Impossible nights and overwhelming heat. Talel, 23, lives in a thermal colander which turns into a thermal kettle during episodes of heat wave. With his parents and brother, he lives in a detached house in pavilions-sous-bois in Seine-Saint-Denis. In 2024, France had 4.2 million thermal colanders, which served as a main residence, according to the National Observatory for Energy Renovation.
And in Ile-de-France, 20 % of housing is part of this category, the highest rate in the country, where the average is 13 %. In a report published on July 1, Oxfam and the Dionysian Ghett’Up association denounce the suspension until September of my prime Renov ‘, financing system for energy renovation work, “a serious decline for the ecological and social transition”.
“As if he was much warmer than outside”
Having become the owner of a 300 m2 house including 54 m2 of living space in the early 2000s, the Talel family did not experience serious problems in the first years. But for five years, “it has become more and more difficult to live there due to humidity,” explains the young man, who works alternately. Poorly insulated, the house is in a degraded condition. On the walls, the humidity oozes, and traces of mold are visible under the windows, in the corridors, the staircase. Upstairs, the parts are particularly damp.
In summer, the heat remains, and it is even worse during periods of heat wave. “When you are upstairs, you feel everything, the heat rises and stays,” says Talel. I have the impression that it is much warmer than outside, it is as if you were entering an stuffy airlock. Since the departure of his sister, he has recovered his room, a slightly less humid room. The other part, without windows, was transformed into a storage room. “When we want to bring out our things, we realize that everything is wet,” he admits, “a fan has become brown. »»
“You can’t rest”
When it is too hot, Talel leaves to sleep in the living room, on the ground floor. “Last week, I tried to sleep for three hours, it was impossible even with a fan,” he sighs. It’s heavy, you can’t even rest, and your life does not stop, you have to work, you have to continue the studies … “
In summer, a thermal kettle increases energy, water, can worsen pathologies, disrupts sleep and increases excess mortality, notes Oxfam’s report, with an excess average mortality of 18.8 % in Seine-Saint-Denis, compared to 3.2 % at the national level. Winter too, the lack of insulation is felt. Talel sleeps with several duvets to try to warm up. When it rains, small puddles are formed in the kitchen in the basement.
An energy bill multiplied by six
In 2023, insulation work was carried out in the parental chamber, air conditioning was also added. “But it is useless because in the end, it will not stay fresh long,” he testifies. His father, a retired electrician, and his mother, a childminder, cannot afford to finance a renovation of the house, a need that remains in the project state. The situation also created tensions in relation to the consumption of water, electricity.
In France, in 2023, the average energy bill for accommodation amounted to 1,851 euros per year and per household, notes the Oxfam report. In a thermal colander, the annual invoice can climb up to between 6,165 euros and 7,926 euros, depending on the estimates of associations, they can therefore prove to be 6 times higher than in renovated accommodation.
Our dossier on the heat wave
If Talel has heard of the Ma Prime Renov ‘system via Ghett’up, he believes that it is not possible for his family because of the costs to be moved and the complexity of the procedures. “It is not normal to pay for accommodation which is supposed to be suitable for any human being, and finally puts your life in danger,” he regrets. Psychologically it’s hard. »»
