Properties account for a huge 45% of French energy consumption and 25% of greenhouse gas emissions! With such shocking figures it will come as no surprise that after the November 07 French Environment summit, the pressure is on the building sector to ensure that these figures are reduced.
 
The French building industry had already started to use the best technology solutions in order to be kind to the environment and now that the latest advanced materials and equipment are on the market, developers are using them to promote green buildings. A fine example of this is Natural in Languedoc Roussillon, one of the residences Attika is keenly promoting.
Investing in a new build therefore means that you are at the vanguard, promoting sensible building and helping the environment. Your new home will benefit from all the latest regulations and innovations. The French government has been especially stringent on sound and heat insulation since the 2005 regulation on heat (the RT 2005) came into force in September 06 and whose aim it is to reduce Carbon Dioxide emissions and optimise energy use in buildings.
This means that now, as soon as a promoter sets pencil to paper to plan their developments they must offer a solution that uses (for example) properly placed and carefully directed glass windows. The required window to space ration is 1m2 of window for 6m2 of living space. 40% of the windows in a development must be south facing and 20% north-, east- and west-facing. Since the sun delivers free and clean energy it is vital to use its power and light throughout each season.
Therefore alongside natural air-conditioning (with heat vents to allow for natural air circulation) and with sun-awnings on all windows, new homes are comfortable in the summer and should be able to avoid the use of air conditioning.
The RT 2005 also insists on outside insulation around the building. These insulation requirements have now been increased by 5% and must especially concentrate on thermal bridges (floor edges, lintels, edges of supporting walls etc) which account for 40% of all heat loss and also lead to cold patches or damp walls inside a property. All new build developers must be able to prove RT2005 compliance either by means of a heat analysis carried out by a professional, or with the help of technical solutions approved by the Ministry for Building and Housing which guarantees compliance with the benchmark values for energy saving and summer comfort.
The latest low temperature boilers are also installed by many developers as these can run continuously at a return temperature of around 40 degrees instead of 90 degrees for a conventional boiler. Another very fashionable technology is the condensing boiler due to their high performance and very low rate of energy consumption.
Panel heaters are the first choice for many environmentally-aware developers but the key environmental choice is still the heat pump which can be either aero thermal or geothermal and which draws energy either from the outside air or from under the ground and pumps it into the house - thus generating enormous savings. So on top of the usual benefits offered by a new build (parking and often a balcony, reduced notary fees, tax advantages, ten year guarantee, optimised surface area, few upkeep charges, lower monthly costs) you also have the added benefit of top-of-the-range sound insulation and heat insulation meaning that you are helping the environment and saving yourself a considerable sum on your gas and electricity bill!

Should you wish to view the development or any of the other properties on their portfolio then please feel free to visit http://www.attikainternational.com/