Overview
- A widespread cold wave with subzero temperatures is gripping much of France, with numerous departments under orange snow and ice alerts.
- Ademe advises 19°C in living areas and 16°C in bedrooms, with bathroom comfort around 21–22°C but not maintained all day, and estimates roughly 7% energy savings for each degree lowered.
- For short absences, specialists recommend lowering radiators rather than switching them off, while for extended absences frost‑protection around 8°C helps protect installations and saves energy.
- Ademe warns that reheating homes between 18:00 and 20:00 contributes to evening demand peaks that can strain the electricity network.
- Practical steps include brief daily airing, using daytime sun then closing curtains at night, adding rugs, purging and clearing radiators, and installing aluminum reflectors that SeLoger says can cut heat loss by up to about 10%.