Foreword

Contenu Principal

The ‘Grenelle Environnement’ has set ambitious objectives in the building sector. It was immediately aimed at low-consumption buildings rating at 50 kilowatts per hour, per square meter and per year of primary energy. It is now possible to consider the idea of positive energy buildings according to which the beforehand reduced consumptions might be covered by the renewable energy (biomass, photovoltaic solar energy, solar power).

The decision to generalize these generations of buildings - with the 2012 regulation – speeds up the movement into which effinergie is involved.

It appeared that the construction sector should, from now on, be better prepared and used to this performance level instead of planning intermediate steps. The latter would imply a slowdown of progress and would confirm a will of not going any further. And, above all, it would early enough prevent to consider the technological infeasibility to reach the concept of low-consumption and positive energy buildings.

The conception and construction of these buildings are undergoing radical transformation.
On one hand, they require a new approach of the project management which will necessarily be competent in concurring engineering (decompartmentalization of architects and engineering offices). On the other hand, the use of new construction techniques requires a particular attention to implementation, to which the profession was not accustomed, especially with reference to airtightness and thermal bridges.

In order to find solutions for 2012, several factors must be taken into account, such as the local climatic situations, the local culture prevailing in the construction sector and the locally produced materials.

All these reasons confirm the relevance of an organisation, like that of effinergie, which is federated regionally.
Our organisation is able to consider the plurality of the local cultures and it can rely on the progress forces present in every region.

It can now be concluded that the success of the Grenelle – in the building sector – depends on the effectiveness of effinergie. The Low-Consumption Buildings and the Positive Energy Buildings labels are mapped out by effinergie with the public authorities. In the course of the next four years – before 2012 – the opportunity to perfect progressively the labels is now seized in order to reach a 2012 regulation that would be shared by and adapted to all the stakeholders.

This effinergie guide comes along just at the right moment to start with the process of the after-Grenelle.

Alain MAUGARD
Chairman of the CSTB
Chairman of the ‘Grenelle Envionnement’ operational Committee for the New Buildings
March, 28th 2008