to the Mairie for building permission, you will have to submit a thermal report for your proposed build which effectively states your build will meet RT2020. I beleive once you have built the house, they will inspect it to ensure it conforms to the thermal report you have submitted. I never got this far, but I was granted the planning permssion but then decided against building and living in area due to hostile objections from farmers. I was not aware of their previous objections when I offer on the land. This was in the Correze
Odd things I came across when doing this for planning permssion for a build subject to RT2012 was that you cannot have PV heat your hot water directly with an immersion heater, you have to have solar panel, pellet boiler or air-source heat pump.
In addition, I think for rainwater, you cannot filter that to use for drinking, showering etc. The French like you to use mains water for drinking and bathing. I think you may be able to use it for flushing toilets. There maybe a development tax on the holding tanks for the rainwater too, but I am not sure.
Exactly, that is the background.
I know next to nothing about the building regs in other countries but I imagine they vary quite widely., no doubt some will be stricter than here and others will be less strict. I suppose I would expect the French regs to set the bar higher than many because France made a decision way back to focus on housing efficiencies as one of the main thrusts in reaching its national carbon targets under the Paris agreement. I guess most people in France are aware of this if they take any interest in climate issues but also because it affects them in other ways too such as the obligatory diagnostic reports when a property is sold, and also at one stage banks offered preferential interest rates on property loans for purchasing an eco friendly property (I do not know if this is still the case). But national strategies such as this would not be much reported on outside of France, they are not going to be of interest to people who do not live here. Just like, living in France I do not know how central England’s building regs are to its overall climate policy and how strict they are for new builds. So in that sense it is not surprising that you were surprised.
I just had a quick look at that Artisancentral article and noted “ It specifies that all new private buildings must consume no more than 50 kWh / m² per year”.
I wonder how that works with electric vehicle charging? I’ve just installed a 22kW charger, won’t that chew through the above target? Is charging excluded, of so how is that measured/recorded?
Thanks. I’ve downloaded the original from the government website, and have a translated version courtesy of Google. I think I understand most of it, though acronyms are prevalent and don’t translate and would take more cross referencing and memorising than I have patience for.
I’ll go to the CUAE tomorrow to see how much help they’ll be with interpreting the technicalities and helping me translate it into something solid and habitable.
La RE2020 calcule la performance énergétique et environnementale des constructions neuves selon différents indicateurs.
• L’indicateur Bbio – pour besoin bioclimatique – détermine les besoins en énergie du bâtiment, sans prendre en compte les équipements futurs éventuellement mis en œuvre. L’isolation thermique, la ventilation ainsi que d’autres éléments tels que l’éclairage naturel sont ainsi intégrés dans l’indicateur Bbio, afin d’évaluer l’efficacité énergétique d’une construction.
• L’indicateur Cep – Coefficient d’Énergie Primaire – calcule la quantité d’énergie primaire nécessaire pour couvrir le reste des besoins du bâtiment, l’objectif étant de la limiter au maximum. Cet indicateur prend en compte cinq usages : le chauffage, la production d’eau chaude sanitaire, la climatisation, l’éclairage et les auxiliaires, notamment ventilateurs et pompes. Bbio et Cep sont donc deux indicateurs directement liés.
• L’indicateur IC énergie – Indice Carbone énergie - estime l’impact sur le changement climatique, à l’horizon 50 ans, des émissions de gaz à effet de serre liées aux consommations d’énergie pendant la vie du bâtiment.
• L’indicateur IC construction mesure l’impact sur le changement climatique, à l’horizon 50 ans, des émissions de gaz à effet de serre liées aux composants du bâtiment (produits de construction et équipements), du chantier jusqu’à leur fin de La RE2020 calcule la performance énergétique et environnementale des constructions neuves selon différents indicateurs.
• L’indicateur Bbio – pour besoin bioclimatique – détermine les besoins en énergie du bâtiment, sans prendre en compte les équipements futurs éventuellement mis en œuvre. L’isolation thermique, la ventilation ainsi que d’autres éléments tels que l’éclairage naturel sont ainsi intégrés dans l’indicateur Bbio, afin d’évaluer l’efficacité énergétique d’une construction.
• L’indicateur Cep – Coefficient d’Énergie Primaire – calcule la quantité d’énergie primaire nécessaire pour couvrir le reste des besoins du bâtiment, l’objectif étant de la limiter au maximum. Cet indicateur prend en compte cinq usages : le chauffage, la production d’eau chaude sanitaire, la climatisation, l’éclairage et les auxiliaires, notamment ventilateurs et pompes. Bbio et Cep sont donc deux indicateurs directement liés.
• L’indicateur IC énergie – Indice Carbone énergie - estime l’impact sur le changement climatique, à l’horizon 50 ans, des émissions de gaz à effet de serre liées aux consommations d’énergie pendant la vie du bâtiment.
• L’indicateur IC construction mesure l’impact sur le changement climatique, à l’horizon 50 ans, des émissions de gaz à effet de serre liées aux composants du bâtiment (produits de construction et équipements), du chantier jusqu’à leur fin de vie.
