questions
Does the DPE show whether a French home stays cool in summer?
The assessment includes more than just the A to G energy rating
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Reader question: Does the DPE home energy efficiency check include anything about whether the home stays cool in summer, or only whether it retains heat in winter?
While the DPE (Diagnostic de performance énergétique) does include some information about summer comfort, this does not, for now, affect the final DPE rating.
The DPE’s main purpose is to assess a home’s energy performance. It gives the property an overall rating from A (very efficient) to G (energy inefficient), based mainly on energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
It is designed to show how much energy a home uses for heating, hot water, and other systems.
It should be noted that properties rated G are now prohibited from being rented out as main residences.
However, the DPE also contains a separate ‘summer comfort’ indicator. This looks at how well the building can stay cool without using energy-intensive equipment.
It takes into account factors such as roof insulation, how well the building’s walls and structure absorb and slowly release heat, natural cross-ventilation, and protection from sunlight, such as shutters or external shading.
There is an important limitation though. Air conditioning is not included in this assessment. The indicator focuses on ‘passive’ ways of keeping a home cool.
A property with air conditioning can therefore still receive a poor summer comfort assessment. This is because the system itself is not counted as improving the building’s natural ability to resist heat.
The summer comfort assessment currently appears separately in the DPE report and does not change the A to G energy label.
It features a ‘smiley’, with a sad, neutral or happy face, indicating insufficient, average or good levels of summer comfort.
This should be accompanied by symbols and words highlighting elements that contribute to the building’s summer comfort and areas that could be improved by renovations.
As these elements do not affect the overall DPE grade, two homes with the same DPE rating could have very different levels of comfort during a heatwave.
However, with hotter summers and more frequent heatwaves now becoming the norm, the government is considering changing the DPE to give summer comfort a greater role.
