In the Alps, a quarter of the population could not heat themselves as desired. People on low incomes live in energy sieves or with unsuitable heating installations. One solution is to renovate your home. What support is available in Isère?
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More and more households are facing poorly insulated homes. In 70 years of existence, the Soliha association (Solidaires pour l'Habitat) has seen the figures for energy poverty increase year after year.
“There are households who no longer heat themselves because they are unable to pay at the end of the month,” tells us Floriane Bouyoud, the director of Soliha Isère-Savoie.
In Isère, 85,000 households are affected by energy poverty. In Savoie, there are nearly 40,000. A household is considered to be in a situation of energy poverty if its expenses represent more than 10% of its income, if its income is below the poverty line and if its energy expenses are above above the national average.
“For the most modest households, their income varies between 21,000 and 31,000 euros per year. (…) Our role is to make state aid accessible and understandable and to support households in accessing this financial aid to carry out renovation work energy”, explains Floriane Bouyoud.
The association helps people find comfortable accommodation. It offers expertise, diagnosis, and connection with construction companies. As well as valuable monitoring during the work. From the opening of the file to the payment of aid, it takes on average 4 to 6 months.
“There is a whole phase of filling out files, completing the documents which are then filed with the State services. Afterwards, there is the phase where the household does the renovation work itself and the phase of closing the file and triggering the aid”, specifies the director of the association.
Cyrille lives in a house in Montbonnot-Saint-Martin, in Isère. A year ago, the temperature did not exceed 11 degrees in the children's rooms. Since then, the entire roof has been insulated, as well as part of the walls. The heat source was replaced, as was the water heater: “Today, we are hot. The children are hot in their rooms. So that is important, we feel it thermally, economically. We feel that the bills are much lower therefore the 35% energy gain were easily obtained”, indicates Cyrille Vecherand, owner who received assistance to renovate his home.
Today, Cyrille's family has emerged from energy poverty. Out of 50,000 euros of work, the home benefited from 18,000 euros in state aid. In Isère, the Soliha association handles around 1,600 cases per year. In addition to associations, it is possible to contact the National Housing Agency which offers subsidies and tax credits.
