An electricity bill down by “22.5% in April, 15% in May, 44% in June, 40% in August” compared to last year. How in their new house in Nailloux, in Haute-Garonne, did Caroline, Stéphane and their three children achieve this result when many others shed a tear over the “painful” in this explosion of housing costs? energy ? The little miracle began on a “rainy and windy” day at the end of March, when Stéphane, who is lucky enough to be a “handyman” and to have a flat roof, climbed on his ladder to install the eight photovoltaic panels ordered by family on the Internet. Cost of the equipment: “4,500 euros, delivery included,” explains Caroline. To which is added the price of some changes in habits.
“Wallet question”
Thanks to the app in her smartphone, Caroline monitors the performance of her panels live, which can instantly provide up to 3,280 watts when the weather is nice in Nailloux. When she is teleworking, she starts her laundry when she is sure to consume it herself. The family is also a master in the art of programming the activation of household appliances. And, after a spring and summer spent in photovoltaic mode, it is obviously “no regrets”. Caroline admits, the energy transition in the home was a “question of the wallet”. In their new house with swimming pool and heat pump for heating, our Lauragais couple simply wanted to avoid putting a dent in their budget.
And he is far from the only one. According to the data the French Energy Transition Observatory, relayed by Enedis, the number of solar installations in private homes has jumped by 77% in France in the space of one year. “We’ve never seen this. The dynamic is really enormous. We were already in a historic year in 2022, but here we have reached the record of records,” confirms Laetitia Brottier, vice-president in charge of self-consumption ofEnerplan, the union of solar energy professionals. Between the 10% increase in the EDF bill on August 1, the proliferation of electric cars and bicycles to be recharged in homes, the specialist does not see demand slowing down, especially since, for the moment, the price of solar panels have escaped inflation.
More installers in Occitanie
In Haute-Garonne alone, some 8,700 individuals have converted since mid-2022, and the sum of their production has almost doubled, from 30 to 59 MW (megawatts). “This makes the department the first in France for installed photovoltaic power,” underlines Stéphane Lesénéchal, the territorial director of‘Enedis. Why is this local performance even better than elsewhere? “Our department is large and sunny. It also benefits from a distribution and installation network that works well and allows the work to be done quickly,” says the manager. Laetitia Brottier confirms this hypothesis. “In France, only 1% of electricians are photovoltaic. And of the 2,000 approved installers officially listed, 526, or around a quarter, are in Occitania,” explains the one who advises, inevitably, to go through a professional if you are not in the game. “And always have several quotes drawn up before signing.”
With their “self-possession”, Caroline and Stéphane did not have to compete. They relied on “word of mouth” and in particular on Pierre, their former neighbor. This resident of Montgeard, an electrician by trade, fell into the trap well before the War in Ukraine broke out. “The trigger, as for many, was the construction of our swimming pool,” he says. From the direct sellers, he only retained the consumer advice and he too preferred to install his panels himself. Cumulus, slots to trigger the machines, his wife’s teleworking greatly facilitates the optimization of the panels. The economy is drastic. “For 4,000 euros of investment, our electricity bill halved. It went from 2,000 to 1,000 euros per year,” assures this eco-friendly Haut-Garonnais who also collects rainwater to operate his toilets. With the panels, he lives even more in accordance with his convictions. “It’s the same feeling as watering your garden with water from a well,” he said. I like the idea that we consume cleanly, that there is no coal or uranium behind it.”