While France may have just heated things up again, what’s left of the two years of energy lull we’ve had? Remember: in October 2022, when faced with the conflict in Ukraine and its impact on energy prices, the government itself asked businesses and society to limit thermostats to 19°C.
Even if the majority of households now say they heat at 19°C or less, the practice of thermal awareness is still limited, or even equated with fuel poverty – which remains a major problem and a reality experienced by more than one in five French people.
However, under certain conditions, it is possible to spend the winter at temperatures between 14°C and 18°C at home and even turn off the heating, while feeling comfortable.
During the winter of 2024-2025, about fifteen families tried out the “quiet comfort” program adventure, accompanied by an energy designer. This experiment gave rise to sociological studies which would soon become material for scientific publications.
Lives well at temperatures less than 19°C
None of these families, who all have their own space heaters, are now considering returning to their old heating habits. Reducing energy consumption, as measured by households themselves, is not the only perceived benefit.
Participants highlighted better well-being associated with a cooler atmosphere: quality sleep, less fatigue, less illness in winter, etc. They also value the autonomy gained by being less dependent on heating and feel better prepared for future crises.
Households that choose to participate in sobriety programs are not necessarily “ecological extremists.” Some, before the trial, had already stepped up measures to reduce their energy budget and wanted to see if it was possible to go further without losing comfort. Others – sometimes the same – are undertaking an ecological transformation in their lifestyle and want to reduce the impact of heating consumption.
“Conscious comfort”: what is it?
The sobriety program tested here is an individualized variation of the “Energy Design Method”, invented by French engineer Pascal Lenormand, and has been tested in buildings in the tertiary sector.
The term “relaxing comfort,” used to name the program, contributed to the high level of interest in the program: more than 500 applications were received! This oxymoron allows us to avoid the imaginary shortcomings associated with sobriety. By the end of the program, it becomes part of the participants’ everyday language.
Concretely, the housekeeping was followed during the winter, with five videoconference meetings chaired by Pascal Lenormand. Between each video, they are encouraged to experiment with new practices at home through missions that are much broader than the usual eco-friendly moves, for example, protecting their bodies better by dressing differently. Several successive and progressive “training periods” encourage them to acquire attitudes as researchers that suit their own comfort.
A WhatsApp group was created by the team to allow participants to collectively take ownership of the experience. At the end of the program, the participants decided to extend it. These peer dynamics strongly support efforts for sobriety, although the radicalism of some may have marginalized others, as will be illustrated later.
Chronology of the “conscious comfort” program. | Study recovery, graphic design: Mathilde Joly-Pouget
And in practice?
The new practices adopted by households follow the progressive logic planned by the program. Measuring temperature and energy consumption provides a good starting point. This monitoring is often carried out with existing facilities and is carried out by the household itself. This monitoring makes them aware of their limited beliefs regarding comfort. For example, they are able to realize that they, in turn, feel comfortable at 17°C at certain times of the day and cooled at 19°C at other times, depending on the time of day, body shape condition, and so on.
Stopping the heating setting to the default set temperature opens up a new control perspective, relying on feeling rather than measured temperature. In certain cases and for certain households, this can lead to a complete cessation of heating.
Four types of heating reduction practices. | Study recovery, graphic design: Mathilde Joly-Pouget
This unwinding of central heating logic occurs gradually, with reversals depending on weather, health conditions, etc. Of course, this is easier to do in well-insulated and/or sunny accommodation, which remains mild even without heating.
The combination of various types of thermal practice (PDF) as an alternative heater allows you to feel comfortable even in a cool atmosphere, with varying configurations depending on the room.
The adoption of warm indoor clothing, in particular, represented a particularly effective influence, subject to the participants’ search for personalization (Charentaises versus Crocs) according to their identity.
Wearing a hat indoors (photo sent to WhatsApp group by participants, reproduced in this article with their permission). | Documents provided by the author
These thermal practices include a variety of compensatory tactics: adding rugs, insulating outlets, doing housework or exercise to temporarily increase metabolism, accepting temporary feelings of coolness, sometimes using fan heaters instead of central heating, drinking hot drinks, etc.
