This is the urgency of the moment in a context of energy crisis: war in Ukraine, soaring energy prices, climate change, closure of nuclear sites. The government is calling for energy sobriety, to face this crisis and “get through the winter”.
Risks of power cuts have been announced. To avoid them or reduce the duration of outages, communities and businesses have already presented their energy conservation plans. Here are the 5 emergency measures to remember:
- Actions on heating are the most impactful with a rapid ROI:
- Lower the heating temperature by 1°C (18°C during the day and 12°C at night during periods of inactivity). According to ADEME, 1°C less on heating can reduce kWh consumption by 7%
- Shift the heating period, by heating before 8 a.m. in the morning and stopping heating between 8 a.m. & 1 p.m., the peak period for the network, in the event of an RTE red alert.
2. Act on domestic hot water consumption
Domestic hot water is an important consumption item in buildings because it still often uses fossil and therefore carbon-based energies (gas or oil boiler). Reducing the setpoint temperature provided for domestic hot water for toilet sinks, for example from 65°C to 55°C, helps to reduce energy demand.
3. Actions on lighting
- Replace traditional bulbs with LED bulbs. An LED bulb consumes 70 to 90% less electricity than an incandescent bulb and has a lifespan 20 times longer
- Reduction in the intensity of lights or total switch-off planned between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. as implemented by the city of Montpellier for example.
4. Energy sobriety is everyone’s business: raising awareness among all stakeholders
- Mobilize employees around new consumption behaviors with the launch of an awareness campaign: eco-gesture poster, Fresco workshops, training and information
- Encourage people to use RTE's EcoWatt application to monitor the weather on the electricity network and adapt their consumption behavior based on alerts.
5. Symbolic behavioral actions
- Favor the stairs over the elevator
- Adopt soft mobility (walking, cycling, public transport)
- Encourage carpooling for commuting
- Work remotely if possible.