Heating at 19°C: can there be penalties for people who do not respect the rule? – LaDepeche.fr

the essentials The government has made recommendations for the French who want to warm up this winter: they are asked not to raise the temperature above 19°C. Do recalcitrant people risk sanctions? La Dépêche du Midi takes stock. Will the French manage to change their habits this winter to deal with the energy crisis? In any case, this is what the government wants. Over the course of the speeches, the ministers distil sound advice and recommendations to ensure that energy-related tariffs do not soar in the coming months. Advice, really? In the batch, the executive puts its grain of salt, like the Prime Minister, Élisabeth Borne, who on BFMTV, speaks not of recommendation, but of instructions: “The rule is to heat at 19 degrees”, insisted the head of government. In our Swiss neighbours, the authorities have also listed special rules to avoid gas shortages this winter. On site, the authorities are even working on sanctions for recalcitrant people who do not wish to apply these measures. Indeed, according to the Swiss media Blick, several Swiss cantons “have taken a position in a letter to the Federal Council on the recommendations for energy savings”. These same cantons “are asking for uniform penalties across the country in the event that the federal rules are not respected”. Recalcitrant people would be subject to fines: “slight offenses could be punished easily”, specifies the Swiss media. Sanctions also in France? Should we expect similar measures in France? In the opinion of the executive, there is no question of setting up a temperature police. “The idea is rather to support households”, specifies with our colleagues from TF1 the office of the Minister for Ecological Transition, Agnès Pannier-Runacher. Our philosophy is that sobriety is accompanied by acceptance by people”. The government also assures that the temperature of 19°C, recommended for heating your home, was not chosen by chance: it is This is the “set temperature” appearing in a “decree of July 25, 1977 published in the Official Journal, as well as in article 241-25 of the Energy Code”. 19°C, prefer showers… How to reduce its energy consumption by 10% On the other hand, a company which does not respect the rule in France could be penalized.And for good reason, a limit of 19°C on average for the heating in premises, in particular businesses, is included in the 1978 energy code. Violators of the rule could, in theory, be penalized with a fine of 1,500 euros (3,000 euros in the event of a repeat offense Still, today, it is difficult to know how companies are warming up in France. e… To read also: Energy crisis: soon a “temperature police” to control the heating of companies? The government denies According to the executive, lowering its heating by one degree compared to the temperature usually applied by the French would make it possible to achieve 7% energy savings. This data is also validated by the French Environment and Energy Management Agency (Ademe).