The fresh air so precious broadcast in the Louvre museum in Paris, in the Part-Dieu shopping center, in Lyon, or the municipal buildings of Grande-Motte (Hérault) does not come from individual air conditioning, but from cold networks. These sites are, in fact, refreshed thanks to cold production power plants, distributing cooled water through pipes, “With energy efficiency two to three times that of conventional air conditioning”underlines Sylvie Jéhanno, CEO of Dalkia, the EDF subsidiary specialist in energy services.
Problem, there is not enough. In 2023, 43 cold networks were listed in France, from Paris to Montpellier, via Lyon, according to figures from the Energy Energy Services Federation, feeding more than 1,600 buildings, which represents 5 % additional connections in one year. We remain far from the 1,000 heat networks operating on the same principle of pooling, but to heat this time more than 50,000 dwellings or office buildings.
“This does not mean that we are behind the cold. France is first of all a heating countryexplains mme Jéhanno. Urban heat networks also represent approximately 5 % to 6 % of heat needs in France, when cold networks meet 5 % of the cooling need. However, the heat wave episodes show us the urgency to accelerate and exploit their full potential. »»
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