The “cold shower challenge” and social transgressions
Hot water consumption was a theme that was spontaneously raised by several participants, although the implementation of recommended technical optimization measures (e.g. lowering the temperature of the water heater) was still rarely carried out. Some of them still launch the “cold shower challenge”, sparking divisions within the group, and some want to move away from practices deemed radical.
This gap is also explained by the fact that the adoption of certain thermal sobriety practices can appear as a violation of current social comfort standards.
In fact, in the household, the upheaval of habits needs to take into account everyone’s sensitivities: following partner or wayward, rebellious or eco-friendly teenagers, babies and dependent parents. Difficult negotiations with the most cautious parties involve compromise and exceptions. This encourages some participants to act without saying it, force it or even give up.
The stigmatization experienced by some participants from the people around them sometimes resulted in a cautious attitude, or even hiding their participation in the experiment.
Although the government’s calm plan (PDF) is in effect from 2023, some participants observed the phenomenon of overheating in certain places outside their homes: the homes of people around them, workplaces, businesses and especially health and early childhood settings. They later lamented the lack of options: taking off their clothes, or secretly turning off the heating, which was not always possible.
In contrast, with their guests, households have thermal prescription capacity. The designer’s proposal to organize unheated evenings is an opportunity to experiment with the new art of hosting: choosing guests who are not too cold, announcing without frightening, rearranging the living room, offering accessories as some cafeterias do on the terrace (for example, blankets or slippers), heated activities or dinners (for example, raclette nights), etc.
The stigmatization (“crazy”, “extremist”) that some participants experienced from the people around them sometimes led to a cautious attitude, or even concealment of their participation in the experiment (for example, turning the heating back on when grandparents came home).
On the other hand, participants more easily expressed their thermal experiences within the framework of what we call weak ties: the professional world, the extended environment, associative circles, etc.
Should we revisit our modern comfort standards?
In recent years, research has converged, starting with that of historians, to show that today’s standards of comfort are relative. The various sociotechnical experiments currently being carried out open up various possibilities and may contribute to new beginnings in this field.
Let’s cite for example the Belgian pioneer Slow Heat, designer Lucile Sauzet or architect Martin Fessard. Our experiments are part of this line and describe the contours of a new ideal type of thermal comfort, which we propose to call: “sober comfort”.
It is an alternative to the principle of central heating – heating (often evenly) all the rooms in the house –, an important component of modern comfort, which became popular in France during the time of the Trente Glorieuses (1945-1973). The project of “conscious comfort” is to reconcile the achievements of modernity with today’s demands for sobriety.
Of course, improving residential energy performance remains important and can facilitate the adoption of “quiet comfort”.
Until now, thermal quiescence has often been reduced to the application of a certain temperature. But talking about “quiet comfort” means more than just thinking about 19°C. Our experiments show under what conditions households can undertake a process of in-depth review of their heating needs to achieve a form of voluntary disengagement. Such an approach could be the basis for implementing a real policy on energy calm, which is voluntary and not enforced.
It is true that current residential energy transition strategies are still too often based on technological solutions. However, participants in “quiet comfort” experiments often reject intelligent trial systems in favor of manual trials.
Of course, improving residential energy performance remains important and can facilitate the adoption of “quiet comfort”. However, the latest issue calls into question the relevance of a global renovation model that is blindly applied to all housing.
Of course, this experiment remains, at this stage, the trial has only been carried out on about fifteen families. But the magnitude of the changes observed among these households and their desire to broaden their experiences this winter – or even deepen them – suggests that the path is an interesting one. Remote support modalities (video, WhatsApp, etc.) mean that large-scale expansion is possible, for example through energy suppliers.
Gaëtan Brisepierre is an independent sociologist, teaching at the National School of Bridges and Roads (ENPC).
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
