Making your French home more eco-friendly means you’ll be doing your bit to save the planet, and it’s an opportunity to save yourself some money too. Robin Gauldie investigates the options available and the potential savings
Last month I looked at how feasible it is to live completely off-grid in France, and while making your home completely energy self-sufficient might be too radical for most of us, a mix of renewable power and conventional energy is a very viable option. Installing solar panels, geothermal heating and a biomass-burning furnace will reduce your carbon footprint, and in the long term, it will also cut your fuel and electricity bill.
In the Montagne Noire, north of Carcassonne, where I have a home, I see a lot of windscreen and bumper stickers bearing the slogan ‘Nuclear power: no thanks’ in a variety of languages. However, most of my neighbours seem able to compromise their knee-jerk opposition to nuclear energy in return for electricity prices that are among the cheapest in Europe. Some of my less techsavvy greenie visitors from the UK praise France’s ever-more-ardent love for clean, carbon-conscientious trains and urban transport, and are crestfallen when I point out that their hired electric car is, for all practical purposes, nuclear powered.NUCLEAR POWER
More than 80% of my electricity is nuclear-generated, according to my EDF bill. It’s not easy being green when there’s so little financial incentive to change. And, of course, many would argue that nuclear power is in fact the only realistic solution to the problem of curbing carbon consumption – at least in the short to medium term.
Denne historien er fra Autumn 2017-utgaven av Living France.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra Autumn 2017-utgaven av Living France.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Guide To: Working For A Foreign Company
If your current employer is happy to let you continue working for them after you move to France, there are a number of rules and regulations to be aware of to ensure you stay on the right side of the law, as Catharine Higginson explains
On vintage soil
Life in the vineyards of Aude is a dream come true for Leicestershire-born Katie Jones who now successfully exports her wines back to the UK, as Brigitte Nicolas learns
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER
What happens if you are buying a French property but can’t attend the completion meeting at the notaire’s office in person? Matthew Cameron explains how a power of attorney can be used and how it works
In safe hands
There can be few more unusual homes than the 11th-century Château de Clérans, situated close to the Dordogne river in the Périgord Pourpre region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine.
THE CAPTAIN'S TABLE
Robin Ellis made his name as the original Captain Poldark but a diabetes diagnosis led the Tarn-based actor to add cookbook writing to his CV, as Richard Webber learns
My frugal France
Embracing modern technology could save you money and time on both the pleasures and essentials of life in France, says Laura Harley as she shares some of her favourite French apps
Hidden Talents
Moving to France enabled these three expats to switch off from busy careers and in turn discover new creative talents, says Gillian Harvey, who counts herself among them
Beauty to behold
With its legendary vineyards, charming old towns and rich gastronomy, Gironde is quintessential France at its best, as Alison Weeks discovers
AS SEEN ON SCREEN
A Dordogne town, a Charente city and a Pyrenean village all have a starring role in three new films hitting the big screen this year, joining a long list of French locations that have gone before them, as Vicky Leigh learns
A local's view
Trish and Mark Tyler run a beautifully restored chambres d’hôtes, set in six hectares of park and woodland near StÉmilion, which has a fascinating history