It is therefore prohibit electric heating

The increase of nearly 10 of the price of gas, announced last week, goes wrong pass. It reduced the purchasing power of the French heat the gas at the point where the purchasing power is threatened by the crisis. Need to see it in the context of the war which engaged the gas and electricity. On the main battle field of heating, the battle was raging. In the recent construction, in 2007, the gas was minority, with 34 against 44 in electricity (and the remaining fuel oil), and was losing market share. He then spent a strategic agreement with the anti-nuclear. Hope changed camp, battle changed his soul. The Grenelle environment discreetly pronounced the death sentence of electric heating. The gas had won.

It is interesting to see how it was able to reach there. The Grenelle Act stipulates that buildings will be constructed must consume less than 50 kWh (kilowatt-hour) of primary energy per square metre per year, three or four times less than the existing buildings. This seems a desirable measure, at least for the environment. But the devil lies in the details.

For its heating, a building consumes a kilowatt-hour of electricity or gas cubic metres (ignoring the oil to simplify). To add or compare, it must be a single unit, which is the kilowatt-hour. For gas, using a fairly classical coefficient which converts cubic metres of gas in kWh. For electricity, say you, the thing is simple, since this energy is measured and billed in kilowatt hour. And well, not at all, the regulation said that electric kilowatt hour triple, or more precisely 2.58 times more than the other.

Prohibit housing consuming more than 50 kWh/m2/year affecting the electric kilowatt hour of this coefficient, is requiring an electric heating consumes less than 20 kWh/m2 - that person knows to do. It is therefore prohibit electric heating.

This small coefficient of 2.58 is the murder weapon. It dates from the time when the electricity was produced from coal. It should be almost three tons of coal to produce electricity that produces as much heat as the direct combustion of one ton of coal. The coefficient of 2.58 was therefore not absurd, to bring electric power to the "primary" energy used to produce. It becomes untenable with the electricity hydraulic and nuclear (90 of the electricity in France), which is not secondary, and is generated by any primary energy.

This inspiring story made two winners: the gas and the anti-nuclear. If it is not the law of heating with electricity, must be well heating with gas, which is thus offered a beautiful captive market. The other winner are environmentalists who eliminate electrical heating, is reducing the production of electricity, and contribute to one of the objectives that they register in the Act of round table: "reduce the share of nuclear in the French energy mix" (Ah these things are called in selected terms!).

It is also four collateral victims. First, consumers. They preferred electricity gas, is that they found their account, with less heavy initial investment and a guarantee of price stability in the medium or the long term gas do not offer as we see these days. Second, the electrical heating industry. The death sentence of electrical heating is also the death sentence of an industrial sector which employs many thousands of highly skilled workers, which will tomorrow be unemployed. The third victim is the energy independence of the France. The gas with which we are going to heat is imported, and imported from countries not always very reliable, so that the nuclear electricity it replaces is or have produced here. The fourth loser finally is the fight against the greenhouse effect. The gas burned to heat over CO2 that would have the electricity that it replaces, rejects and that even during peak periods is nuclear and hydraulic more than 80.

Use a small coefficient of speed technical sabotage in silence at the time the policy of purchasing power, industrial policy, the policy of independence, and climate policy displayed by the Government, recognize that it is the beautiful book.