In the private sector also initiatives abound

Passivhaus, House 3 litres, Zero Energy Homes, Compass, Minergie... Experimental low-energy buildings grow like mushrooms all over the world. And the movement is now the France, is the first report, which will be soon published by the program of research and experimentation on energy in the building, Prebat. "We thought characterized as stages, we wrote that it is a bloom," is surprised Jean Carassus, the author of this international analysis of scientific and technical Centre of the building (CSTB).

Housing effect 23 greenhouse gas 23 23 23, a now indispensable lever the French goal of dividing by four emissions in 2050. The six founding agencies of the Prebat (including the Ademe or Oséo Anvar) requested a State of the art of these experiments. It is in France which show the most active regions, as the American States much more committed and at the federal level. Four regions are particularly active in the experimental schools, administrative buildings and efficient subdivisions. Alsace first, proximity to the Germany forces, the Franche-Comté and Rhône-Alpes, in the Switzerland nearby, and the Languedoc-Roussillon. They currently unite the preparation of an Effinergie label, comparable to the Swiss Minergie label.

In the private sector also, initiatives abound. Several manufacturers such as Saint-Gobain and two banks formed an influence for the isolation group. Schneider won a project of EUR 80 million on the home energy management automation, 45 by industrial innovation Agency.

In the world, only three countries have surpassed the stage of experimentation. The Germany built 5,000 homes Passivhaus and 12,000 houses 3 litres. In the United States, 31,500 constructions have obtained the "Building america" label and 356 tertiary buildings are labelled LEED, 3,000 are waiting to be. The Japanese also pledged for a long time in this way, with a size advantage: their houses are built in lightweight materials and their duration of exploitation does not exceed thirty years for half of the Park. They gave priority to the photovoltaic energy, who already team mental homes.

Each country has its own strategy based on its priorities and its characteristics. This study which is limited to the technique, explore also the economic and social aspects, shows that the motivations of the investors in these buildings are not first energy conservation but improving comfort, then the environmental sensitivity and the desire to appear modernist as in the Japan.

German prototypes to rely on the maximum insulation with an obsession on the airtightness. This approach involves a ventilation double flow with heat exchanger and of triple glazing. These buildings devoid of traditional heating required an adaptation of behavior: not issue open Windows in cold weather. The Swiss have created a less radical approach.

American and Japanese residential programs focus less on isolation but more on the production of energy. The first are aimed at smoothing power consumption peaks that regularly disrupt their network. They therefore adopt boiler high efficiency and solar water heaters.

According to the report, the American tertiary construction strategy is a third way that plebiscite environmental quality. LEED buildings investors put forward a framework of healthy and energy savings in an approach similar to the norm HQE French. A U.S. study estimated even these new construction to improve the productivity of the work of the employees they support. A gain of 0.5 would be sufficient to justify these constructions.

The CSTB report must now inform the Prebat research policy. The authors advise in particular against the approach taken by the Netherlands, with a steering by the State, which is not proved probative. These experts believe however that the German and Swiss approach is most appropriate to the French Park as its competitors. The first Passivhaus emerge from Earth in the Oise département.

For Jean Carassus, research must focus on rehabilitation: "This is that technological advances will appear in the thin insulation for example."

A pan of the research will also cover the development of innovative financing mechanisms to absorb the extra cost of these technologies. The Government has thus increased the Codevi ceiling to facilitate the work of individuals. In the same spirit, Carrefour and Accor engaged in improvements of their supermarkets or hotels in equipping with Schneider Electric and Siemens which ensure them by contract a return on their investments.

The national agency of research and Ademe did not wait these reflections to launch the first two years of the Prebat. This summer, the new programming selected twenty projects. The innovations include Windows active isolation for the work of rehabilitation, efficient air conditioning and ventilation equipment, or system of geothermal energy storage. The Prebat will also support experimentation of early prototype of positive energy houses in a subdivision of Saint-Grégoire near Rennes.